The Sparks Brothers

From bucket-of-water tomfoolery to visually inventive biography and witty musicology, this really does have something for the girl with everything.

The Sparks Brothers film is smart, funny, infectiously weird, a little geeky, a little too long, a little niche, and consistently entertaining.

The film is too long and, although Wright hopes it will convert heathens, it's still probably one for the fans. The Maels, however, make enjoyably unpredictable hosts.

Less a documentary than an intensive course of art-pop hypnotherapy: even those who enter the cinema knowing next to nothing about the pair will leave feeling like lifelong enthusiasts.

Wright presents an unabashed love letter to a band he clearly loves and does it with style, humour and great attention to detail.

Wright's film has converted me. Sparks are the Gilbert and George of pop music.

With a few tweaks, there is a strong movie in here. I just wish that some of the writing didn’t feel as flat and that there was a strong demographic group for the film.

In The Sparks Brothers, master storyteller Edgar Wright introduces us to Sparks, crafting a documentary that’s as captivating, cool and ironic as the pop-rock duo itself.

It's good to hear their story both from their own mouths and that of a Greek chorus of associates and, less illuminatingly, admirers.

What this film does have is lots of passion and affection for its subject. The Boss sang “You can’t start a fire without a spark”. The Sparks Brothers is likely to start that fire for a new generation of fans thanks to Edgar Wright.