Solid but not as good as the first

Rating: 7/10 (13 October 2007)

I'm thinking that quite a few liberties were taken with this film. It's Hollywood though, so what do you expect? Cate Blanchett ends up the best looking 52 year old queen ever portrayed on the big screen. I didn't realize this until the end though, so as with all the other historical details, I remained blissfully ignorant coming into the theater. Though I had just recently seen Elizabeth, and enjoyed it, and I've been known to go see just about any sequel. No regrets here, but it wasn't as good as the first and won't be considered for even 10% as many top 10 lists.
This film merely jumps to a later part of the queen's life and focuses on her relationship with adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) and the looming threat of the Spanish Armada. There is of course the unending issue of religion and threats of assassination to make the queen's cousin, Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), into God's chosen queen. Elizabeth still benefits from the wisdom of close adviser Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush, the only other notable returning character from the first film besides the queen). The size of the Spanish army does not intimidate the queen, and she will not back down from any challenge. She is getting rather tired of the search for a man though. When an appealing fellow like Clive Owen announces he's named a newly discovered colony Virginia in your honor, well, that's kind of rubbing it in your face, isn't it? The production design in a movie like this has no choice but to be good, to both eclipse the original and give this movie its own buzz. No disappointments there. I also liked the story, but most of the performances were by the book. You know what to expect from an historical tale such as this. The only standout performance is from Blanchett. As a queen she is supremely confident and says whatever she wants to. The book of stock English historical characters for BBC productions and stage work doesn't include anything as entertaining as she was here. The camera work is a mixed bag. Some shots that give you the perspective of an outsider looking in are really interesting, but then you have your fair share of pointless, excessive glamour shots, mostly of the queen in bright light trying to look like a queen, maybe even looking directly into the camera. One of her holding a friend's baby comes to mind.