Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears

I am a fan of the tv show and I am was very glad to find here Miss Fisher as she ever was, all stylish and cool. And she still has great chemistry con Jack. And this time they meet places. It was fun! But the story itself was lacking, specially because of the supernatural implications, which were not a part of the show. It reminded me a little of the old MacGyver show. They did a couple of made-for-tv movies that were about Merlin and Atlantis and things like that. Suddenly supernatural. Besides that, it was telegraphed who "done it". So, , did I enjoy this? Yes, quite. But they had a lot of time to do it, they could have make something better.

My wife and I were huge friends of the TV series but watching this was just painful.

The whole point of the original series was the wonderful cast, the relationships they had with each other, Melbourne, the amazing attention to detail and accuracy that Kerry Greenwood insisted on in portraying the times.

All of that is just out the window with this nonsense.

The original cast might have credits but except for Phryne and Jack, all are only involved for one token season for about 15 seconds so they can have their names in the credits.

Melbourne has nothing to do with the story of course as you can guess from the title.

Accuracy? What a joke.

At one point, there is reference to a monument or obelisk, if you like, that "points to the brightest start in the sky". Ah ... the stars in the sky aren't fixed (except Polaris) and move through the night as the earth rotates so that wouldn't work very well would it? Do writers not thing viewers have brains to notice this sort of thing?

In an earlier scene in London, Jack and Phryne have their passports confiscated by the police and told they can't leave London until the case is solved. Yet off they head to the mid-east, presumably without passports, a day or two later because the case is still unsolved and the passports would not have been returned because Phryne didn't show up for her meeting with the senior police. Again, do writers think about this sort of slip because viewers certainly notice it when it is this bad.

And I won't even get into that bit at the end about the telegram in the desert as it was over the top silly.

Scenes were stolen from other movies including, obviously, Indiana Jones and also the quicksand right out of Lawrence of Arabia.

If you have fond memories of the Miss Fisher series, then do yourself a favour and skip this as it will spoil all of those wonderful memories.

As a huge fan of the original series, I had high hopes for the movie, especially since the production team specifically chose to crowd source in order to gain more creative control. Overall the film was entertaining, but as several reviews have already stated, it missed the mark. The plot would have worked better as a single episode, the story was stretched thin and added unnecessary complications in order to make it feature length. Additionally, the film lacked the character interactions that made the series so endearing. Having hardly any of the regular characters return, and having the few that did feature not interact with Phyrne, was the real downfall of the film. The scenes between Phryne and Jack were a saving grace, and the only aspect that was reminiscent of the original series.

I find it surprising that a company that made such a brilliant TV series, was unable to make a good film. There were some bright bits and the acting was good, but the photography was poor and the story disjointed. We briefly re-met the rest of the regulars from the TV series, but they were quickly discarded! I would have preferred to keep the Melbourne setting and stories. I suppose they were trying to interest a wider audience, but it would surprise me if they succeeded.

Miss Fisher was a bit of a disappointment, the Crypt of Tears could easily have fit into an hour long TV episode. While the costumes and scenery were lovely and the soundtrack great the plot was a bit thin and it dragged. 3 Stars George: I lost the plot and couldn't figure out what was going on but I enjoyed the scenery and the the 1920s jazz soundtrack was fabulous. 3.5 stars