I’ll be frank; I’ve never really liked Woody Allen’s movies. I find his omnipresent neurotic voice in his films grating and I think it detracts from the individuality of the personalities in his films. You just know that lurking inside every Allen character, there’s a small bespectacled him jumping up and down for attention. But he is a master of dialogue and his films are skilfully and creatively made, so I can’t write him off entirely.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona brings out the best and the worst in Allen; self-analytical and neurotic to the core but playfully, beautifully and cleverly shot and written. It’s the story of two best friends, Vicky (Rebecca Hall ) and Cristina (Allen staple Scarlett Johannson) who travel to live in Barcelona.

The periodic voice-over informs us that they both have very different attitudes towards love. Vicky favours security and values commitment above all else. Cristina’s view of love is defined by what she doesn’t want which is the very antithesis of Vicky’s – she’s passionate, impulsive and doesn’t plan for the future. This dichotomy is explored when fiery artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem trading his cattle stun gun in for smouldering looks and a decent haircut) shows up on the scene, unabashedly declaiming his attraction to both women. Further complicating matters is Juan Antonio’s crazy ex-wife Marie Elena (Penelope Cruz playing irrational madness brilliantly).

As you’d expect from Allen the dialogue is excellent and zips along at a pace, characters bouncing ideas and quips off each other fluidly and naturally. It's helped along by excellent performances from all actors.

Barcelona is shot wonderfully – all dusky oranges and beautifully lit sculpture. One can’t help but think that we’re being shown an idealised form of Barcelona though (in a similar way to how London in Match Point was an idea of London rather than London itself), but if you’re willing to let this slide and enjoy the setting, it really is beautiful.

However, it’s difficult not to feel ambivalent about the narration. It’s used as a device to scoot the plot along, informing us that events have taken place or the background to certain characters. But it’s so infused with Allen’s own neuroses that it’s hard to put that out of your mind.

And surely it’s breaking a rule of film making in that we should be shown and not told what’s going on? Still, it’s tempered with some wry implications which are entertaining (better than Stephen Frears’ voice over for the recent Cheri at any rate).

All in all, it’s an entertaining and engaging film which reflects on nature of love and its inconsistencies, beautifully shot with excellent performances from the crème de la crème of Hollywood’s finest acting talent. Ultimately what you think of it will depend on your view of Woody Allen – it’s either delightfully perceptive or infuriatingly neurotic.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (12A) is out on DVD now.