The Pink Panther

Quite why anyone would follow Peter Sellers' cultish Clouseau is a mystery, although if anyone was going to try, it was Steve Martin. In this contemporary comedy loosely based on the original film, Inspector Clouseau is assigned to investigate the theft of the Pink Panther diamond and the accompanying murder of a football coach (Jason Statham, killed off early). Parisian pratfalls lead to innocent-abroad escapades in New York with singing suspect Xania (Beyoncé Knowles), in which Martin merges his own persona with a Sellers imitation with only some success. Some of Clouseau’s trademark blunders may amuse those unfamiliar with the originals, but in a modern movie with a contemporary actor, the national stereotypes and farcical humour appear dated. The plot, needless to say, is negligible.