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Don't listen to the negative reviews

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Talking to a friend about what her kids had recently become interested in,she mentioned that along with the Goosebumps books that they had recently been watching the BBC series Horrible Histories a lot.Taking a look round a local DVD shop a few days later,I was happily surprised to discover that the Horrible Histories team had made a movie!,which led to me getting ready to meet Bill.The plot:Sacked by his band Mortal Coil, William 'Bill' Shakespeare starts to think about what job he can now do.Since he has written a play over the last few years, Shakespeare decides to go against the wishes of his wife Anne Hathaway and leave Stratford-upon-Avon to make his name as a playwright in London.As Shakespeare gets advice on entering the stage world from Christopher Marlowe and gets offered funding from Juan, Earl of Croydon, King Phillip II of Spain starts making plans to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I.View on the film:Following Shakespeare round London in a great tracking shot which breaths in the muck covering London,director Richard Bracewell and cinematographer Laurie Rose cast an enchanting atmosphere,by giving the title a sweet quirky appearance,where all of the historical figures look like they have one foot in a fantasy world. Splinting by its 90 minute running time,the superb screenplay by Laurence Rickard & Ben Willbond release the Barb's sonnet at lightning speed.Joyfully playing around with historical facts, (a ghost Christopher Marlowe!) Rickard and Willbond thread witty wordplay with cheerfully silly visual puns and catchy songs.Whilst the jokes bounce across the screen,the writers keep the footlights lit with a slick plot which links Shakespeare plays with masters of disguise and assassination attempts.Leaping to the big screen,the ensemble cast each give superb performances.Each taking on multiple roles,the cast give each part a unique quality,from Simon Farnaby making the Earl of Croydon desperate to be a socialite,to Mathew Baynton making "Bill" (who is pals with "Chris" Christopher Marlowe!) a wide-eyed fool,as Bill discovers the horrible histories.

This movie was such a delightfully funny surprise. Reminiscent of Monty Python fare and wit, it totally cracked me up. Well executed, well paced, and well cast, and served up with ridiculous irreverent perfection. I got the feeling they were loving what they were doing - and I loved it too. Plus the added surprise of seeing who played who at the end. The movie takes elements of the accepted history of "Bill" (a la Shakespeare In Love) and tells very a funny story about it.So refreshing to watch, compared to so many plot-less comedies that rely on gross out jokes, juvenile themes, and offensive language to be 'funny'. The banter is quick, the jokes and gags fresh and unexpected, the lines classic, and it contains all the twists and turns of, well, a Shakespearean comedy.Loved it.Best liked: Characters using Shakespearean phrases.

A very entertaining, irreverent take on how Shakespeare rose to fame. It's really quite silly but on the same hand quite consistent with its own internal logic. (Unlike say Pan or Prometheus which are both a narrative mess where characters completely flip- flop for no other reason than the writer was too thick or lazy to find another way to progress the plot)King Phillip II of Spain is a joyously dickish main antagonist with some great one liners. Sir Francis Walsingham is just bizarre and Bill himself is charmingly gormless.The film left me with a smile on my face and kinda wishing I got a few more of the Shakespeare references. It also has me randomly blurting out 'King Phillip the Second of Spain' on occasion. Well done Team Horrible Histories!

There are to be peace talks between Queen Elizabeth I and King Phillip of Spain. Elizabeth wants to impress Phillip by presenting a play and the Earl of Croydon (or is it Crawley) foolishly offers his services while drunk. Fortunately, playwright William Shakespeare has just arrived in London to seek his fortune.There is a UK TV series, based on a series of kids' books, called Horrible Histories, and this is the first cinema outing for the repertory team behind that series: as with (for instance) the Monty Python team, most of the parts are played by the same handful of actors, with cameos from Damien Lewis and Helen McCrory.What we have is a "what might have been" story, packed with gags, most of which are a combination of silly and clever and based on anachronism (Shakespeare starts off as a member of a mandolin group called the Mortal Coils, sacked when he plays a modern guitar solo on his mandolin during a madrigal. After awkward goodbyes, one member of the group says "Well, we'll shuffle off then.") The anachronistic humour plays happily against the well realised period look of the piece – locations, costumes and sets all have a pleasingly authentic look to them.Sitting in a (sadly) empty cinema, I giggled throughout this.