An initial reaction on hearing that a sequel was to be made of Bridget Jones's Diary was: is there anywhere else for it to go? The answer would seem to be Thailand.

Renee Zellwegger and Colin Firth

But the Thai adventure aside - and tabloid over-reaction to a lesbian kiss - Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason is offering little other than a severe dose of deja vu.

Renee Zellweger returns as the 21st century Samantha Pepys, whose diaries now make happier reading thanks to a steady job at a telly station and a loving relationship with lawyer boyfriend Mark Darcy (Firth).

Or so she thought.

Gossip leads her to believe Mark may possibly be having a fling with colleague Rebecca (Jacinda Barrett), sparking heated arguments with her man, to say nothing of Bridget finding herself in the odd embarrassing situation (check out the conference call and gatecrashing the business meeting scenes).

Matters are made worse when Bridget's caddish ex Daniel Cleaver (Grant) gets a job at the TV station as a travel reporter. Bridget is assigned to work with him, and it's not long before they are off to the Far East and the sex capital of the world.

Will Bridget fall again for the charms of womanising smoothie Daniel? Or will the dependable Mark prove to be her true love?

Actually, while in Thailand, Bridget has a more pressing matter to contend with - a charge of drug smuggling and a spell in a Bangkok prison.

So an effort has been made to move the story along, but otherwise you could go into the cinema with a list of things to tick off. Slapstick stunt with a close up of Bridget's bum? Check. Bridget making a fool of herself in esteemed company? Check. Reference to her oversized underwear? Check.

We even get a Firth/Grant rematch of the punch-up they had in the first film.

As crowd pleasing as all this is, there is a sense at the end of the film of feeling a little cheated that just about everything in the original is rehashed.

Thank heavens for Renee Zellweger. Her portrayal of Bridget is sheer delight and she deserves her place as a modern British comedy icon.

The fact she is from Texas and is normally stick thin matters not a jot, because Zellweger has nailed the accent and the character's personality.

She at least helps inject a sense of fun which will ensure fans will derive some pleasure from Bridget's latest adventures.

And if nothing else, Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason will be the movie that launched the film career of Jeremy Paxman.