TEN years after Elizabeth breathed new life into the dull old historical epic genre comes a sequel of sorts with Cate Blanchett back as the Virgin Queen and Shekhar Kapur in the director's chair.

The result certainly looks stunning, Blanchett is brilliant again as the monarch and yet I can't help asking: is it really necessary?

Its failure at the US box office would seem to indicate the Americans have had enough of Elizabeth, following Helen Mirren's star turn in the TV movie version.

Will we Brits be any more enthusiastic?

I don't quibble with Kapur's taking liberties with history - which he calls interpreting - but he could have made it more exciting. My interest was wandering by the time Elizabeth was on horseback doing her Henry V speech to the troops before the Spanish Armada (in which Sir Francis Drake, contrary to what you learned in school, played little part).

Even her thwarted romance with Sir Walter Raleigh (a dull Clive Owen) fails to raise the temperature.

Elizabeth has been ruling for three decades and faces the prospect of the Spanish king preparing to throw her off the throne and install Mary Stuart (an uptight Samantha Morton).

Faithful advisor Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush, as assured as usual) has words of counsel, although distracted by a traitorous relative who besmirches the family name. Blanchett's powerful performance of a woman seeking a happy balance between the personal and the powerful almost makes it worth the price of admission - if only to witness her many, spectacular costumes.

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans, Jordi Molla, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton
Running time: 114 mins
Rating: Three stars