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The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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.

This film about a famous British pornographer has to be compared with the late Milos Forman's masterpiece "The People vs. Larry Flynt" and it loses in every way. Throughout watching it, I kept thinking: why do the filmmakers want us to be interested about Paul Raymond and the other drug-addicted lowlifes? The film provides no answer, Mr. Raymond is left a shallow character who seems to have no opinion about anything except his business empire.The drug aspect is vastly over-emphasized. Every second scene has someone snorting cocaine, among other substances. It was a big dramatical mistake to reveal in the beginning that PR's daughter will die in a self-inflicted way, after which we have to wait a hour and a half for her totally predictable demise. I almost fell asleep after the first hour.The only thing well done is period look. After gloriously black-and white 1950s, the 1960s and 1970s scenes look like actual Sixties and Seventies color films. My respect to the photographer, but none to the scriptwriters or the editor - the pace manages to be at the same time hurried and very boring.

As with almost all biopics, half the battle with LoL is having an interest (passing or otherwise) in the life and times of the subject, in this case Soho porn purveyor Paul Raymond. To be fair however, there are enough interesting performances to haul the less committed viewer through to the end. The turns by Imogen Poots as Raymond's daughter Debbie and Chris Addison as Men Only boss Tony Power stand out, and it is never difficult to watch Anna Friel, here playing Raymond's wife Jean. Coogan himself is at the centre of everything, however the story almost seems to take place around him, with many events happening to Raymond rather than being driven by him. There are plenty of British thesps to spot, with David Walliams being prominent among them, and the production design deserves high billing for the glorious memories of time and place that it evokes. An amusing diversion, but there are difficult moments, and it's not all fluff and smut, the 18 certificate is deserved for various reasons. In the end, the film is unlikely to live long in the memory.

Recounting the life of porn king and entrepreneur Paul Raymond, THE LOOK OF LOVE tells the story of a self-made man, born Geoffrey Quinn, who rose to become Britain's richest man. He achieved this by buying innumerable properties and setting up a porn empire that at its height included the Raymond Revuebar, the Windmill Theatre, the Whitehall Theatre, plus two best-selling magazines, "Men Only" and "Club International." Despite such success, Raymond - as characterized by Steve Coogan - remained a fundamentally unhappy man. Obsessed with the idea of proving his virility, he spent most of his time bedding young women as well as taking vicarious pleasure in watching women perform various sex acts on stage. Although his daughter Debbie (Imogen Poots) was devoted to him, Raymond remained indifferent to her - unless, that is, she could make more money for him, He cast her in an ill-starred revue, "Royalty Follies," in a leading role for which she was completely unsuited. The only time Raymond actually missed her was at her death due to a drug overdose. Michael Winterbottom's film makes no judgment on Raymond, but nonetheless suggests the emptiness of the world he created - neither titillating nor sexy, it simply treated women as objects. The film does a brilliant job of recreating the seedy Soho world of the Sixties and Seventies, with its grimy streets and tatty shops. Steve Coogan does a wonderful job in the leading role; he is proving to be a talented performer in a variety of vehicles. THE LOOK OF LOVE contains a gallery of cameo roles from British comedians, including Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, David Wallians and Miles Jupp; but its story remains a fundamentally melancholy one to tell.

Director Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan collaborated a decade ago on 24 Hour Party People – a look at Manchester's innovative music scene from the mid-1970s onward. It is considered by many, including myself, as a minor classic. So hopes were high as they united once more for this biopic about Britain's erstwhile soft-pornographer-in-chief, and ultimately the country's richest man, Paul Raymond.Sadly, they cannot re-create the magic in this hotch-potch of a film which seems to lack any kind of compass and is unsure of the statement it wishes to make.There is a total lack of irony as we follow Raymond's hedonistic and highly lucrative lifestyle, giving people what many of them clearly want and for which they are happy to pay large amounts of money.Steve Coogan as Paul Raymond frequently drifts far too close to his Alan Partridge persona throughout the film, and comparisons are almost invited as he shows Raymond impersonating Sean Connery to his friends.There are under-weighted cameos from the likes of Stephen Fry and Matt Lucas; David Walliams plays a lecherous vicar, apparently a good friend of Raymond, but we are given no idea as to how he arrived on the scene and without backstory he comes across as a superficial irrelevance.The soundtrack is impressive, especially the Bacharach and David numbers, and the film does succeed in evoking a sense of period. But these are not enough. The film is ultimately specious and unsatisfying.