Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cate Blanchett returns to the role that made her famous, along with director Shekhar Kapur in this sequel to 1998’s Elizabeth. The end product alternates between dreary and loud, with a bunch of actors allowing lush costumes and boorish tones to overwhelm them. Clive Owen looks far too polished and clean as Sir Walter Raleigh, whom the film suggests had a flirtation with the Queen. Raleigh is also depicted as some sort of brave pirate who helped defeat the Spanish Armada, yet history doesn’t back this up. The film takes many liberties, never addressing the Queen’s age (she would’ve been in her 50s during the stretch of time covered in this film, yet she looks and acts 30). Blanchett is drowned in makeup, wigs and costumes more befitting a Dracula movie than a historical epic. With all of his circular dolly shots and intense lighting, Kapur comes off as the Michael Bay of historical drama. Blanchett is a great actress, but this is not a great movie.