Hurrican Elizabeth

I don't know about you, but when Cate Blanchett's Queen Elizabeth says "I too can command the wind, Sir. I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare if you dare betray me", I just get chills up my spine. This is why I think Cate will win her second Oscar, and will rank alongside the legendary Paul Newman as only the second actor to ever win an Academy Award for a sequel (right?) - Newman won for The Color of Money after losing for the original The Hustler, if my memory serves me well.

Other than Blanchett's sure-to-be-astonishing performance there looks to be plenty of other things in Elizabeth: The Golden Age such as Geoffrey Rush and amazing cinematography, art direction and make-up - all of which were evident in the original. But The Golden Age also has Clive Owen (I love seeing "Academy Award Nominee" next to his name), Samantha Morton (who doesn't get a credit in the trailer, interestingly enough) and Abbie Cornish (who gets enough screentime to put justification to those Best Supporting Actress ideas).

While I'm not sure if using an Enyesque song for the second half of the trailer was the best movie possible (except at the very end), and I'm sure that Cate's horseback cliff-side speech will remind people of both Braveheart and The Lord of the Rings, this movie looks very amazing indeed and I can't wait. I was a fan of Elizabeth and I am actually a fan of solid adult fare getting sequels - I mean, look at how The Godfather Part II turned out!

My favourite part of the trailer is at the very very end with that shot of Cate wearing that massive white outfit (whatever it is) with the light reflecting through it. Sublime. Watch the trailer below and decide for yourself.