After years of mediocrity Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris showed that the man hadn’t completely lost his touch which makes this latest film an even bigger disappointment than usual. To Rome with Love demonstrates the filmmaker at his worst: a lazy and empty film once again relying on a picture postcard depiction of a major European city and a starry cast still believing that appearing in an Allen film is some kind of honour. Comprised of four unconnected stories, the film feels like a writer-director happy to simply regurgitate past glories in favour of telling a compelling or amusing story.

Ranging from tired romantic farce to a superficial critique on celebrity, each slight story in isolation is poor and uninvolving…

Is this a Woody Allen film? Yes it is.

Is the main story about a nervy, neurotic Jewish chap becoming smitten with his steady girlfriend's best mate, a flirty, neurotic culture vulture? Yes it is.

And does this latest European excursion resume the torrent of cinematic disappointment momentarily stilled by the rather excellent Midnight in Paris? Incredibly not.

For while it starts poorly, suffers through its fair share of dud lines and developments, and remains a long way from vintage Woody, To Rome with Love is nonetheless a decent entertainment, with three story strands of varying interest and amusement, and a little beauty featuring Roberto Benigni as a middle-class clerk who becomes an instant celebrity for no apparent reason, much…

While sadly lacking the effortless charm of Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen's latest in a line-up of mostly sour and clunky attempts at modern romanticism barely manages to stop itself from tearing at the seams and manages amusingly, if vaguely, to keep itself together whilst plundering the ancient ruins of Allen's career for the most trustworthy of sex and fame gags.

That said, it is an amusing film. Those judging it more unforgivably perhaps see it as a let-down compared to some of Allen's other work, and while I'm no expert on the man's lengthy career, try though he might to emulate his idol Bergman, his works to me echo more the disturbing fiasco of IB's All These Women than…

Director - Woody Allen
Writer - Woody Allen
Cast - Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Fabio Armiliato, Alison Pill, Flavio Parenti, Roberto Benigni and Woody Allen

Trailer

Dear Mr Allen

I’ve been a big fan of your work for some time now. You’ve made me laugh more times than I can remember and you’ve made me cry more times than I care to admit. Even when everyone else had written you off as past your sell-by-date, I stood by you. I defy anyone to tell me that The Curse of the Jade Scorpion lacks charm, or that you’re no longer in touch with the modern World. Heck, even after all of the controversy…

I sincerely hope that Woody Allen was just punking us with this To Rome with Love shit. Then maybe he could earn back a shred of his reputation for me. I could probably stop reviewing this movie after these two words: wasted potential. But I won't, because there is so much to hate about this movie that I feel I have to detail all of the ways this movie fails. It's heartbreaking, really. This had all the necessary ingredients for a fresh, original comedy and instead turns into an absurd, unbelievable mess. It's really immature, like Woody Allen hasn't accepted the fact that he's an adult human being yet. At 77, he's had more than enough practice being around adults…

Okay, this film is little more than a piecemeal clear-out of stories from Woody's bedside cabinet, stitched together with the loosest of threads, and located in Rome because that's where the money led him.

But what almost saves it from the shitheap is the segment with Alec Baldwin traipsing around the Rome he once knew, and dropping in on his younger self (Jesse Eisenberg) during what seems to be the most influential romance of his life. Like Midnight In Paris, this magical touch is feather-light - he travels through time by just turning a corner - but it's a fascinating remix of old Woody concepts.

As Midnight In Paris recalled Purple Rose Of Cairo in reverse, this is Play It…

Is this a Woody Allen film? Yes it is.

Is the main story about a nervy, neurotic Jewish chap becoming smitten with his steady girlfriend's best mate, a flirty, neurotic culture vulture? Yes it is.

And does this latest European excursion resume the torrent of cinematic disappointment momentarily stilled by the rather excellent Midnight in Paris? Incredibly not.

For while it starts poorly, suffers through its fair share of dud lines and developments, and remains a long way from vintage Woody, To Rome with Love is nonetheless a decent entertainment, with three story strands of varying interest and amusement, and a little beauty featuring Roberto Benigni as a middle-class clerk who becomes an instant celebrity for no apparent reason, much…

After a surprising resurgence in 2011 with the triumphant Midnight in Paris, renowned romantic comedy director Woody Allen returns to cinemas with another venture in Europe. The once great director’s unique filmmaking approach typically balances wit and satire with an indulgent personal sentiment, often in the form of a love letter to a city.

In a similar way in which the French capital was treated – with the ceaseless romanticism that was celebrated in his earlier, New York set masterpieces; typified by glorious cinematography and iconic locations – Allen employs an ensemble cast of impressive talent in a multi-faceted narrative to express the variety and quality of life within the eternal city. However, each vignette, whether it’s the smug condemnation…