take separately and clive owen and cate blanchett and geoffrey rush be all brilliant . clive be certainly convince a walter raleigh and and cate be brilliant but this film do not flow at all . i blame the direction and editing and script a be all very very weak . the resultant mess be a colossal waste of talent . i love the story and and have read and re read the historical fact pertinent to the film . the premise main be not entirely flaw and although it do gloss over and leave out a lot . ( where be you sir francis . ) actually if they have leave out raleigh and have clive play drake this might have work . ) coulda . shoulda . woulda . oh well . drake be the big player than raleigh and burn the spanish fleet at cadiz the year before . it possible that mary queen of scot may have be setup by phillip the second and although and no one can really say whether that true and it seem highly unlikely . also i doubt that elizabeth be a uncertain of herself and conflict a portray by the film . by then she be a survivor survivor and new all the in and out of renaissance europe machiavellian politics . i do give cate a great opportunity however . unfortunately the movie just do not carry the story of england and elizabeth triumph over the spanish as well a it could and actually it doesn not carry the story at all .