Doesn't live up to its title

Rating: 7/10 (12 October 2018)

I wish I could give this film a higher rating in view of its lush costuming, locations, and casting. However, it doesn't live up to its title, and one anticipates a "Golden Age, Part II" (Or was that covered in "Shakespeare in Love"?) Too much of this is simplistic history. The Spanish are depicted as the embodiment of evil while the English are pictured as a freedom loving people who only reluctantly torture captives and lop off people's heads and are beginning to persecute others for their religious beliefs with less and less intensity. The Armada is seen as a vast, invincible force brought low by some bad weather and fire ships, especially the last one launched in superhero fashion by Sir Walter Raleigh. (The scene of him leaping into the sea at the last minute is sort of funny now, because it resembles so much the TV commercial featuring John Jameson diving into raging waters to retrieve a barrel of his treasured whiskey.) And what's with the horse jumping overboard? Was that supposed to be symbolism of some kind? I half expected Sir Walter to come back on land riding the horse! Any one who watches the History or Military Channel knows that the defeat of the Armada was much more complicated. There was no lack of bravery on the part of the English sailors, but bad weather played a much bigger role in the total distruction of the Armada than is pictured in the film. Finally, without a deep knowlege of English history, it's hard to tell who is who in these dramas, and what their motives are for their actions. Even before you can figure out who someone is, he is arrested for treason, tortured, and hanged.