Cate Blanchett - stunning; Samantha Morton - genius; Geoffrey Rush - brilliantly witty; Clive Owen - A great big bag of yum! He has the money shots in this feature. ;)

At long last...since seeing "Elizabeth" I have anxiously awaited this sequel. Overall, it was a...GOOD movie with some rather interesting visual choices. The story, however was very weak and the focus seemed mis-directed. Also, the end was rather silly. No doubt leading to a third movie, but just odd. It's when Elizabeth is holding the baby...you'll see what I'm talking about. I did love the duality of Bess as whom Elizabeth sees much of herself in and lives vicariously through when the throne keeps her from certain freedoms. However there this story was driven into the ground. Elizabeth's transformations and realizations I understand somewhat come from this, but rather than making her human...this constant focus made her seem very weak. I hated the scene when Elizabeth discovers the pregnancy ...no one would act that way infront of a queen. So what if she's a woman. She'll freakin rip your head off in a New York minute if these characters as they do in the film act as they do. Seriously????! In any event, the story would have served better if CONTINUING to go further with the protestant/catholic feud seeing more of her on the horse.

Overall, the performances with what the actors were given were very good. I thought it was interesting having the three leading ladies all take on very different, distinct roles and seeing how each under a certain power handle devastation to character...and by "character" I mean their own being...not the role itself. Cate Blanchett is completely luminous and outshines anyone that comes within a 50 mile radius. If I had an ounce of her talent, I'd consider myself the luckiest person in the world. Her favorite young companion, Bess Throckmorton (played by Abbie Cornish) is a somewhat malicious, selfish character who seems to be a one-note most of the time. She could have had A LOT more fun with this role. Subtley ...even though I know it's a film...doesn't work well when working with such a heightened piece. I liked her somewhat in the beginning and then found her annoying and trite. Mary Stuart (played by Samantha Morton) has some really gorgeous moments that continue to define her character. Her scene when the "tables are turned" and she literally has the breath knocked out of her is so heartwrenching. She's just brilliant, brillant! Found it interesting visually that Elizabeth was a red-head (clearly stated in history), Bess was a blonde and Mary was a brunette. Sir Walter Raleigh (played by Clive Owen) made a great, sexy pirate. I thought some of his choices were way out of line and too casual. But he's pretty and pretty people get away with things apparently. Sir Frances Walsingham (played by Geoffrey Rush) is the character you love to hate and hate to love. He's a pure form of patriotism, loyalty but is never caught off-guard when he trusts no one. Some of the more "minor" characters I felt in the time and story they were given were very well thought out by the actor and all had that much needed sense of urgency.

So that's it, 3 stars overall and Cate Blanchette gets the other 2. :)