WHAT'S it all about, the new Alfie?

Charles Shyer's remake of the seminal 1966 comedy drama, which introduced a young Michael Caine as the eponymous playboy bachelor, remains remarkably faithful to Lewis Gilbert's original film and Bill Naughton's play.

The action may have been updated to present day Manhattan but the story-line is virtually unchanged.

Alfie Elkins (Jude Law) is a Londoner who has transplanted himself to New York to work as a limousine driver.

Surrounded by an abundance of beautiful women - both young and old - Alfie takes it upon himself to give his lonely female clients the personal touch... often in the back of the limousine.

He flits from one beautiful partner to the next - from frustrated housewife Dorie (Jane Krakowski) to single mother Julie (Marisa Tomei), from successful businesswoman Liz (Susan Sarandon) to boozy party girl Nikki (Sienna Miller) - with little thought for the feelings of his conquests.

However, Alfie's carefree lifestyle slowly unravels when he sleeps with Lonette (Nia Long), the on-off girlfriend of his best friend Marlon (Omar Epps), and she falls pregnant.

Suddenly, Alfie realises that the pursuit of the pleasures in life comes at a terrible price.

Like the original film, the remake employs the dramatic device of having Alfie speak his mind to camera, revealing his innermost thoughts to the audience.

This stylistic conceit works well and doesn't interrupt the flow of the piece too greatly.

The original Alfie was very much a work of its time: the lead character's frank, amoral and often misogynist attitude towards his female conquests sparked controversy back in the 60s, not least over the film's treatment of the abortion issue.

Almost 40 years later, Alfie's carefree approach to sex and his cruel treatment of the women is far less shocking or provocative.

Sad to say, leading man Jude Law plays his lad about town as a smarmy, smug, reptilian predator, lacking much of the charm which made Caine's Alfie likable, even at his most cruel.

It's difficult to muster any sympathy when he falls from grace, especially when it seems Alfie won't learn from the experience and will simply fall back into his old habits.

Sarandon emerges best of the female co-stars, bringing a sexiness and cold edge to her older woman.

Another downfall is that in updating Alfie to the present day, Shyer and co-writer Elaine Pope conveniently forget about the dangers of STDs. Perhaps that's simply too much harsh reality for Alfie's world.

Rating: 5/10