Cate's the only thing keeping this film afloat

Rating: 4/10 (28 December 2010)

A movie anchored (sorry) by a superb performance from Cate Blanchett; by turns commanding, vulnerable and often world-wearied, together with fine support from a generally excellent cast (particularly Geoffrey Rush). However these are pretty much the only redeeming features of this rather ham-fistedly structured movie
There is no insight given into the political drama which forms the backdrop to the story, so instead the director resorts to parading A- Team style baddies. All the Spanish dress in black, and grin a lot while feeding "evil-plan exposition 101" to the audience. The middle act mixes in a few perfunctory classroom history highlights (Raleigh presenting tobacco to the royal court a typical example) presumably to try to add a veneer of authenticity quite at odds with the silliness on show, before the whole movie then lurches uncomfortably into a lacklustre and directionless battle filmed in such a stylized manner as to appear to have been lifted from Lord of the Rings effects sequence outtakes. Clive Owen in particular looks most uncomfortable at having to drop in a last minute bit of swash & buckle on board an utterly fake looking studio set galleon. Even Gena Davis put more back into it than that!