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Sharpe's Company- Amazon |
Obadiah Hakeswill starts making trouble for Richard Sharpe
2004-08-22
Whatever my record was for urging one character to kill another in a movie, I surely broke it while watching "Sharpe's Company." This is the third film in the series based on the novels of Bernard Cornwell and is set in Spain in 1812 as the Duke of Wellington begins his invasion of Spain from Portugal while Napoleon is preoccupied with developments in northern Europe. The key to a successful campaign is the capture of two great fortresses, Ciudad Rodrigo in the north and Badajoz in the south. Meanwhile, Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) has his own concerns.
First, Sharpe is demoted to lieutenant, when the captancy of his unit is purchased a nobleman. That means are hero longs to do something that will get his rank back so that he cannot lose it again, and being the first into the breach when a fort is stormed would be the way of doing it. Second, he learns the his lover, the Spanish rebel Teresa (Assumpta Serna), has given birth to their daughter (which suggests a really big gap of well over a year between the second and third movies). She goes back behind enemy lines to continue her part of the war and ends up in the fort that the British will be attacking in the climax of the movie. But Sharpe is not the most compelling character in this story. That would be Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill (Pete Postlethwaite), who once had Sharpe flogged for something he did not do. Hakeswill is the villain of this piece and it is not long after he shows up that you start urging Sharpe, Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley) or any one of the riflemen to kill this guy. Because he survived a battle Hakeswill believes he is invincible and this guy is a sadistic loon; I lean towards him being more sadistic than insane, but there is strong evidence either way. This guy talks to his mother in his hat and never takes the direct route to hurt someone, which he manages to do quite often. We have a new actor playing Wellington at this point (Hugh Fraser) and a new spy master, Major Nairn (Michael Byrne), to complicate Sharpe's life. But the character that I liked was the new colonel of the regiment, who has a touch of the upper class twit to him, especially when it comes to speaking the King's English, but who knows enough about men and soldiering not to completely botch things. This is a man who will apologize to a common soldier when warranted without batting an eye. Now if he would just have Obadiah Hakeswill shot on sight I would be a much happier person. The attack on Badajoz is a well-staged battle sequences, especially given the limitations of the production in terms of men and material. Sharpe's reason for leading his men in the attack is probably not one that we have heard before, but strikes me as a better reason to face death than we usually hear in such stories. But there is no doubt that what you are going to remember at the end of "Sharpe's Company" is Postlethwaite's performance and since the fourth movie is called "Sharpe's Enemy" there is little doubt as to who is the title character and the only concern is how much damage he will do to Sharpe's friends and family before he meets his just dessert.
Great series
2003-08-14
I found the first three Shape's adventures to be wonderfully entertaining. My wife and I enjoyed them together. We were both wondering why this is considered the third episode when it should be the fourth - and there is no third. Somehow between Sharp's Eagle and Sharpe's Company our hero is married and has a child. There are glimpses of a wedding - and a duel - at the beginning of the episode but that is all there is: glimpses. But the individual episodes - though better viewed as a series - do stand alone and you can fill in what seems to be missing.This episode brings Pete Postlethwaite as Sergeant Hakeswill into the series. He is flat out evil and certainly mad. Pete Postlethwaite is a first rate actor so it's interesting to see him in such an over-the-top role. I'm sure he loved it. The English troops are storming a fortress. After blasting a breach in the wall they are cut down like stalks of wheat until Sharpe and his men take charge. Sharpe is anxious to get inside as his wife and the daughter he has never seen are inside and he knows the English soldiers will rape and pillage once victorious. Sure enough, the guys you were just rooting for now deserve to be swinging from a tree limb. And Sergeant Hawkswill shows up with designs on Sharp's wife. I have noticed the scripts are not by the same writer so I am quite sure I will run into a clunker or two in the remaining shows in the series, but the first three were all great and as a whole I am equally sure this is going to be a fine series. 
Another winning adventure in the Sharpe's series
2002-03-25
Sharpe and his men are fighting not only the French in this tale but an evil and devious sergeant as well who has some history with Sharpe. The battle and action scenes are top notch again and the characters are grand and heroic. The settings and costumes make it all very colorful and real. The actors again do a great job with Sean Bean, Asumpta Serna and Daragh O'Malley giving us wonderful heroic performances. Special mention has to go to Pete Postlethwaite who delivers a scenery chewing performance as the evil Sergeant Hakeswill. Marvelous! I enjoyed this one and have no complaints at all about the quality of the DVD picture or sound. 
No Spark
2001-06-09
I had already read a few of the books including 'Sharpe's Company' and was looking forward to the filmed version with great anticipation. Firstly, it must be said that these are not 'stand alone' films but episodes in a continuing saga. This being the first DVD of the series I had watched, the lack of character development was noticeable as all the main protagonists had already been introduced in earlier episodes. In fact there were characters (Major Hogan for example) who was not even referred to by name, so remained anonymous to those who had not read the books. It was a bit like watching a movie from halfway through. I was pleasantly surprised that most of the action was outdoors and not restricted to a studio set. The costumes seemed authentic and I felt that the storyline remained true to the book. The real siege at Badajoz actually took place in cold and rainy conditions but that is a minor quibble. I was also pleased that romance played only a small part in the film (as in the book). There was, however, something missing - a spark, some emotional intensity in the battle. It felt rather flat. Perhaps some appropriate music would have accentuated the mood. I did not get the feeling that I cared what happened to the characters. The sound was not wonderful. At times it was hard to understand the dialog. Subtitles would have been a welcome option. Good casting with both Sean Bean and Peter Postlethwaite being perfect in their roles. However, I thought that Daragh O'Malley was not (physically) big enough to play the giant Irishman Patrick Harper. Overall, I would recommend this film but would suggest that the series is watched from the beginning in order to get the most out of the stories.
Grrrr Marketing again
2000-11-27
I love Sharpe films. On the whole they have good plot and fine acting. My only Gripe is,When DVD's first came out here Sharpes Rifles was one of the first films avalible. Since then no more have been released untill now. But this means I have to order them from america I say again Grrrrr  Read for more: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=B...
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