Review of Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) by Chris W — 02 Oct 2011

This is the sequel to the film that made Cate Blanchett's career, and, while it does have it's moments, it doesn't quite live up to the level set by its predecessor.

The story this time out focuses on a few things: the schemings of Mary Queen of Scots, the campaign against the Spanish Armada, and a possible romance between Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh. It's all some good stuff, but there's not quite as much subtext present this time around.

The cosumes and sets are wonderful yes, but the film seems to favor them more over having a stronger story with more historical accuracy and more development. Also, the film is rather slow and plodding, and feels far longer than it is. On the other hand though, there's great cinematography, the battle at the end is well done and provides some sort of pay off, and the performances are pretty good. Blanchett once again shows why she was born to play this part, Rush is once again good as Sir Francis Walsingham (though not quite as scary/badass as before), and Clive Owen is quite good as Sir Walter Raleigh, really owning the screen everytime he shows up.

This isn't a terrible film, but it was kind of disappointing. I still kinda liked it, or at least some parts more than others, but I say stick with the first one instead, and maybe only see this if you feel you need to be a completist.