Oh dear.

This is history for idiots.

What a wasted opportunity. What is it about Elizabeth I that turns so easily to Chick-Lit? I've read numerous books usually by Alison Weir and Phillippa Gregory where she is turned by the pretty tights of the Earl of Leicester or in this case Sir Walter Raleigh. The "romance" between Raleigh, Elizabeth and her "pretty" lady in waiting is given as much room as the invasion of England by the Spanish.

Thats the problem. The first film was almost a conventional thriller. She was surrounded by enemies plotting away in the shadows. It had a strong structure which pushed it all the way to the climax. In this one the plot seems secondary to "chemistry" between Owen and Blanchett. And Australian Abbie Cornish as Lady Throckmorton is out of her depth. Spending most of her time covering her Aussie accent and forgetting to act in the meantime.

Housewives choice Clive Owens Sir Walter Raleigh is another stinker. There is no doubt Raleigh in real life was a serial seducer and eventually paid with his head but his scenes with Elizabeth lumber along like a drugged elephant. Its cliched stuff written for people who left their brains at hom. I knew it was going to be bad when the immortal lines were uttered "what have you brought me back from your travels Sir Walter?" "Its a vegetable maam, the natives call it a potato.."

The most interesting bit about this time was the Mary, Queen of Scots debacle. Its well documentated that Walsingham set up a plot to trap her. And you could have made a whole film out of the Babington Plot. This is kept to a minimum while the film concentrates on the romance and the film becomings much less interesting. The spy versus spy goings on during this time are the stuff that good thrillers are made of. The assassination attempt is made up and somehow doesnt work. The politics with the Spanish is schoolboy stuff and if you are going to portray Phillip of Spain in a film why portray him properly - why not the gout and debt ridden old religious bigot he was at the time?

Even Cate Blanchett never gets out of first gear. The first film had a bit of magic about it - it brought home the religious danger everyone was in at the time and was mainly about plotting in dark shadows. This one is a limp romance with a cgi Armada invasion tacked on. Oh, yes, did you know the Armada was destroyed by Clive Owen, his pantaloons, and his fire ships? No I didnt either?

Do yourself a favour and watch Glenda Jackson in Elizabeth R on UKTV Gold instead. It wipes the parquet floor with this Hollywood effort

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV