Owen vs the Spanish

And no, that's not a football headline, but rather a pretty accurate summary of the daft plotting in

Elizabeth the Golden Age - 2.5/5

In which Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) almost single-handedly defeats the Spanish Armada. The original movie, Elizabeth, was by no means the classic it is sometimes made out to be. Lest we forget it did contain the combined acting talents of Eric Cantona and Joseph Fiennes in full pouty mode. What it did have going for it was an interesting account of the creation of historical myths and an amazing performance from Cate Blanchett.

The sequel, a decade later, has another great performance from Blanchett (possibly the most talented actress in her generation) and that's about it really. OK, it looks stunning and there is some good work from under-used members of the supporting cast - Geoffrey Rush is his usual so-good-you-hardly-notice-him, Tom Hollander is solid, Samantha Morton adds some dignity to her role as Mary Queen of Scots which is written precariously close to pantomime villainess and Aussie Abbie Cornish (Somersault, Candy) holds her own admirably.

Gone however is the myth busting approach to history, instead this film can't really decide what it wants to do or be. You kind of feel that they aim for historical political thriller, but miss by a country mile and lurch between history as melodrama, history as Mills and Boon and history as boys own adventure. In fact the Spanish are presented with such a degree of high camp that it almost feels that you've wondered into a Monty Python sketch and if Michael Palin popped up saying "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" it would probably improve matters greatly.

Far too much attention is given to the supposed romantic triangle between Blanchett, Cornish and Owen, which means that the badly miscast Owen gets far too much screen time. Clive Owen is not a bad actor, but he is a long way from being the most versatile character actor and sticks out like a sore thumb here, coming across as if he's in a completely different style of movie. In fact, by the time he (literally) swings into action to defeat the armada you're left with the distinct impression that this is Sir Walter Raleigh via Pirates of the Caribbean.

The other big weakness here is that the climactic showdown with the Spanish falls so flat despite Owen's boys own antics. Sea battles are notoriously difficult to film, but there's not enough here to make a satisfying action spectacle, whilst continual inter-cutting with the anxious Elizabeth awaiting news fails to build any real sense of tension and the ending with Blanchett looking over the cliffs at the shining horizon is pure hackneyed hokum.

Another great performance from Blanchett and some of the supporting players which deserved a better film.