Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

sarastro7 Being a huge fan of Sean Bean, I was surprised to discover, just a few weeks ago, that he had done this 14-movie series which I had never heard of. Now I've seen the premiere installment, and while it was okay, I must say I'm a bit disappointed, esp. after hearing everyone else praise this so much.The story was simple and not very clearly told. Only a couple of characters were interestingly portrayed, and Sean Bean's part, though the main one, wasn't that big, nor that much in focus. There was much about this that could have been done better - much better. Bean should have carried the show to a much greater degree, i.e. the producers should have made much greater use of him. What we got here was largely pedestrian, but I'm going to give the series a chance and watch the next few installments. Hopefully things will improve, and the story will become more interesting.6 out of 10.

Jack OntheNet Comparing to Hornblower, Sharpe is a disappointment. Plot is too flawed, performance is too modern, direction is too weak. However, after reading former comments here I understand the plot of this series is dramatically altered from that of the original book. So maybe I'll still give a shot on the book someday.What amazed me is that, two years after last episode of Sharpe, there is Bravo Two Zero (1999), also directed by Tom Clegg and starring Sean Bean. And that one is PERFECT, just like Hornblower, my all-time favorite.I still remember one IMDb user's comment on Hornblower, which says, "When British decide to do something well, they do it extremely well." I think everybody agree with it after watching Hornblower. But after watching Sharpe and Bravo Two Zero, I'd say, "When British decide to do something well, they ehh... hopefully do it extremely well."

katiepoppycat **SPOILER**As a fan of the books, I'd never actually seen the tv films until very recently. I wasn't disappointed. Sean Bean excels as the maverick Richard Sharpe, and there are some sterling supporting performances - my favourite being Hogan. In the light of LOTR and others, the battles probably don't seem as spectacular as they once may have done, but this doesn't detract from the action at all. The adaptation has been sensitively done, although Wellesley's promotion of Sharpe is a little spurious. Teresa is feisty and sexy, Harper is just as he should be, and Hagman is exactly as I imagined him to be in the book.My only criticism is that whoever was responsible for the scoring of this film deserves to be garrotted with the strings from their electric guitar. Historical dramas should not date, but that music certainly does. Nonetheless, tons of fun!

alicecbr If you like tall Irishmen, Bean's buddy and sergeant major, O'Malley is a great actor. He's also in "Withnail and I", that crazy movie, as a queer-baiter. He and Bean are friends off screen as well. So you mix the fighting with the love interests and you've got a great excuse for a series. And what makes it easier, is that we're not in the stinking jungles of Vietnam or the arid mountains of Afghanistan, or high overhead in a cowardly bomber, bringing death to the innocent civilians. We're actually fighting a war as men to men, bringing the women along. And they weren't necessarily camp followers, but wives who didn't want to wait half their lives for their men to come back from war. Of course, the wonderful thing is the writing, the language. Most of the officers are depicted as fragging-worthy and I love it, even if my son is a Major in Kabul right now. But at least these guys led their men into the gut-eviscerating experiences of battle. Would love to know the truth.....what actually happened in these stupid exercise in butchery. My father said that war was great population control, but I wonder if men don't actually crave it. This certainly made war glorious, even when they're putting the leeches and maggots in the wounds to eat up the putrefaction.Please buy the whole series...it's well worth it, because you can see the individual battles and not feel that you've been cheated of the continuity....except where Sharpe's wives are concerned. And here's a surprise, most of the movie is quite logical. When someone dies, you don't see their eyes move. If Pete Postlewaite is in it, you can be sure it's worth watching as well. He's the officer who flogged Sharpe before he got his commission. And he plays a bully beautifully. I love it, as do most, when the underdog wins (such as our great New England Patriots in the Super Bowl) and you'll feel wonderfully about it too, unless you're a Frenchie. When do we see the French version?.