Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Picking up many years after the events of Elizabeth, sequel The Golden Age covers a turbulent period in the reign of the now middle-aged Elizabeth I (Blanchett), with England on the brink of overthrow by Spain and a multitude of Catholic conspirators - chief amongst them her cousin Mary Queen of Scots (Morton, with a rather fruity accent) - armed only with an iron will and the help of her trusted allies Walsingham (Rush) and Walter Raleigh (Owen). On paper it should be a triumph. In reality it's a fairly straightforward drama that foregoes the labyrinthine skulduggery of the first film for a more simplistic but still entertaining adventure, beautiful to look at but historically compromised. The modest scale of the climactic battle disappoints and the music is a touch too bombastic, while the Pythonesque Spaniards are just ridiculous. Blanchett has emerged in the decade since the first film as one of the world's great actors and she commands the screen once again here, portraying a woman at turns fragile and determined, but always desperately sad, the none too subtle implication being that she gave her life to her country when what she really needed was Raleigh to drop his pantaloons. [Paul Greenwood]