Hola all. Massawyrm here.

It's one thing to make history seem cool, even to those that hate the concept of learning. It's another thing entirely to make it fucking awesome. But that's exactly what Shekhar Kapur does with his follow up to the 1998 period piece that made Cate Blanchett a star. The very idea of someone making a sequel to such an academy award nominated/winning film is enough to give some folks a case of spastic colon. But this was one of those rare cases in which it's not as weird as it sounds. I mean, I remember walking out of Elizabeth nine years ago, saying to myself: Man, I want see another one about her in the later years. Apparently so did the folks that made it. Including Blanchett.

So here we are 9 years later and the question is: does this hold a candle to the original? Not just yes, but HELL YES. In fact, what's funny about this is that it not only follows the first movie perfectly, but hits all the right notes for a perfect sequel…according to the very laws of sequels that so seem to dominate the summer. There's another great villain, all your old favorites are back, and most importantly, the action gets a serious ramp up. Much like the original, the first two acts of this play out as a pretty standard, if not superior, period piece that serves to endear us to Elizabeth while setting up the incendiary third act. And the third act here is killer. While there is still some focus on political intrigue, this one actually takes us to war.

But that isn't what put this one over the top for me. Sure, the war ramp up is great and the few scenes they were able to afford were pretty god damned good. But what made this such an incredible follow up was the introduction of one of history's greatest scoundrels and most interesting personages, Sir Walter Raleigh. Now let's ignore the fact that he holds the distinction of being one of histories greatest men, the man who not only introduced the western world to tobacco, but popularized it by making it the 'cool' thing to do. Yeah. The guys my fucking hero. But aside from that he was an adventurer, possible lover of the virgin queen of England and by many accounts, a real honest to god pirate. So he's a smoking pirate who might have bedded the unbedable. Who could possibly be cool enough to play a guy that badass and do it justice.

Clive. Fucking. Owen. Damn straight. And what Clive Owen brings to the table is his usual air of unshaven cool in a film that you thought would be completely impervious to such notions. Remember when Brian Helgeland added rock music to A Knights Tale in an attempt to give the people of today a link to what kids in the middle ages might have thought was cool and connect them in some way? Well this is how you do it and make it work. Sir Walter Raleigh is awesome. Hella awesome. I want a fucking Sir Walter Raleigh poster on my wall right now. They go so far as to even give us one of those old Errol Flynn shots where he's hanging off the bow of the ship as it sails bay with a good old-fashioned camera swoop. And it tickled my insides with a child-like glee and made me want for nothing more than a Clive Owen pirate movie…

…and yet it never feels out of place or over done. Sir Walter Raleigh is cool, plain and simple, and that's why the queen is so readily fascinated by him. I mean think about it, if you had a choice between hanging out with some uptight Spanish douchebags or Clive Owen the Pirate, who would you spend time with? And the effect is masterful. This movie goes in very different directions than the first, telling another great story about one of histories most notable rulers.

Of course Geoffrey Rush is back as Elizabeth's own bad ass espionage guy in the shadows. And while he doesn't have nearly as much to do this time around as last, he's still given a couple of glorious moments that remind us just how vital (and cool) he is to the preservation of the crown.

Oh yeah. And Cate Blanchett is in it and she's pretty good. You know, as good as one of the worlds greatest living actresses can be. Did I mention Clive Owen?

It's not that this is a better film than Elizabeth (in fact I'm not convinced it is), it's that it is something of a very different film. It goes down very different roads than its predecessor, which works in its favor. Rather than having to live up to the original's formula, it tells another story entirely, feeling overall more like a true continuation of the story instead of just a sequel. And it helps a lot that there is an air of adventure added to this one. The pacing, the shot structure, everything about this feels like it is being amped up to achieve a marrying of the ideals we all love here at AICN with Oscar caliber sensibilities.

It's a wonderful film that I think most will find a lot more accessible than the first. As much as I love the original, there is a certain historical epic stuffiness to it that this film seems to be trying to eschew. The result is something that comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Seriously, if you're a fan of the original, Cate Blanchett or Clive Owen there is zero reason for you not to see this. Zero.

Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.

Massawyrm

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