Another Re-write of History?

Rating: 7/10 (2 December 2007)

This film is enjoyable, even though, for me, its re-writing and omission of important historical incidents does detract somewhat from the whole in a way that "Elizabeth" did not. One can't help feeling that this has been done to aid its appreciation in the States by making the otherwise quite complex historical context easier to digest (that's not intended as a suggestion of a lack of intellect in the US but the inevitably far less detailed knowledge of English history on the part of the vast bulk of the cinema-going public there).
Where, for example, is the Tilbury speech? And poor old Sir Francis Drake seems to have been airbrushed entirely in favour of the seemingly newly crowned hero of the defeat of the Armada - Sir Walter Raleigh! Blanchett shines again, continuing her pleasingly singular though, at times, slightly annoying Galadrielesque portrayal of Elizabeth - who was, after all, one of England's most singular monarchs. Clive Owen, however, comes across as being slightly lightweight with a mid-Atlantic accent that distracts from what is a pretty universal "Anglish" backdrop.
Tom Hollander also stands out as Sir Amyas Paulet - Mary Queen of Scots gaoler - with only vague hints of his previous role as Lord Cutler Becket.