Manuel Veloria
Elaborate 16th century attire and an exceedingly melodramatic script characterize Cate Blanchett’s return to her role as the queen of England in her latest film, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.”
The extravagant production is like a revival of old plays, targeting younger audiences with an era where horses are the main form of transportation and religious wars are being waged over the eastern continents.
As for the queen’s historical achievements, the story of the movie is well-known enough, but the film didn’t do a great job delivering a sense of history as it drifted away from the arising problems during the queen’s reign and shifted its main focus into vibrant dress and over-exaggerated, dramatic relationship issues between the royal beauty and a charming, swashbuckling explorer.
Though he did well in the first “Elizabeth” film in 1998, the second time around, director Shekhar Kapur failed to deliver the power and dynamic characters of the queen and her followers, and compromised the film’s historical integrity in the process.
For instance, in the film, Elizabeth grew fond of Sir Walter Raleigh because of his chivalrous nature and dedication to her, when in fact this idea was tampered with. Historically, Raleigh was known only as a “favorite” of the queen, not as an object of her affection.
As a returning star in the sequel, the ever-favored Blanchett once again gave her best in the role of Elizabeth I. Her character has now been transformed to a temperamental woman who’s going through a mid-life crisis and she did a superb job in creating a new, iconic queen.
At 114 minutes, the film is rated PG-13 for violence and nudity.
The beautiful production of the film may have charmed and fascinated some, but overall, the excessive melodrama of “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” sank the ship.
Review Rating: C+
(Courtesy of Universal Studios)