Admirable film.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The ascension to the throne of England of Queen Elizabeth I and the aftermath. Shows the against-the-odds struggles she had to endure to obtain the throne and her almost-as-difficult defence of it.Superb. Reasonably accurate, historically, and very interesting. Could easily have ended as a dry docudrama but director Shekhar Kapur ensures the film is engaging, intriguing and edifying. Allied with this is a superb performance from Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth, a performance that earned her her first Oscar nomination. Throw in some fantastic sets and costumes and this is a lavish, entertaining and edifying drama.

Murder, corruption and intrigue take center stage in this story of Queen Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Feared by Catholics who resent her rising to the throne, the film follows the many machinations to have her denounce her own religion and in failing to do so, to remove her via an ultimate solution. I have to admit I'm not familiar with this era of British history, so view the story as Hollywood's take on a significant era that eventually succeeded, but started out under very questionable circumstances. What seems almost inconceivable today is the way the story bears out how royal families of different countries asserted their power and influence by marrying among themselves without regard to love or fidelity. In that regard, Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) stealthily avoids commitment to any one individual, while being pulled in all directions by her staff, English bishops, and fellow monarchs who would deign to consolidate their own bases of power. The period costuming is lavish and the sets are given the royal treatment in accord with the subject matter. Elizabeth's own decision to have her loyal guard defend her throne takes on the aspect of Michael Corleone's method of cleaning house in "The Godfather". Blanchett's performance was deserving of a Best Actress Oscar, and she WAS nominated, but lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow in what might be considered the Academy's version of highway robbery. One must see her performance to truly appreciate Blanchett's sublime take on the English Queen.

Yes, here we go again ! Hollywood hard at work putting its skew on British history. You can hear the American accents in this effort. Overall, the film is quite good, but it is NOT true to history, which MUST be taken into account. Children in particular (and viewers looking for a history lesson), need to be aware that this is a kind of partial-imaginary, made up, fictional version of the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First. It is a great shame that movie-makers, in particular those in Hollywood, will not stay with the known FACTS. I prefer Cate Blanchett as QE, rather than the vastly over-used and over-rated Helen Mirren (who apparently was given a Damehood for portraying both Elizabeths: silly). In my book, this flick rates 6/10, and while it is NOT "film perfection", I can recommend it ~ but ralways bear in mind that it is NOT true history and the script should have been so much better.

This is an good historical film, which depicts the initial period of Elizabeth I of England's reign, and how she tried to hold on to power before her enemies. Historically, appears to be quite close to reality, despite the existence of some discrepancies. Its the first of three films (the third is in development) that depict the reign of this monarch, embodied by Cate Blanchett, a remarkable actress who achieve, in these three works, her magnum opus.And no less. Blanchett has managed to capture the physical aspect and most likely personality characteristics of this queen. A true chameleon work, which earned the actress a Golden Globe for "Best Actress Drama" (would have won the Oscar for Best Actress that year but, sometimes, the heads of the Hollywood Academy does not seem to know to see something good when they have it in front of their noses). Another actor who deserves congratulations is Geoffrey Rush, who gave life to Sir Francis Walsingham. Sir Richard Attenborough also participated in this movie (I think it must have been one of his last films) in the role of Lord Burleigh, with great talent. However, the male role that stands out in this film is Robert Dudley, played by Joseph Fiennes. This character was the true (probably the only) love of the young queen and is very important in the plot. Fiennes managed to capture his essence, opportunistic and somewhat hypocritical.The sets and costumes are absolutely rigorous, depict pleasant rigor clothing and environments of the Elizabethan era. The colors are very good, nice to look at the movement of the camera is excellent, the dialogues are memorable and worthy of quotation. An excellent film that apparently ended up in the shadow and did not catch much attention from the public and specialists. Under-appreciated, perhaps a look at the overall of the three films allow this film a different look, and more just.