at least a visual pleasure for everyone.

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2008)

i would give the feature a solid 10 for direction,costumes and especially ACTING.however the historical perspective obliges me to take off a couple of points for reasons bellow.overall i recommend this to both "epochal"( this feature has awesome costumes and overall little details, well done visual fest that includes very "heroic" scenes) lovers as much as to the soap-op-rah ones(emotional love ,drama). it blends the two genres by logically romanticizing their own formats instead of only emotional overtones.some witty dialogs as well except for certain feminine love elements that are "cliches"(just a couple). the pace starts strong, slows down in the middle loosing a bit of focus but then picks up again with vengeance towards an epic end)). but make no mistake, this is not a medieval "war" in any way or any "grand battles" to see.but the plot substitutes better then any sgi effects could( seeing Elisabeth on the horse with such speeches is way over the top, naive, but this is only once quick scene , i can live with that). the soundtrack is appropriate better then the average medieval movie would generally have.
but first what i liked; -1)the characters all fit their role pretty much( maybe the queen of Scots is given too much "credit" i guess for maximizing the drama effect).Clive Owen plays his part very good, however maybe more space could have been given to his character development. after all Sir Walter Raleigh was the man that practically did build the strong English fleet therefore the empire and that beside providing much needed "company" to the queen and not only. -2)there has been some points made about how Cate Blanchett as Elisabeth looks way too youthful( she was indeed 55 when Spanish armanda arrived). at first glance that is what i thought as well, but when the character development arrives and intimate scenes with her are "given away" one can realize that Cate Blanchett is actually utmost perfect in playing Elisabeth.in my opinion as a male i do not find the actress attracting at all ,as a "female" per see, at least in this particular feature.as scenes goes by she DOES have wrinkles and one can see a very much faded beauty, if there was one in the first place. however it is her personality on screen that makes her simply a "diva". extremely strong female with a strong self control and her private love life insecurities just confirm her "under dog" status when it comes to physical beauty...the movie gives a good imagine HOW and WHY Elisabeth manage to actually build an empire; her utmost diplomatic skills of understanding and not mixing politics with religion. the very first scene we see her in relives the above statement.the actress queen, unlike many other features, where a liberal viewer might have an instinctual dislike of royalty, is very like a leader should be regardless of sex or personal views.
now to the negative parts: -1) quiet many intentional historical "revisions " here even if the general facts DID happen as described; however is the manipulations given to the plot that could make a historian feel insulted. first of all of historical character development: - it is generally accepted by historians that Sir Walter Raleigh(Clive Owen) WAS the queen's lover. while the movie portrays Elisabeth as the victim, the truth was that Sir Walter Raleigh married her courtesan Elizabeth Throckmorton out of political imagine needed and that LATER?(after the armanda). the soap Oprah developed the courtesan as the one with "free choices" when the reality was exact the opposite.the queen had her lover while the courtesan HAD to marry him. therefore in reality the royal was just using her subjects as pawns with disregard for their feelings. 2)- King Philip ll of Spain is portrayed as a religious "nut"; obviously the directors have disregard for history and simply portaged the Spaniards( all have dark "evil" lookalike beards LOL) as bad guys obviously to make Elisabeth look as the "good queen". well guess what, she( both the actor and the real historical figure) do not need that because, at best, it makes them a disservice, since their achievements are already beyond many other kings or queens...or actors.this feature was advertise as a historical picture and yes i could understand some mistakes for visual and script visuals; but with this "revisions" the picture gives me a slight imagine of a sci-fi...still great but NOT "real". the Spanish empire was already in decline during those times due to its own created gold inflation( too much gold taken or stolen from Americas.) 3)- the queen marry and Elisabeth related history is almost entirely given a twist. while marry was indeed a "tool" for the catholics and not anywhere close to a leader, Elisabeth was more then happy to see her go eventually due to practical political reasons to avoid civil war. 4)- the Spanish aramnda was destroyed and scattered by bad weather; English fighting skill did not have nothing to do with it.