Based on the much admired Bob Fosse stage musical, this clever pastiche of 1920s Chicago casts Renee Zellweger as the ambitious yet decidedly mousy Roxie Hart, who hero worships vaudeville vamp Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones in Liza homage mode). When various crimes of passion land both women in jail, they end up in ferociously catty competition with one another for the affections of the crazed, sensationalist media and horrendously slick svengali-style lawyer, Richard Gere.

This all amounts to an experience which is sure to please die-hard fans of the West End, but everyone else would be well advised to consider just how showtune heavy Chicago is. Indeed, this version inexplicably crushes the frequently witty dialogue to the point of non-existence, in order to facilitate more songtime.

Of course a problem inherent with this strategy (and indeed with the musical form itself) is that musical numbers invariably impede the natural narrative flow, so they have to be visually stunning in order to keep the audience amused. And certainly, Chicago looks spectacular as a filmed version of a stage musical, but it never really justifies itself as a movie in its own right. The staging by debut director Marshall is simply too shallow to provide any Busby Berkeley extravagance, and the film lacks the cinematic inventiveness to compete with such technicolour molotovs as Moulin Rouge or even 8 Women.

Still, overall, this is rousing enough stuff, with Gere perfectly cast as the shark lawyer, and Zeta-Jones strutting her stuff to magnificent effect in an otherwise curiously asexual film – those airsplits are quite the party piece and presumably have brought much joy into Michael Douglas’ life. How Zellweger made the cut, though, is a mystery. Sure, she can sing and dance, but she possesses none of the burn-up-the-screen sexuality required, and has to resort to the kind of bargain-basement Monroe lisping not heard since Madonna’s excruciating ‘Santa Baby’.

Entertaining enough fare then, but not the glittering, giddy thrill many will have hoped for.