For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.
By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over,
have read our
Privacy Policy
and agree to the
Terms & Conditions. Geographical rules apply.
Why you can trust GamesRadar+
Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Anne-Marie Duff: we’ve not exactly been short of Virgin Queens since Cate Blanchett first played Elizabeth I nine years ago. Maybe that’s why the Australian actress’ return to her career-making, Oscar-nominated role doesn’t seem quite the event Working Title would like it to be, even with Geoffrey Rush reprising his performance as spymaster Walsingham and India’s Shekhar Kapur back behind the camera.
Still, there’s no denying this handsome period pageant ticks all the right boxes, the Four Feathers director building a suitably imposing epic around his radiant leading lady who, off the back of this and Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, is sure to enter the awards season as a leading contender.
Paying little heed to historical accuracy, The Golden Age sees Blanchett’s Queen Bess juggling threats from without – a mad king of Spain (Jordi Molla) determined to restore England to Catholicism – with dangers from within – an assassination plot involving the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton). Looking pretty good for her 52 years, this Elizabeth also has her head turned by dashing explorer Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen doing his best Errol Flynn), a girlish pash she attempts to quell by fixing him up with a lady-in-waiting (fellow Aussie Abbie Cornish, grappling rather less successfully with the requisite English accent) while she waits for the Spanish Armada to sail up the Thames.
A heady concoction, then, with contemporary parallels for those who need them (liberal democracy versus religious fundamentalism, confessions extracted under duress) and a swashbuckling climactic sea-battle straight out of Pirates Of The Caribbean. Blanchett is peerless throughout, perfectly combining public poise with private doubt, while an underutilised Morton ensures every moment of her cameo counts. Okay, so Kapur isn’t the most subtle of directors, his flashy tactics and overblown theatrics proving a distraction to Cate’s star turn, but costume drama lovers will be having too much fun to notice.
A lesser movie compared to its 1998 predecessor, this sequel nonetheless delivers the sort of stirring drama and sweeping spectacle its subject demands. Blanchett, meanwhile, shines brightly enough in the title role to make Elizabeth III a certainty.
Your movies and TV digest from the team at GamesRadar+
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
