Misterio en Amán

Watching this movie is like watching a prolonged episode of "Castle" without Nathan Fillion. The concept is a good one, the visuals are great. The story is cliche, and the acting is wooden. Perhaps with a good writer and a director who can get more than a mail-in performance from the actors, this could have been a modern day "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Instead, we get "Kate Beckett Gets Lost in the Desert". A waste of an actress's talent and celluloid.

Rachel goes to Jordan to identify her brother's body, there she is involved in a religious mystery with help of us agent, Jake. They get kidnapped, wander through the dessert, and of course, people whom seem like friends are really enemies.

FINAL VERDICT: OK, reminded me of Romancing the Stone except this takes place in the dessert and it is not as good. OK for a background movie while you do other things.

This movie is way too hard to believe any of it. Surviving and kidnaping in the desert like that--ridiculous. The plot also hard to believe

But the scenes of the desert, of Petra, of the Mid-East--very interesting

I saw a half decent rating for this film so I decided to watch. Within the first 20 minutes I realized how terribly silly this film was. It is as if a bunch of children put together a story. Our heroes wake up after being captured and are confronted with a seven-year-old child holding a gun and keeping watch on the prisoners. You must be kidding me. Confrontation with the adults includes slapstick, jokey comedy that doesn't work at all. Still held at gunpoint, our heroine first insists that she doesn't know or care about her fellow captive. Then a moment later she seems to care. The ridiculous miraculous escape (or there wouldn't be a movie) is so contrived as to wonder what the director was thinking. Was he trying to make a movie like The Mummy? It certainly wasn't working. At all.

The look of the film is ok. It seems like an attempt to take advantage of a foreign city. And it's exactly like what other reviewers describe - an airy adventure tour of a city in Jordan. The dialogue, acting and especially the script is extremely amateurish. If you want to take a tour of Amman and value your time, there are plenty of other documentaries that will do the job effectively.

So much fun! A real delight, even after multiple viewings. If you haven't seen The Rendezvous yet, do so. Sit down with a bowl of popcorn - or plate of Christmas cookies with the family - and pretend you're in a movie theater back when films swept you into romance and adventure and good humor with over-the-top villains, crazy twists, and charming leads. Stana Katic and Raza Jaffrey have chemistry to spare. The direction, cinematography, and score are all topnotch.