This jaw-dropping, mouth-watering, heart-stopping film version of the spectacular Fosse stage show takes all the best bits from the musical and enhances every scene.

Roxie Hart (Zellweger) is an ambitious showgirl who wants nothing more than to see her name in lights. But when she shoots her unfaithful lover (Dominic West), the only lights she gets to see are the fluorescent strip bulbs that illuminate her dank cell in a prison for wicked women.

But, according to Roxie, "He had it comin'," and she will do anything in her power to get out.

Facing the hangman's noose, locked up with no one to depend on, except a gormless devoted doormat husband, played excruciatingly sadly by John C Reilly, Roxie encounters her heroine, queen of all showgirls, Velma Kelly (Zeta Jones), who has been put away for bumping off her sister and husband.

As Velma's career thrives in jail, with the help of her smooth operator lawyer, Billy Flynn (Gere), Roxie's admiration for Velma becomes obsessive.

The wannabe starlet's jealous glare soon turns into a smug grin as she herself is spotted by Billy and is thrust into the media circus which has, until now, been ruled by every move of Velma's.

As Roxie turns every trick in the book to keep the media spotlight on her plight, the threat of hanging looms closer and Velma's competitive streak makes her ever more devious.

As the battle of the vixens gets under way, their lawyer becomes more desperate and dirty as the race reaches a climax.

But soon the girls are made painfully aware that they're only as good as the last piece of smut the paper has dished up on them, as the bright lights of the Chicago nightlife start to fade away.

The choreography, lighting and music are magnificent. Every scene is faster and more vibrant than the last. On the whole the experience will shake you to the core, but there are three main 'buts':

Rob Marshall has opted to film the stage show rather than create an original film, which limits the accessibility to those who love musicals on stage rather than appealing to a wider audience.

Richard Gere is completely out-played and over-shadowed by the girls. He's just not suave or slick enough for the part. Billy Flynn needs to light up every scene he's in, and he doesn't.

Catherine and Renee are wonderful, especially a most powerful and alluring Zeta-Jones, but together they look like Little and Large. Zeta-Jones is so slim, but in the grande finale when they both appear with their backs to the camera, the image looks like a drag queen with a kid.

Cath is three times the size of an unhealthily minuscule Renee - a real travesty because, on her own, she is absolutely thrilling to watch, with an exquisite and rare beauty. An added bonus is Zeta-Jones' surprisingly competent singing voice.

Natalie Stone