This is an Australia based series but they chose to make the focal point the middle east and it didn't work on any level. Attempt at humor fell flat, no real plot, and certainly nobody to really care about. Even the byplay between the leads was awkward and contrived. A miss at every level.

I was happy to see Miss Fisher again as well as members of the series cast, though several of them weren't in it for long, since the major setting is London. Additionally, Rupert Penry-Jones was in it, and you can't go wrong with him.

The story concerns Phryne being dispatched to Jerusalem to rescue a young girl from imprisonment and return her to her father in London. But the mystery starts there. Curses, emeralds, and a lost tribe make up the elements of this exotic story. Very Indiana Jones.

Essie Davis, as usual, is great as Phryne and looks fabulous. She gets to do a lot of stunts, including going in and out of windows, jumping onto trains, that sort of thing. I loved the scenery and the clothes.

Phryne Fisher fans, I think, will be pleased.

1929. Australian detective Phryne Fisher rescues a young Bedouin woman, Shirin, from a Jerusalem jail. Shirin's entire village was apparently wiped out by a giant sandstorm 10 years earlier but she now tells Miss Fisher that this is not true: they were all murdered.

I haven't watched anything of the TV series 'Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries' of which this movie is a part, of sorts, so had no expectations for this movie. It probably would have helped a bit to have watched the TV series as some of the relationships seem to follow from that. It's not critical, however, as the pieces fall into place quite easily.

The movie itself is surprisingly flat for a detective drama. Intrigue and tension are on the low side, as is engagement but that might be dependent on whether you've watched the TV series. The characters were likeable enough but that was about it: I never felt truly invested in them or how things panned out.

Plot is okay but not overly original. Twists are limited: it pretty much just chugs along.

Performances are okay but unspectacular.

Overall, okay but not great.