Critics slay 'vapid' Entourage movie: 'This bromance is a bust'

It's been four long years since fans have seen Vincent Chase, Johnny Drama, Eric and Turtle in action. Critics say it should have been a few more.

The Entourage movie, directed by Doug Ellin and based on the hit HBO show that ran for eight seasons between 2004-2011, is released in New Zealand on Thursday.

It follows the exploits of A-list actor Chase, studio rep Ari (Jeremy Piven), his brother Drama and his friends Eric and Turtle as they chase the Hollywood dream.

A scene from the new Entourage movie.

Like Sex and the City, Entourage has been revived for a movie featuring the same cast, and co-creator Mark Wahlberg has said it could be the start of a series of films.

But reviewers say the show should have stayed where it ended in 2011, with the movie charting at just 21 per cent on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.

"It's like catching up with an old friend and remembering why you don't hang out with him anymore: he's stuck in a rut and he has nothing new to say," wrote Richard Roeper from the Chicago Sun-Times in one of the harshest reviews.

It was a view shared by John Semley from the Globe and Mail: "These characters represent the most repellant cliches of male friendship, where guys can only relate to each other through a discourse of casual misogyny and female conquest."

Many criticised the lack of strong female figures in the movie, which glorifies male friendship - or "bro-ness" - and frequently features scantily clad women.

Writing for the New York Times, AO Scott said: "You could accuse it of glamorising the shallow hedonism it depicts, but that charge would only stick if the movie had any genuine flair, romance or imagination."

Ari Gold played by Jeremy Piven in the Entourage movie.

And Matt Donato from We Got This Covered said the film wasn't without laughs but had "turned into the same vapid Hollywood beast that the show once satirically mocked".

"This bromance is a bust," wrote Susan Granger for SSG Syndicate.

In one of the film's few positive reviews, Joe Neumaier from the New York Daily News gave the film three stars and said it felt like a "solid, slightly too long episode".

"But even given the bloat, the cast's easy camaraderie and a 'play it as it lays' atmosphere wins you over."

* Entourage is released in New Zealand on Thursday. Check back then for nzherald.co.nz's full review of the film.