God saved the Queen. No, God save me from this movie! This movie is so boring.

Rating: 6/10 (5 February 2015)

I know a lot of people and critics like this film; after all, The Queen was the most critically acclaimed film of 2006. Good for them, but in my opinion, this movie was no crown jewel. It was indeed well-production, and well-acted, but I have to go against the masses for this and prove to its fan base, that it's not as good as they say, it is. Directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, the movie felt very lackluster. First off, this movie wasn't really about the queen, Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren). It was a story about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and how the British Royal family's response to her death. From all the captivating things, that the movie could had gone with, like showcasing Queen Elizabeth II's life, from her time serving in World War 2, to her rise as queen in the 1950s, the end of the British Empire, the Falklands conflict, and others. They choose the more popular Princess Diana over most of her life story. Honestly, you would think a movie, depicting the death of Diana, would be interesting story, but this movie was a huge disappointment. It felt like very British soap opera without much going on, except people talking and talking. It couldn't be a problem, if the movie dialogue wasn't so dull. I know, a lot of people says that the movie has some witty humorous jokes, but I don't see any of it, and if I did, I didn't find myself, laughing at all. The movie only charm, comes from Michael Sheen as British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. It's nice to see him in the role, once again, after playing him in 2003's TV movie, The Deal. He did so well, that once again in 2010, he played Tony Blair in the TV film: The Special Relationship. I think the movie did, kinda focus way too much of him. After all, the movie is supposed to be, about Queen Elizabeth II. Like Michael Sheen, Helen Mirren play Queen Elizabeth II in previous roles as well. She has a long history of playing major royal figures, and with this role, she made it seem majestic and regal. Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II is well-acted. She deserve the Oscar Award for Best Actress. My problem with the film is how unlikeable, they make the Queen, seem. Mirren played the Queen as the same stereotypical, dowdy, dry monarch that many perceive. The Queen might seem stuffy, but so are millions of other people her age, but Queen Elizabeth II is actually very much in touch with her people than what it seem. She does have a sense of humor. Let's remember she was cool about being portray, jumping off an airplane with James Bond in 2012's Olympic Games opening. She's not hiding in some castle, somewhere, most of the time. She was a pretty active leader and more into the times than it seem. She simply made a mistake in 1997 that she didn't understand, what to expect. I think the movie paint Princess Diana, too much as saint-like, making it harder to understand why Queen Elizabeth was so against her. Maybe, if they explore, more of Diana's wild faults and how her actions hurt the Royal family, maybe the audience would feel more about the Queen's tough decision. Since, they don't, it makes it seem like the Queen, was just cold hearted and stubborn to everything about Princess Diana, because she wanted to be, and cowardly hypocrisy caved in, when her power seem like it was going to be taken away. These actions doesn't make a great watch. The movie conflict is very weak. I like how the movie makes it seem, like Queen Elizabeth was going to lose her crown, if she didn't give Diana a public funeral. I really doubt that. It's not like the Royal Family was that arrogant as they were portray in the film! People getting mad, because the royal family chose to grief in private, rather than public seem overdramatic. It was a minor problem that people took too serious. Wasn't there deeper and bigger issues that most Englishmen had to worry about, in 1997, like 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland?! Why couldn't the movie be about that? How the Good Friday Agreement stop the conflict and the killings! Anyways, the movie pacing is really slow for a short movie. It takes forever to get anywhere. It didn't help that the shots of the film were nearly the same. Same locations after another. It felt like nothing is moving. The cinematography was nothing special. I know the movie was trying to go, somewhere with the stag symbolism, but its message seem lost. It could represented how capitalism is shooting down "monarchy", but who knows. For a 'monarchy' movie, it needed to be grand, and sadly, it didn't felt that way. It felt very low-budget. As for the movie's content and production value, it felt more like a TV movie. It felt like something that the BBC would aired, one night. After all, the funeral was very theatre like staged, with people showcasing their grief to the public. Maybe, the movie could had told the different between the real life heartache to death behind closed doors, compare to those acted upon of the public eyes. The film could had taken on the issue of media coverage of tragedy, and show how, a real public victims really has no privately, anymore. Sadly, it's not there. The movie really tries hard to connect the real life television news footage, with the actors, but it comes across as messy and not smooth. I hardly remember, the score of the film. Overall: Not a great-watch. The film might have been better if it had dealt with the broader implications of events and been less one-sided and boring. Wish I enjoyed it as much as others, but that didn't happen.