It’s been four years since Carrie Bradshaw and her gal pals last graced our televisions. For six seasons we followed the lives of the fabulous four, and despite rumors of cast catfights, they have finally returned to ¬¬us via the highly anticipated Sex and the City movie.

If you’re not a fan of the SATC series, it is likely that that the movie probably won’t charm you. If, however, you were one of the thousands who fanatically followed it every week on television, or watched it later on its DVD release, you will feel at home watching the movie.

The movie is set approximately three years after the series, and you will be delighted to know that things have not changed too much in the world of Sex and The City.

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), is writing her fourth book, and still in a relationship with boyfriend John, ‘AKA’, Mr. Big (Chris Noth); Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is still living on Park Avenue with her husband Harry (Evan Handler) and the Chinese orphan they adopted;

Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is living in Brooklyn and struggling to juggle a career, her marriage to Steve (David Eigenberg) and motherhood; while Samantha (Kim Cattrall), is still with the young, sexy Television star Smith(Jason Lewis) - and yes, she still loves sex. A notable addition is Jennifer Hudson as Carrie's assistant.

It is no surprise that, like the series, the film revolves around the themes of Love and Labels, but in the film they face new challenges such as marriage after the big 4-0, infidelity, monogamy and forgiveness.

After six seasons, SATC fanatics are likely to be desensitised to the eccentricities of these New York gals. The movie therefore makes great effort to sustain the same shock value that the series did – just watch out for some unsightly sex scenes, untamed pubic hair and a scene where one of the girls ‘poops’ in their pants.

The imaginative narrative of SATC translates beautifully to the silver screen. The movie simply delivers what the fans want; the series Sex and the City with a movie feel. The fairytale certainly is ‘super-sized’ - stuffed with more love, tears, fashion (oh the fashion!), despair, sex and tenderness than you could swing a Louis Vitton handbag at. Just as you would expect - and want - from the film, it is unashamedly sentimental and materialistic.

Despite its two-and-a-half-hour length, SATC moves at an effortless pace. Just like old times, you find yourself comfortably immersing yourself in the enticing set locations and stimulating plot, observing each character as they overcome predicaments and grow.

Predictably, after exposing us to many sexual innuendos, twists, and humorous scenarios, it is only in the last 10 minutes that we discover whether the fairytale has a happy ending.

One thing's for sure: judging by the laughing, sniffling, gasping and cooing I witnessed in the cinema, fans of the series will lap this film up.

4 Manolo Blahniks out of 5