Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Shekhar Kapur, 2007) - C
The mistake is straining to turn Elizabeth (or "Lizzie," as I like to call her) into a full-fledged, sentimentalized hero -- and sometimes, as when she stands on a cliff in a flowing dress, overlooking the burning Spanish Armada, nearly a superhero. I just wasn't feelin' it; Kapur seems awed by his protagonist more than anything else this time around, which would be okay except that it apparently prevents him from treating her thoughtfully. He makes some token nods to the ambiguity that made Elizabeth so compelling in the first film, with a few scenes were she laments giving up her life for England, or gets really angry, or what have you, but the movie is mostly interested in lionizing her without doing the legwork. Kind of oppressive in its opulence, with lots of expensive costumes and birds-eye-view shots from 50-foot vaulted ceilings, and ultimately makes a hollow noise when you thump it. The portrayal of King Philip II is hilarious, as he walks around dark corridors clutching rosaries and calling Elizabeth a "blood-soaked virgin." Lovely guy.
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