Watching this film reminds me of how good Cate Blanchett is. That this woman can be nominated for reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth and for playing Bob Dylan in the same year (let alone...ever) is amazing to me.
And the fact is that this sequel to the much more heavily lauded Elizabeth has only three things going for it -- Blanchett being the first. The other two--no shock--are the costumes and the art direction, and only the latter of those three failed to score an Oscar nomination this time around. What causes this movie to suffer is the script, which is rife with one-dimentional characterizations of individuals both manufactured and historical, and historical inacuracies as well.
The film falls very flat under the weight of its starched lace and heavy linens, leaving Blanchett to hold it up with moments that vary from her oft-scene awards show clip fury to a female Braveheart moment towards the film's end.
Geoffrey Rush is wasted this time around, and Clive Owen is stiff. Only Samantha Morton adds anything fresh to the proceedings. And yet dispite the disappointment, this was nice to watch.
2.0 out of 4
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