Occasionally uneven in pace and seriousness, but interesting and effortlessly carried by Blanchett

Rating: 7/10 (14 January 2008)

Horror, fantasy and comic-book films tend to have sequels even if the original was bad, as long as box office results were relatively positive. But biopics? Who would actually green-light a second installment of someone's cinematic biography? Even Cate Blanchett was unsure whether to play Queen Elizabeth I again, despite the Oscar nomination she received for the first movie. It took some persuading from director Skekhar Kapur and co-star Geoffrey Rush (the only other returning cast member from the original film) to get her back on board, and even though Elizabeth: The Golden Age isn't nearly as good as the previous chapter, Blanchett confirms she is one of the best actresses ever.
Ending the first picture with Elizabeth fully embracing her responsibilities as sovereign of England, The Golden Age shows her struggles to maintain her authority. That isn't easy, as dangers are hidden everywhere: though locked up, the Queen's villainous cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton) keeps plotting to claim what she believes to be rightfully hers, and to achieve that she seeks the help of King Philip II of Spain, an overly devout Catholic who sees it as his mission to rid the world of a Protestant "traitor" like Elizabeth.
Things don't fare much better at court either, for the monarch, still unwilling to get married, may have met a man capable of stirring conflicting emotions in her, emotions she deemed lost after her disappointment with the Earl of Leicester in the previous installment. This man is Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), a brave and sufficiently cocky "pirate" who has brought a lot of trouble to Spain's ships. As he troubles Elizabeth too, she leaves him in the hand of her most trusted maid (Abbie Cornish), inadvertently setting in motion a chain of events that could cause a quite unexpected reaction on her behalf: jealousy.
Much like he did back in 1998, Kapur delivers a visually perfect feature, with sets and costumes that render the period while keeping the movie from feeling old-fashioned. He also employs the same narrative technique as he did last time, intertwining conspiracy thriller and romantic tragedy, with the addition of a little action in the third act, which sees the British fleet face the Spanish Armada in one of the most riveting naval battles to have been put on screen (it even manages to make Pirates of the Caribbean look lacking in explosions). What precedes that epic showdown, however, is at times frustratingly uneven: certain scenes succumb to a bout of slowness, and certain dialogue exchanges between Blanchett and Owen (appropriately charismatic and "rude" as the Errol Flynn-like Raleigh) are corny to say the least. But overall the suspense is rather consistent, and the dangerous love triangle at the second act's center manages to get more dramatic as time goes by.
All of that, though, is unimportant in assuring the film is watchable. The first Elizabeth's saving grace was the actress playing the main part, and the same happens in this sequel: the mere look on Blanchett's face as she stares at a potential assassin should be enough to give her the Oscar she didn't get in 1999, such powerful is the sense of authority, control and restrained rage she conveys in the continuation of what will remain her crowning achievement (pun not intended). Only Morton, using her three or four scenes to perfection, comes close to stealing the limelight from the protagonist, with a wounded, compelling depiction of dignified defeat.
At this point, the only question left is: do we need a third film? Not really, although Kapur intends to make a final installment about Elizabeth's last years. Do we want one? Well, yes, but only if Blanchett accepts to reprise the role. Oh, and returning to the qualitative heights of the original movie wouldn't hurt either.
7,5/10