The idea of a sequel to 1998's Elizabeth generates some excitement, if only because the first film was a bit of a surprise. I tend to think of Victorian period pieces as stuffy, shaded in English grey and full of people in wigs speaking in haughty overtones, but director Shekhar Kapur gave, instead, a story of colors, strong emotions, intrigue, and heightened moments of drama. He takes the same approach with Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and so we can look forward to more of his involving technique.

However, where the first Elizabeth had a strong outer and inner story to center on -- the rise of Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) to become queen, and her own transformation from lively young lass to a more hardened head of state -- The Golden Age has little at its core. Here, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth faces plots from Spain's King Philip II (Jordi Mollà) and her cousin, the confined Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), both wishing to restore a Catholic to rule over England. But this plotting is entirely external to the events of Elizabeth's court and palace, and it doesn't help that most of us know what eventually does happen to Philip's vaunted Spanish Armada. Mainly, for much of the movie, these events have little to do with the character story Kapur has chosen to tell.

This would be, frankly, a minor midlife crisis. The Virgin Queen requires a husband, but has no interest in the royal suitors; she actually seems perfectly comfortable in the company of her ladies-in-waiting, in particular her favorite, Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton (Abbie Cornish). However, both their eyes are soon drawn toward a new frequent court visitor, the adventurer Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). The main story then becomes something of a familiar song. The dashing seafarer lives a life both women envy, perhaps the Queen more than her courtier because she knows she can never be allowed to follow him. And worse, if she falls for him, she can never have him. Yes, it's lonely at the top.

It's debatable whether or not the time of Elizabeth's standoff against both Mary Stuart and the threat of Spain is the right background to explore the Queen's realization of the reality of unfulfilled womanhood. The ideas presented are interesting, but do they really have any extra juice? What flavors the story does have come mainly from the prime draw of both this and the previous movie: Blanchett, (Oscar-nominated for Best Actress for the first film). If there's anyone who can convince us about a great English Queen falling victim to a schoolgirl crush -- and struggling to hold her dignity at the same time -- it might well be Blanchett, who also delivers a tongue-twisting line about having a hurricane in her that will "strip Spain bare" with the authority of someone who eats such lines for lunch.

The real struggle here has to do with matching Kapur's operatic tendencies to material that isn't, in essence, a tragedy. The first Elizabeth's style worked because it had a story similar to The Godfather -- naive young person outside the business is thrust into coldhearted position of head of the business -- with the tragedy coming from loss of innocence. Then, in The Godfather II, Michael Corleone becomes even colder, almost to the point of losing his humanity. But Elizabeth's reign wasn't called "The Golden Age" for nothing. Her only tragedy here is semi-repeating the first one -- she revisits youthful desires, then must reassert adult-like authority. Blanchett and Kapur are still able to give us a reasonably entertaining show of flourishes, colors, strong emotions, some intrigue, and, yes, heightened moments of drama. More credit to them, then, for being able to swirl all this around a weak center.

(Released by Universal and rated "PG-13" for violence, some sexuality and nudity.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.