The movie reveals the princess' boldness through scenes where she breaks tradition by walking among the commoners to meet her lover Prince Pirenthorathep, who in turn pledges that he will come to her aid whenever she wants.

The king is wounded in battle and comes back to the capital to recuperate, where Srisudachan poisons him and attempts to blame the deed on Tien.

In a dramatic finale, however, the Burmese invade the new kingdom, and Queen Suriyothai heroically rides into battle with her husband and her unrequited childhood love at her side.

Thai pop star Mai Charoenpura is among the highlighted performers, portraying the scheming Lady Sri sudachan.

The film was financed by Queen Sirikit, who appointed royal family members to the directorial position (Chatrichalerm) and to the role of the lead actress.

According to Chatrichalerm, the Queen wanted the Thai people to have a better understanding of their history and felt that a motion picture would be a good way to accomplish this.

Documents sent to King John III of Portugal (1521–1557) from Domingos de Seixas, a mercenary in the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1524 to 1549, were consulted.

[6] The film depicts some Portuguese, and their introduction of Early Modern warfare, but the only one with a speaking part was a physician called to the deathbed of the poisoned king.

Amporn Jirattikorn argues that other motivations for the film included a fear of foreign influence after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and competition from another historical figure, the sister to King Naresuan.

The movie uses many locations and sites in Thailand as its sets and with its massive cast and expensive production richly displays life in the 16th century.

Additionally, the royal family’s association with this motion picture allowed filming in locations that would have been difficult or even impossible for any other director to access.

Some critics argue that the original Thai release was the better presentation of the film, with others even preferring the five-hour DVD set, which does have English subtitles.

In his review of The Legend of Suriyothai in technohistory.com, Steve Sanderson states "The film's celebration of female power is initially refreshing, suggesting some nascent feminist impulse.