The sequel to Elizabeth is both trashier and more entertaining than that first film. Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush successfully reprise their roles as the queen and her spymaster. And again Shekhar Kapur directs, shooting several scenes from overhead for no apparent reason.
It’s very “loose” with the facts. Why make up events when the real story is so interesting? And if you do invent a new plot, make sure it works. You see an assassination attempt on the queen that was foiled because Anthony Babington (Eddie Redmayne) didn’t have bullets in his gun, but this failure is never explained. Had Walsingham removed the bullets? Was Babington just careless? In reality, he was just one of the plotters and he never pointed a gun at her. So they invented this plot strand only to leave it unresolved.
The other big flaw is Clive Owen as Sir Walter Rayleigh. His motivations are unclear. Is he there to impregnate the queen’s handmaiden (Bess Throckmorton, played by Abbie Cornish) or does he have some deep connection with the queen herself? Or, given his made-up importance in defeating the Spanish Armada, was it all “for England”? Again, bearing in mind that the truth has been embellished, the least they could have done is to make his character work. There’s a “Sunday night TV” quality about him, and I kept thinking of David Essex in some old programme or other.
These points aside, it’s an enjoyable romp. And Cate Blanchett is always worth watching.
It’s very “loose” with the facts. Why make up events when the real story is so interesting? And if you do invent a new plot, make sure it works. You see an assassination attempt on the queen that was foiled because Anthony Babington (Eddie Redmayne) didn’t have bullets in his gun, but this failure is never explained. Had Walsingham removed the bullets? Was Babington just careless? In reality, he was just one of the plotters and he never pointed a gun at her. So they invented this plot strand only to leave it unresolved.
The other big flaw is Clive Owen as Sir Walter Rayleigh. His motivations are unclear. Is he there to impregnate the queen’s handmaiden (Bess Throckmorton, played by Abbie Cornish) or does he have some deep connection with the queen herself? Or, given his made-up importance in defeating the Spanish Armada, was it all “for England”? Again, bearing in mind that the truth has been embellished, the least they could have done is to make his character work. There’s a “Sunday night TV” quality about him, and I kept thinking of David Essex in some old programme or other.
These points aside, it’s an enjoyable romp. And Cate Blanchett is always worth watching.
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