Davis, Parker, Cattrall, Nixon - photo courtesy of Warner Bros

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth) have settled into marital bliss – much to Carrie’s chagrin since she’s trying to avoid falling into staid domesticity. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is married to Steve (David Eigenberg) and has a new boss who’s making her life a misery. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has a comfortable existence with husband Harry (Evan Handler) but is battling with the frustrations of motherhood and Samantha’s (Kim Cattrall) swapped monogamy for menopause and is desperately trying to retain her youth by swallowing a handful of pills every day.

After Samantha gets a gig doing publicity for a luxurious resort at Abu Dhabi, the land of repressed sexuality, the foursome jet off to the Middle East for a spot of pampering and a lot of over indulgence.  This is basically an excuse to dress the gals in exquisite jewelry and trot them through upscale hotels, bars and restaurants and it all feels remarkably familiar with the expected puns and pathos.

Fashion, friendship, frolics and run-ins with old lovers (John Corbett returns as Carrie’s blast from the past) is still the norm in this feather light fantasy and it’s a trip which abruptly explodes when Samantha’s libido issues wreck havoc with a handsome Danish architect.

Peppered with a little wit, which will elicit gasps and chuckles, there’s a fair amount of predictability given how well audiences know these characters.

Writer-director Michael Patrick King doesn’t try to cram in any unnecessary plot twists or unreasonable developments to set it apart from the series and for fans of the show, the comfort of the familiarity will still be a huge draw.