If you are the kind of person who thinks that ‘historicals’ and ‘ho hum’ go hand in hand, then it is best you keep your distance from Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age, which follows Elizabeth that he made nine years ago.

The handful of interesting moments in the film will be overpowered by the general air of boredom, and you will not have lost out on much if you decide to give this a miss.

Year 1585, Britain is in danger with Philip II of Spain, a devout Catholic, planning hostile moves against the Protestant Elizabeth (Blanchett).

Meanwhile the Virgin Queen is undergoing a personal crisis- her royal ‘crush’ on ‘pirate’-explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen), the “impossible that she finds interesting”, that she can’t act on for obvious reasons. Then there is Mary, Queen of Scots (Morton), Elizabeth’s own cousin, who is conspiring against her.

These plots run parallel to each other in rather dim lighting, the focus being on the romantic angle.

But even the emotionally-stimulating parts with Clive Owen whose charms won’t spare even the Queen may not help much in saving you from yawns. Kapur toys with historical facts, as seen with the inclusion of the incident involving Raleigh and the puddle, which may never have occurred.

In its defence, ...The Golden Age seems more interesting and generally less complex than Elizabeth.