An old TV series' irrelevance, magnified on the big screen

WHEN Entourage, the HBO TV series about a New York homeboy-turned-movie-star and his buddies on the loose in Hollywood ended its eight-season run in 2011, it was already some way past its prime.

The ultimate male-bonding fantasy - loosely based on Mark Wahlberg's own experience as a rising film star - was fresh and funny for the first few years, but had lost most of its edge by the end. So is the movie version of Entourage a reminder of the good times or merely evidence of its decline?

The answer, sad to say, is pretty clear from the opening scene, when Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his posse are seen on a luxury speedboat in Ibiza, motoring towards a mega-yacht filled to overflowing with the scantily-clad eye candy that was such a hallmark of the series. "I may have to jerk it before we even get there," says Johnny "Drama" Chase, (Kevin Dillon), Vince's reliably crude older half-brother.