Pretty but the script is too stupid for words

Rating: 5/10 (23 January 2017)

On one hand, the technical aspects of Elizabeth (1998) are marvelous. Gorgeous cinematography and costumes. Cate Blanchett is a great Elizabeth, so great that at times it felt like she could salvage the picture.
Too bad the script is junk. I'm not even going into the realm of historical accuracy because next to none of the details here are true to reality. The sexual stuff in particular is obnoxious (like Elizabeth's maids peeping on her copulating with Robert Dudley-- what was that?). What they did to the Duke of Anjou, Mary Tudor, and Mary de Guise is just so far into the realm of dumb, turning actual people into caricatures.
And that's the problem: the whole thing feels juvenile. And unlike a juvenile historical drama offering like Reign, Elizabeth has no camp value to make it entertaining. I would not call the film an entire failure-- my sister and I had a pleasant enough time watching it-- but I would not watch it again and would not recommend it.