ZOOLANDER 2

Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz

Writers: Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller, Nicholas Stoller, John Hamburg

Director: Ben Stiller

The sequel to Ben Stiller's 2001 original begins in Rome, where Justin Bieber is shot to pieces by an unknown assassin but still has the time to take a decent selfie before breathing his last. Turns out he's the sixth pop star to be killed of late and every one of them had posted the same facial expression to social media before expiring. Interpol Fashion Division Agent Valentina (Cruz) is on the case and believes that the key to the whole mystery is ex-World's greatest male model Derek Zoolander, who is now "out of fashion" and in hiding.

The years since the first movie haven't been particularly kind to Mr Z. First, the building which housed The Derek Zoolander Centre For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too collapsed, killing his wife and disfiguring fellow model Hansel (Wilson) in the process.

Failing to come to terms with his newfound responsibility as a single parent, his son was taken from him and now he lives alone in the wilderness. At this point in the proceedings Billy Zane (played by, er, Billy Zane) shows up with an invitation for Zoolander to model for everyone's new favourite designer Don Atari at a show in, where else, Rome...

This sequel employs the "if ain't broke, don't fix it" strategy of so many follow-ups and so once again most of the humour is focused on just how jaw-droppingly stupid Derek Zoolander is. It's a fairly safe target for laughs and to be fair there are a few inspired moments or lines of dialogue but this does feel like a sequel that was made because it was time to make one, taking the story and its characters in no new directions whatsoever.

The subplot involving D-Zo (as Hansel refers to him at one juncture) and his attempts to be a proper father to his son is hardly the stuff of breathtaking originality although I will concede that it did provide the biggest laugh in my case - if you want to know it's the bit with the sports car and yes, I know it's the third most unsubtle moment in the film, only eclipsed by Zoolander's reaction to seeing Valentina's boobs and Zoolander's reaction to he?/she? supermodel All (brilliantly played by Benedict Cumberbatch).

Even though the jokes are far from the greatest, they're given at least some polish and even occasional pizazz by the cast. Stiller and Wilson are enjoyable as the modelling world's dumbest double act and Cruz keeps up with them admirably, displaying a fine sense of comic timing.

A difficult to recognise Kristen Wiig will either amuse or annoy as botox-frozen and collagen-plumped fashion mogul Alexanya Atoz, mangling every word in an accent indescribable other than it's Eastern European (which part of Eastern Europe it's supposed to be is a mystery to me - and everyone else, I suspect). And of course there's Will Ferrell, returning as Zoolander's nemesis Mugatu, raising chuckles where there would be none in other hands.

As comedy sequels go, Zoolander 2 isn't the worst example of its type but it's a long way from the best. It's fitfully amusing but real belly laughs are in very short supply and the plot is guilty of throwing way too many elements in, hoping to see what sticks. The plentiful celebrity cameos are generally fun - or, in the case of Kiefer Sutherland, utterly bizarre - but the lampooning of the fashion industry was carried off with far more panache in the original and this follow-up will probably be forgotten next season.