Off all the movies to have been sequelized this year, I never really expected one of them to be a 1998 historical drama/bio-pic of Queen Elizabeth I. Despite a few historical faux pas, Elizabeth was a success largely carried by the grandiose performance of Cate Blanchett in her star-making role. Of course the Oscar for the actress playing Elizabeth I went to Dame Judi Dench that year for her seven-minute long participation in Shakespeare in Love. Though considering the times that Elizabeth I first ruled over, perhaps a sequel was not just inevitable, but advised.



The Golden Age takes us to the events leading up to Spain’s 1588 attempt to siege England with the Spanish Armada. Religious tensions in the country are being helped along by Philip II of Spain (Jordi Molla), who seeks to remove the Protestant, Virgin Queen from her Godless throne. Meanwhile, in the Court, the Queen takes an interest in adventurer and profiteer (read: pirate) Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). Raleigh starts to become interested in one of the Queen’s courtiers (Abbie Cornish), Her Majesty’s favourite since they share names. The presence of Raleigh in her court pushes the Queen to reconsider the restraints placed upon her life, even as the Spanish are poised to attack.



The film is a mashed together of the political intrigue of the court, the Queen’s internal debates about her personal life, and the epic struggle between two empires. To which of these things do you give the greater wait? Obviously, the correct answer when the title of your film is Elizabeth, you focus on the life of the titular Queen. When Blanchett gets to thunder away in full regal command, she is phenomenal, but there were times I felt as if they were playing Elizabeth like she an infatuated teenage girl, who when she learns of Raleigh’s tryst with her servant reacts in a manner befitting one of the Gossip Girls. It’s more than enough to make you wish that they had just stuck to the political intrigue and high seas battles.



The movie is lushly photographed and the sets and costumes are extravagant in their detail, it’s like they must have spent about ten million per minute. The big production doesn’t overshadow the actors though, everyone really seems to invest themselves in their respective parts, but it’s the hugeness of the story seems to overshadow all the other factors.



Worse still is that there’s no real pay-off, the Spanish Armada is taken out in about ten minutes flat and it seems that Raleigh did it all himself like he was some kind of Renaissance James Bond. And this was after about an hour and a half of build-up time and all your left with is a snivelling King Philip asking why is God angry in a Todd Flanders like squeak.



Although highly ambitious, Elizabeth the Golden Age can’t amount to the sum of its parts. There are some great sequences, some pretty good acting and some magnificent set pieces, but at the end of the day I didn’t find it all that compelling. The story lacked focus, biting off more than it can chew, but at least the whole thing’s pretty. Fit for a Queen…almost.