the war be over for two year . up from the rank retire colonel richard sharpe ( sean bean ) be and more or less happily and make a living a a farmer . and then he summon to the duke of wellington home in london . there and the duke explain and a crisis be arise in india on the frontier between the british and the mahratta prince . british agent have disappear . report of arm rebellion have surface . the duke want sharpe to find out what be happen and and if possible and put a stop to it . sharpe responds a any experienced ex soldier would when call back to the color . he decline . then he learn the last agent to go miss be his old comrade and patrick harper ( daragh omalley ) . when we next see sharpe he make his way through dusty indian village towards the encampment of a small british army not far from the fortress of the rajah of ferraghur . happily and he encounter harper and who have go undercover in an attempt to gain information . from what we know and have see and sharpe task will be extremely dangerous and fraught with risk . he will meet an enemy worthy of him and an english traitor name william dodd ( toby stephen ) and arrogant and vicious and supremely capable . a deserted lieutenant from the british lead indian army and dodd be now style a general who be lead the force of the young rajah . when sharpe and harper pretend to be deserter themselves in order to join the rajah army and sharpe will also encounter the beautiful and deadly madhuvanthi ( padma lakshmi ) and regent and elder sister of the rajah . the rajah and the regent and dodd all approve of the old way when deal with traitor and capture soldier and thief and other malefactor . they have nail hammer into the skull of the unfortunate captive . don not hit the fast forward button or you will regret it . this turn out to be one of sharpe best adventure . this also may be sharpe most challenging assignment and with the fate of the empire and as well a the honor and life of a general daughter and hanging in the balance . at 138 minute it have plenty of time and a plentiful budget to set up the background and create many scene with lot of action . there a big cast of extra . and there a great battle where hundred of soldier scramble to gain entrance to the rajah fortress through a towering wall . sharpe adventure and base on the novel by bernard cornwell and begin on television in 1993 with sharpe rifle . the last be sharpe waterloo in 1997. sean bean have age well in the interim . if anything and he look even tough . daragh omalley may be a bit heavier but he still look capable of clear out a bar on friday night . from the cast of those old program we have a brief moment with hugh frazier and again play wellington . sharpe also encounter again that pompous and cowardly aristocrat and general sir henry simmerson and still play with lip smack relish by michael cochrane . simmerson think sharpe be a jumped up peasant who need to be put in his place and and try hard to do so . i still miss the late sergeant obadiah hakeswell and leering and repellent and who like to talk into his hat when not try to shoot sharpe in the back . he be play with verve by pete postlethwaite . his replacement in sharpe challenge and play by peter hugo daly and be sergeant shadrach bickerstaff . bickerstaff be a mouth breather and a leering bully and a resentful opportunist and a man who probably last saw a bar of soap when he last brush his rot teeth . the prize for villainy and however and go to toby stephen a dodd . he not so much unhinged a he be utterly logical when it come to protect his self interest and justify his resentment . plus and of course and kill make him feel good . he a man to avoid and especially if he say he like you . stephen be a first rate actor . he can do villain so well i hope he doesn not do too many more of them . he will find himself typecast . for a much more subtle and complex take on villainy and watch him a kim philby in cambridge spy . sharpe challenge be a first rate rouser . it a welcome addition to the sharpe set . though king and tyrant come and go or a soldier life be all i know i will live to fight another day or over the hill and far away .