Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Prior to viewing this sequel to Elizabeth, I was informed by some friends that it was not very good, so I went into it without high expectations...and was pleasantly surprised. Elizabeth depicts the time when Elizabeth I comes into power in England (around 1558), while The Golden Age is set approximately 30 years later, after she has been queen and is an experienced leader. This sequel opened almost 10 years after it's prequel...which is a long time. I think that Cate Blanchett did an excellent job at developing her character in this film. She was obviously hardened by the past 30 years of service to her country, and some might say she has masculine characteristics. The costumes, makeup, and Cate's acting worked flawlessly together to make Elizabeth appear older, wiser, and more experienced. Geoffrey Rush returns in this film as Sir Francis Walsingham, the queen's advisor. During the first movie, I felt that this character was EVIL with a capital E...but he was a trusted advisor to the queen the entire time, helping her come into her own and understand her responsibilities. So, imagine the gratification I felt when we were allowed to see a seriously evil side to Sir Walsingham during The Golden Age. I have to give props to the directors of this film...I didn't know who to love and who to hate in this movie, so they really kept me guessing.

I find historical movies to be fascinating...in fact, I love any movie that is based on real events. However, this movie was not made for history buffs who become frustrated by movies that are not 100% historically accurate. I don't think any historical movie can be completely accurate... especially not during time periods that were so ambiguous. We can find the basic documentation to determine that the main storyline of any film is historically accurate, but each writer then has the burden of filling in the blanks, so to speak. I think these writers did an excellent job of using their creative minds to develop a story to parallel the true events of the time period. However, others might not agree due to their extensive knowledge of the actual Golden Age. I'm having difficulty rating this film...the acting was great, the story was great, the costumes and cinematography were great...but I felt the first film was slightly more captivating. Therefore, I will give this film 3 1/2 pigs.