Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

One of the things that this biographical story captures very well, is the obsession with material and position that to this day characterizes the outlook of certain social types. You will be as disgusted with the self-centered, bigoted royals and their sycophantic staff as Victoria famously was. I was taken aback by the twist in the story where the Queen's physician discovered that Abdul had an STD. This is not historically accurate (there is no documentation of it in Abdul's personal diaries, which are the basis for most of what we know about him today. I see no reason to tarnish his personal history with these insinuations-especially since the revelations are made by a doctor, they can be taken for historical fact. For that I am taking off one star. Otherwise, the story is charming. I am disappointed that some of the other reviewers consider this a Christian-bashing film. As a practicing Christian I am sometimes aghast at our intolerance for other religions. Putting Islam and Muslims in a positive light does not somehow in an of itself diminish Christianity. What I saw was a loyal subject, who happened to be muslim, sharing aspects of his religious philosophy that Victoria was not aware of before, and which she found to be of great comfort. Judi Dench as always was superb. She conveyed, to great effect, what must have been Victoria's sense of wonder at the intellectual and physical resources of this great land that she would never visit. Perhaps some of us forget that at that time India was part of the British empire. and that Britain owed a lot to the land and its peoples. Victoria took herself seriously as the Empress of India (the merits empire building is a story for another day), and I for one am glad that she made the effort to learn one of the most important languages of her subjects. This story has its audience, and perhaps that is not you. It is a period piece based on a character who was aged and whose life was at that time very limited in daily experience. So yes, as some reviewers have observed, the story is slow. But this does not equate to boredom. If you are someone who does not like period pieces, you won't like this one either. If you prefer fast moving action, or like to see lots of physical demonstrations of affection, if you want blood in your movies, please leave this one alone instead of watching it and then giving a negative review.