Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

The cast returns to produce a second chapter in Elizabethan history. Earlier in the saga, a reluctant young Queen Elizabeth unites her kingdom with a bit of purging and it a bit of virginity.

This time around, the Catholics are her antagonists, from her cousin Mary Queen of Scots to the devout King of Spain and his massive fleet of ships. The story is well known and the tension the film tries to create with these players is weak. Most of the film's tension is supported by the queen's loneliness.

With a sensational cast, virtually unlimited budget and an epic piece of history, how could a film go wrong? The story is flat. There is more emphases on costume and set design than there is on generating pathos and changes in character. The queen and her subjects remain the same from beginning to end despite overcoming a possible assassination and an attack from the most powerful kingdom in Europe.

One thing that really stuck out for me was the condition in which the political prisoners were kept. Absolutely barbaric.

Truth: Sacrifices must be made, both personally and publicly, in order to be a leader.

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