by Jane Park

Created on: June 03, 2010

The first "Elizabeth" left us wanting more. With an outstanding debut performance from the sublime Cate Blanchett as one of England's most celebrated and powerful monarchs, the dark underlying plot full of schemes, treachery and violence was a stunning portrayal of the queen's early years, her rise to power and initial difficulties in obtaining absolute control of her throne. And now "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" looks at the later years of her reign, her involvement with the Spanish Armada, even more conspiracy plots, again, a possible love line, and religious turmoil throughout the country.

There is some good news when glancing at the sequel's premise: Blanchett is back - there is absolutely no one who could have filled her shoes in the role that boosted her career into superstardom. Geoffrey Rush, playing Elizabeth's most trusted, reliable advisor Sir Francis Walsingham, is also back to support our queen. To round off the already impressive cast, Academy Award nominee Clive Owen is Walter Raleigh, an English pirate, Elizabeth's secret crush, and a soldier who is looking very likely to lead England into victory against the Spaniards. Abbie Cornish is Elizabeth's favourite lady-in-waiting Bess, and Samantha Morton is Mary Stuart, the devious cousin of the queen who is looking to seize the throne. So far so good. But looking at the change in classification of the film, a drop to 12A from 15, is a little worrying. No blood? Not as dark as its predecessor? No action?

And the answer is, quite disappointingly, yes, the sequel is a lot lighter, colourful, and restrained. Given the amount of time the film spends whilst building up to the legendary clash between the English Navy and the supposedly indestructible Spanish Armada, the action is never exhilarating enough, and shockingly the battle itself is barely glanced over. The endless amount of religious conflict between Elizabeth, who is a Protestant, and King Philip II of Spain, who is a staunch Catholic, is sustained well throughout, albeit with some very unsubtle, simple, but borderline offensive comparison of colours between the two. Elizabeth is always an angelic figure, an image that is complemented well by her collection of white dresses as well as some bright lighting that makes her glow. King Philip however, is always in black, and appears to rule in the dark and his servants all seem to be bloodthirsty religious fanatics. There must be some element of truth in those portrayals, but it's too casually

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