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If it wasn't for Morse and it's brilliant upstart Lewis, The Oxford Murders would be far more novel and exciting.

Because with Hollywood's clout behind it, the big names have been brought in to bring this thriller to life and the millions of dollars that accompany any big production.

But the point is, it's still a 'whodunnit', based around Oxford University with lots of beautiful shots of the Bridge Of Sighs and North Oxford, which for anyone who actually lives here has a dreadful sense of déja vu.

Based on the Argentine author Guillermo Martinez's 2003 award-winning novel, The Oxford Murders is Alex de la Iglesia's first English language film.

You really need to drink your Red Bull before you watch this because you need a PhD in mathematics to understand what's going on. I managed to decipher that Martin (Elijah Wood), a young American graduate, moves to Oxford to study mathematics under the guidance of the prestigious Professor of Logic Arthur Seldom (John Hurt).

After the sudden death of his landlady in North Oxford, Mrs Eagleton, an old lady who once helped decipher the Enigma Code, Martin is drawn into a complex murder mystery and joins forces with Seldom to stop a sequence of bizarre murders which are mysteriously linked by mathematical symbols.

As the tempo quickens, so do the hormones of Martin and his nursey girlfriend, co-star Leonor Watling, who breaks up the intensity of the plot with some energetic bonking complete with spaghetti (bring back the ice cubes - all is forgiven) and button-popping passion. It's a first for Elijah, because as far as I can remember, hobbits don't have sex.

The casting is great and the plot is complex and keeps you guessing til the end, but there is a lack of fluidity and having only just managed to get my GCSE maths, most of the mathematical motive was lost on me. Anyway, if for nothing else go and see it just to watch film virgin Elijah getting his kit off and Leonor's splendid boobs.

Either way, I'm sure Colin Dexter is walking about looking smugger than usual, because although The Oxford Murders is entertaining, it's nothing that hasn't been done already.

Rating: three stars

3:33pm Thursday 24th April 2008

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