Sharpe's Eagle was the first book in the bestselling series by Bernard Cornwell, and one of my favourites. It had it all: danger, heroism, massed battles, adventure, and plenty of peril. Sadly, this television movie lacks a decent budget, so every action scene from the book suffers, and many are missed out. The huge marching French column at the end of the novel is nothing more than a few French stragglers, the whole "cut off on the other side of the river" scenario is simply excised, and the final confrontation between Sharpe, Harper, and a couple of huge axe-waving heavies is totally missed.I could cope with the lack of excitement if the rest of the film was done well, but it's not. The acting seems to be a bit of a mixed bag. Bean, Box, O'Malley, and Troughton all put in very good performances, as does a youthful Daniel Craig playing a roguish bad guy. But the rest of the cast seem to give hammy turns, especially Michael Cochrane's excruciating Simmerson. The movie is heavy on talk and dialogue and moves at a sluggish pace. The Portuguese locales look very nice, as do the costumes and sets, but it's not enough to save the film. Even though Bean does his best, SHARPE'S EAGLE is a disappointment.

Sean Bean returns in this, the second entry in the Sharpe movie series, which sees Richard Sharpe reluctantly serving under the command of a ruthless and sadistic 'Horseguards' fop Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson, who's incompetence results in the death of the highly respected Major Lennox, a company of soldiers, and the loss of the King's Colours.Also Simmerson's cowardly retreat from the action, allows Richard Sharpe and his crack company of Rifles to save the day, gaining Sharpe another promotion, this time to Captain.Captain Sharpe however has sworn revenge for Lennox's death and is determined to realise Lennox's dying wish, which is for Sharpe to capture a French Imperial Eagle from the battle field to adorn his grave.However with disgrace staring him in the face, an embittered Simmerson is out to extract his own revenge upon Sharpe, with the help of his worthless nephew Lt. Gibbons and the dangerously nasty Lt. Berry played with a deliciously evil sneer by a very young Daniel Craig.Set just before and around the historical battle of Talavera, this is one of the best entries in the series with welcome returns for Daragh O'Malley, as Harper, Assumpta Serna as Teresa, Brian Cox as Hogan and David Troughton as Wellington.

**SPOILER**I'm not sure if we're still supposed to like Sharpe, given that we aren't supposed to hate the French any more, but isn't he just wonderful? I defy any woman not to develop a thing for Sean Bean after watching one of these. He's such a hero! And it's not just for the girls. There's enough macho, gung ho do or die battling to please even the bloodthirstiest guy. Cornwell's descriptions of battle in the books are extremely vivid, and seeing them onscreen really brings home just how horrific battles were in those days. It's terrifying to see men being butchered by the incompetence of their leaders; and perhaps even more terrifying to realise just how constrictive the class system was at the time.Once again, Sean Bean smoulders his way through the film as the dangerous Sharpe ably supported by Teresa and Harper. I was a little disappointed with the depiction of Leroy in this one - I think he was betrayed a little and made out to be less noble than he really was. And I can only hope that the choice of the name Josefina was purely coincidental, because the Josefina of Sharpe's Eagle is vastly inferior to the Josefina of the books.

This installment in the career on Richard Sharpe is possibly the best of the series.It is a mix of terrible leadership, outstanding battle scenes, and bitter rivalry between officers.Sean Bean is perfect as Sharpe, but this film lacks the beauty of Elizabeth Hurley, who appeared in Sharpe's Enemy, later in the series.