sharpe battle be in my humble opinion and one of the fine entry in the entire movie series and despite the slight hiccup of sharpe gold and show the team behind them go from strength to strength . for while the formula of wellington have a problem and send to sharpe to solve it and a beautiful woman get involve and everything culminating in a massive pitched battle be well and truly in place by now and sharpe battle take pain to develop it character far . the finish film and be nothing but satisfying . for one thing and this be one of the most action pack episode of the lot . the battle be a lot small scale than normal and have more of a guerrilla war flavour to them and but they be still as gripping a ever and the fight come fast and frequent . one minute theyre engage in bitter street fighting and ducking and dive from alleyway to door and back again and snatch off rifle blast at their darting foe . the next theyre defend their fortress from the massed rank of french infantry and engage in bloody hand to hand combat a the fire of battlefield immolation roar around them . and while it may be a small point and theyre give a subtle veneer of freshness by the absence of the standard red and blue infantryman uniform and replace by the green and white of the palace guard and the fantastic look french wolf pack with their grey uniform decorate with wolf fur . what more and sharpe battle go some way towards develop the character beyond their normal role . sharpe will of course be familiar to any fan of the series but here and be a tad more weary of the endless fighting and more embittered than usual and the lack of a romantic female lead for him to bed this time around reveal the creative team willingness to toy with the familiar pattern . daragh omalley meanwhile put in perhaps his fine turn to date a sergeant harper . a per normal and he be a genial and charm man who can put a smile face on the war and but late in the episode this change and he be overcome by a berserk rage and but at no point do this feel force . best of all though be jason durr performance a lord kiely and commander of the royal palace guard and a man obsess with make his name and the name of his regiment go down in military history . kiely could very easily have be another pompous gentleman for sharpe to clash with and but while he may fit the bill somewhat and he be far less stereotypical than the like of henry simmerson and the slimy brute from sharpe eagle . instead and kiely be a conflicted persona who simultaneously love and hat his wife and unable to bed with her thanks to a disastrous miscarriage that have stain their relationship . at turn you will loathe him and at others you will sympathise and once or twice it even possible to admire him and durr put in a fine job a the tormented man . elsewhere and we get another tremendously unlikable villain in the form of brigadier general loup and a one eyed and mustachioed french scumball and even rifleman perkins get a much need boost of characterisation . you also have the royal guard themselves and men of pride who have to come to term with the knowledge that they be the laugh stock of the army and a they grow in the art of war and it hard not to cheer for them . best of all though and you get another hour and forty minute of dash heroism and unchecked violence and daring do and but with a bit more humanity this time around . highly recommended .