Helen Mirren’s fantastic in this and she does a great job at humanizing Elizabeth, which makes the central drama more complex. The problem is that the main conflict is only mildly interesting to begin with, it’s generally lacking in emotional depth and ultimately resolves in the most predictable way. There’s no real way to improve any of this either, Diana’s death just doesn’t present the most compelling case for having a discussion about modernizing dated institutions. I also hated the last scene, which needlessly dumbs down the entire preceding film by spelling out the character acts and subtleties. On top of that the filmmaking’s lacking in personality, as the visuals and sound have a strong made for TV feel to it. Overall, a pretty boring watch aside from that great performance at the center that’s holding it together.

4.5/10