The Dad's Army movie had its London premiere last night with stars including Catherine Zeta-Jones taking to the red carpet.

Eastern Daily Press: Cast of the new Dad's Army film (left to right): Blake Harrison as Pike, Danny Mays as Walker, Tom Courtenay as Corporal Jones, Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring, Bill Paterson as Fraser, Bill Nighy as Wilson and Michael Gambon as Godfrey. Universal Pictures/PA WireCast of the new Dad's Army film (left to right): Blake Harrison as Pike, Danny Mays as Walker, Tom Courtenay as Corporal Jones, Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring, Bill Paterson as Fraser, Bill Nighy as Wilson and Michael Gambon as Godfrey. Universal Pictures/PA Wire

It was the first time film critics had a chance to see the remake of the TV series shot in Thetford and many of them were unimpressed as they were taken back to Walmington-on-Sea.

Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave us 'permission to panic' with jokes centred around 'feeble double-entendres about sausages and roly-poly'. The cast were 'let down by the kind of puny script that can't tell funny and frantic apart', he wrote.

Many critics used the line 'who do they think they are kidding?' from the famous theme tune as the they struggled to find anything to laugh about in the film starring Bill Nighy and Blake Harrison.

The Mirror's critic David Edwards went as far as to call it a 'career-killing catastrophe' for the cast and Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian still couldn't get his head round why the TV series was made into a film at all calling it a 'pointless kind of Brit-comedy ancestor worship'.

Eastern Daily Press: Scene from the new Dad's Army film.Scene from the new Dad's Army film.

But there were some positive reviews when it come to performances by one of the lead actors.

Mark Braxton at the Radio Time's had praise for Toby Jones' performance as Captain Mainwaring saying: 'Jones plays him his own way – less pompous but still deluded. The man just has funny bones.'

The Independent gave the film five stars with Sean O'Grady going as far to say the film surpassed the original TV series with 'all the elements that made the original such a clever and durable and indeed lovable comedy are turned up for parade, present and correct'.

•Dad's Army is out in cinemas on February 5.

Eastern Daily Press: Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rose Winters in the Dad's Army film. Photo: Universal Pictures/PA WireCatherine Zeta-Jones as Rose Winters in the Dad's Army film. Photo: Universal Pictures/PA Wire