Elizabeth - The Golden Age Review

This second chapter in director Shekhar Kapur's look in to the life of Elizabeth I arrives on our screens a whole nine years after the critically acclaimed "Elizabeth" and is no less impressive…and no less flawed as a result.

The story is every school boy's favourite. The film focuses on the decisive 'middle years' of Elizabeth's reign in which she had to ward against Papist assassination attempts and, of course, the Spanish Armada - the ultimate instrument in holy war. Cate Blanchett returns as the Virgin Queen, a mother to her people whose majesty is offset only by her sexual vulnerability. Her naivety when in the prescence of suitors is never more apparent than when beside Sir. Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). Despite her mastery of the court, Elizabeth's tolerance to the Catholic faith within her kingdom threatens to be her undoing. Enemies abound in the form of an imprisoned Mary played by Samantha Morton and a shifty Jesuit Priest in Rhys Ifans. All the while the web of intrigue, that threatens to precipitate a war with Spain, is watched over by Sir. Francis Walsingham (a returning Geoffrey Rush).

Elizabeth's court is captured with a supreme mastery by Kapur, each frame is its own lavish portrait with a certain majesty all its own. However, this stunning aesthetic cannot hide the all too apparent failings in the film. The scale of events may be well covered but when the Armada arrives it fails to excite. The greatest naval battle in this country's history is reduced to a minor skirmish. So, with the action pay-offs in short supply, the film relies heavily on its ensemble cast. Cate Blanchett does not disappoint with her return to the crown, conveying expertly the power and mythology that surrounds her at all times. It's a shame then that most of the supporting players are just not up to the job. Clive Owen is too hammy as Raleigh, playing the pirate as a 16th century James Bond, Ifans makes for a pitiful antagonist while Rush just about manages to keep his performance north of intriguing. Special mention however must go to Samantha Morton as Mary - the heir apparent. Her performance here is nothing short of brilliant and she practically demands her own film on the strength of this showing.

Despite the casts' misfires, a pair of queens makes this a winning hand - albeit a slightly uninspired one.