Very disappointing...

The Worst Film Ever

From my favorite movies..

A Major Disappointment

Indian screenwriter and director Shekhar Kapur's sixth feature film which was written by English screenwriters William Nicholson and Michael Hirst, is inspired by real events which took place in the late 16th century. It premiered in the Gala Presentations section at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival in 2007, was shot on locations in England, Scotland and Spain and is a UK-Spain-France co- production which was produced by producers Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Jonathan Cavendish. It tells the story about a Queen of England and Ireland who was born in the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London, England in the early 1530s and who was the daughter of an English composer named Henry Tudor (1491-1547) and an English royal consort named Anne Boleyn (1501-1536).Distinctly and precisely directed by Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, this quietly paced and somewhat fictional tale which is narrated mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a cinematographic portrayal of a Spanish King named Philip who aspires to make his daughter named Isabella Clara Eugenia who is an infante of Spain, the new Queen of the Kingdom of England and a Scottish Queen named Mary Stuart who is imprisoned in a castle called Fotheringhay in England. While notable for its versatile and atmospheric milieu depictions, cinematography by cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, production design by production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas and costume design by costume designer Alexandra Byrne, this dialog-driven and narrative-driven story about English history which was made seven years before an English polymath sang her words: "… think of it as a marriage refusal by me executioner … in a vertical impalement I hope you're not too tender … Mary … Queen of Scots…" depicts an abridged study of character and contains a great and timely score by composers Craig Armstrong and A.R. Rahman.This somewhat biographical, historic and terminologically spiritual character piece from the late 2000s which is set in England, Scotland and Spain in the late 16th century during the Tudor Dynasty (1485- 1603) and the Spanish Armada (1588) and where a pretender to the English throne who has legitimate claims to it thinks she knows what's best for England and the authentic Queen puts her loyalty to her nation before anything and anyone including herself, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, rhythmic continuity, soundless comment by Mary I of Scotland: "I forgive you with all my …" and the majestic acting performances by Australian actress Cate Blanchett, Australian actor Geoffrey Rush and English actress Samantha Morton. A grandiloquent narrative feature.

"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" tells the tale of veteran ruler Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett) at the fear of being overthrown by the powerful King of Spain Philip II (Jordi Molla) as he's on a crusade to declare full Catholic dominance in Europe in hopes that his young daughter becomes the new Queen of England. Meanwhile the scheming Mary Queen of the Scots (Samantha Morton) has plans of her own to dethrone Elizabeth by throwing her into her prison. When Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) returns from England after spending years in the New World, Elizabeth becomes enthralled by his presence as well as her lady in waiting Bess (Abbie Cornish). Chief Adviser Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush) continues to negotiate with the court affairs as he listens in on Mary's evil plots. Mary's demise was the perfect foil for Philip to release the infamous Spanish Armada in hopes to overthrow Elizabeth as the Queen of England. "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too; and think foul scorn that ... Spain, or any prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and reward of every one of your virtues in the field." This was the words of encouragement Her Majesty as she gathers her troops in Tilbury to take down the Spanish Armada in 1588. This "Golden Speech" is one of the most quotable words in British history that's up there with the many that was said by Shakespeare and Churchill and that neither Hollywood can ever botch or paraphrase those famous words. No matter how hard they try. In 1998, I had the chance to see 1998's "Elizabeth" directed by Shekhar Kapur and my reaction was that is was incredibly stunning, but I had some issues with the pacing and I didn't really like Joseph Fiennes. In spite of those shortcoming it had plenty of Academy Awards nominations and other accolades to its credits. Nine years after that, they made the much anticipated sequel which is emphasizing on Elizabeth I and her relationship with Raleigh and the Religion Wars with Spain. From my knowledge I read that the Spanish couldn't get through because the English bays were not overly deep enough and the usages of fire ships and were also problematic. Strange as it seems, but Britain has been spared many times thanks to the waters surrounding the little country. Even their biggest ships were overturned due to excess stacking and abysmal weather conditions. As for the film itself the costumes were quite gorgeous, but the historical inaccuracies were way overwhelming. Whether it's the fictionalized homicidal attempt by gunpoint, or the uses of historical locations, the undermining of Sir Walter Raleigh and the condemning of the Roman Catholic Church, the misconceptions in the motives of Mary Stuart and the Spanish as a whole, the falsifying will likely scratch the heads of any historical fanatic. On the entertaining level, it is quite satisfying and will keep you on the edge of your seat, but the Spanish Armada is overwrought with a tedious montage sequence proceeded by an unorthodox shot of Elizabeth standing in a hallway. The entertainment value is pretty good and should leave a positive impression to the open public (not as good the first installment), however is there another reason why we should see another retelling of Elizabeth's life? I mean she's making more screen appearances than Abe Lincoln who seems to be in everything. One of the things that underwhelmed me about this movie was the lack of a grandeur epic moment. This sequel should've been flooded with highlights to usurp the predecessor, but with the exception of the Armada, this film was watered down badly. I guess the scene that caught my eyes was the one involving Philip II of Spain. Not because of the green hue or his personality as a cowering religious radical, but the peculiar ways the shots were handled. Which also includes the rather obscene dance scenes ever shot on film. Acting wise the supporting cast seemed underdeveloped, but Blanchett shows her true dominance as a leading performer. Even though this movie was very flawed, historically inaccurate and not overpowering in its delivery, this sequel is still strongly entertaining to watch if you like costume dramas, but if you want historical accuracy, it would better if you just read about in textbook.

This one is a little bit worse then the Elizabeth but just for a notch. It still is an excellent film, and Ms. Blanchet is an outstanding actress.I think plot is a little bit more inventive then in the first film. It does not follow history to the letter, but in order for a film to be dynamic sometimes it is necessary for that to happen.Shinig silver armor, white cliffs of Dover, nobody loved you like I did speech, oh I know it is all a spin, but Elizabeth was close to a defeat by Phillip II, much closer then many want to admit. If the weather man came from our time, situation would probably be different. Did she really die a virgin, I wonder? Hm? Please see this film, together with part one.

The film received mostly negative reviews when it came out, and still has to this day. To my surprise, it's adequate, although fairly average, and not that far below the quality of the original. It benefits from having a more structured plot, and the storyline is more about rising action and a climax (unlike the first). Blanchett is also quite impressive and I actually expected to think she was over the top (like I feel she sometimes is) but I think she plays it brilliantly, certainly not a nomination or performance I dismiss. Overall, it's definitely not nearly as bad as reviews would make me believe and once again the best thing about it is Blanchett.