Another mostly hollow production

Rating: 5/10 (5 February 2008)

Nearly every bit the overblown soap opera as its sequel of ten years later, Cate Blanchett's first turn as the Queen of England already finds her impressive talent buried underneath lavish production.
Shekhar Kapur is a good fit for directing the historical intrigue but too often finds himself swept up into the production values inherent in this rich period piece at the behest of filming actual character-based content.
So mildly dull and partially melodramatic the entire proceedings feel, that Vincent Cassel nearly steals the show amongst this extremely classy cast by flaunting his dress-wearing zaniness for merely a few minutes.