"My bitches wear my colours!"
- Cate Blanchett, in the role of Elizabeth I
Rarely does one see a sequel to a period piece about a real historical figure, but Shekhar Kapur has such a bone for Elizabeth I that he just had to make this follow up to his 1998 film, which starred the same actress, Cate Blanchett, as the titular queen. Either that, or he figured he'd stick with a winning formula after making the horrendous Four Feathers (really-- I dare you to watch it).
The first movie, if I remember correctly, was actually pretty decent. This one is not so much so, but it has its moments. The first part is about a clownish, deadpan queen who is forced to meet with inept royalty in order to pretend like she's trying to get married. Blanchett is very charming here. The second part involves the Spanish attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, and the third part involves the war with Spain and the famous destruction of the Spanish Armada. Blanchett is blustery and just ok here. The last chunk of the movie just doesn't work all that well because Elizabeth didn't seem to have all that much to do with the defeat of the Spanish, aside from being extra defiant. I don't know if she contributed more than that for real -- maybe I should read a book or something.
Anyway, this movie is way too mired in the romancy soap opera of Sir. Walter Raleigh, played by Clive Owen, and Elizabeth's favorite "bitch," little Elizabeth, played by Abbie Cornish (who looks really young, so much so I was a little disturbed by her love scenes with Owen). This was blah. We do get to see Samantha Morton playing a bitchy Mary Stuart, and we get to see her executed, too!! I say B minus.
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