The initial problem with something that is essentially a TV movie, is will people go and see it? In this case, absolutely yes. Grossing over £2 million on its day of initial release the movie is set to do as well as the TV series.

The creators of the show mentioned recently that they wanted the film to be open to newcomers as well as fans of the show. As such, the opening sequences attempt to introduce the characters; Will (Simon Bird) being mocked by his father, a character incidentally never introduced in the series and played by the wonderful Anthony Stewart Head, for being anti-people and anti-normal. We see Jay (James Buckley) being interrupted by his mum while wanking for the fourth time this summer, Simon (Joe Thomas) being unsurprisingly dumped by Carli (Emily Head), and Neil (Blake Harrison), well, being Neil.

Now that Simon has been dumped and sixth form is finally over, they decide to go on a proper lads holiday to Malia, after deciding that Magaluf/Shagaluf is a little outdated. Their holiday starts bad and only goes downhill in true Inbetweeners fashion. Their hotel, which charges 50 Euros every time you shit on the floor, is a hotel you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. It’s a place where dogs commit suicide by diving into wells and people fall asleep on ants nests.

Their first night out in Malia, after 37 hours of no sleep, gets them conned into a ‘sexy’ aka desolate bar that offers free fish bowls, and after a truly phenomenal dance sequence that is equal parts hilarious/fantastic/mortifying, the group meet their unlikely female companions for the holiday.

There was a lot of initial concern that the film would simply feel like 3 episodes slotted together and may feel a little disjointed, but happily this is not the case. Despite being creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley’s first foray into film they pulled it off exceedingly well. Hopefully this isn’t the end of their cinematic attempts.

Although Will is essentially the main lead, the other characters get almost equal amount of screen time thankfully, and for the first time since the show begun there is a scene where Neil makes (partial) logical sense. Although admittedly this doesn’t quite balance out with some of his other scenes which make me feel a little queasy.

The consensus that the film would be the same quality, or even lower quality, than any of the episodes is thankfully completely untrue, and The Inbetweeners end with a bang worthy and deserving of three successful TV series. There will inevitably be shouts for a sequel, but both the creators and cast have said that this is definitely the end for the group which I whole heartedly agree with. It was a fantastic end to a brilliant TV series, and it should just be left as that.

Not only were the cast on top form, but their female counterparts were wonderfully matched for each of them. Neil’s girl Lucy was equally as tall and ditzy, Jay’s foul mouthed and promiscuous, while Simon’s helped him through his break up and Will’s gave him confidence and (finally) some action.

The Inbetweeners film is a perfect British summer holiday film, perfect for fans of the show and newcomers and if you’re not doubled over with laughter for over half of the film, I’ll eat my proverbial hat.

[Rating:4/5]

The Inbetweeners Movie DVD will be released soon and is now available to pre-order from Tesco Entertainment.