Film: The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse

But is it any good? Great fun for fans of the series (and possibly for other, less deserving sorts). 8/10

In my opinion (not shared by everyone), The League of Gentlemen are at their best when working with a plot into which their wicked sketches can be injected, and any fears that their Apocalypse would be just an extended sketch show can be laid to rest - this is more Life of Brian (or at least Holy Grail) than Meaning of Life.

If anything, they could be accused of being too clever, as charecters from their fictional world of Royston Vasey escape into the "real" world of the writers. This is not an entirely original idea, but having the characters recognise, and even impersonate, the actors that play them is a delicious twist. A third narrative, in the form of a surreal historical intrigue at the royal court, would be a turn too far if it did not quickly establish itself as very funny (with marvellous, tiny cameos from Peter Kay and Simon Pegg), and wisely does not wear out its welcome.

The "real" writers are sadly under-developed (although this must have been a fine line to tread) and, for a fan of the series, some of the omissions are disappointing - especially in the climactic scenes where, budget allowing, the whole ensemble should have made an appearance, but due to financial constraints we get, as the League themselves admit, a load of Irish wrestlers.

Despite that, I am pleased to report that the film is clever in what it does and says about the nature of the characters within the narrative, but not too clever (see the disappointingly dull final half hour of Adaptation), the pace only lags occasionally, and you are never too far from a genuinely funny moment. The film is not afraid to find previously one-dimensional characters and flesh them out to carry the film, or embrace humour from film references to toilets, and I genuinely enjoyed it. I only worry what the non-locals will make of it...

[I saw this as a preview at the NFT with a Q&A with the League to follow. No sooner had it been announced that all 4 of them were there and would appear after the film than Lilly, in a fit of celebrity-spotting, excitedly pointed a couple of rows behind us and exclaimed, "Look! It's Mark Gatiss!"]