User reviews

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 film has some plot problems, and there are a couple of pivotal scenes that were less than perfectly executed, but it's just so darn charming that it's easy to overlook any flaws and get swept away by the breathtaking cinematography, beautiful score, and engaging performances by the two main actors.

Katic and Jaffrey have the kind of chemistry every filmmaker dreams of for their romantic leads but very few get. There's such a distinct Old Hollywood vibe to their interactions that it makes you nostalgic for the good old days when movies were there to provide fun entertainment and escapism, not weigh you down with grit and stark realism. Their banter is witty and well-paced without feeling forced or cliché, and while at times your modern mindset may wish the script would allow for some deeper emotional reactions to the subject matter, it's their uncontainable charm and playfulness that make this movie worthwhile.

It's also refreshing to see a Muslim-American man as the romantic hero, who works for the government, cracks lame jokes, brushes off stereotypes with nonchalance, rolls his eyes in frustration at extreme religious ideology, and overall acts like an ordinary guy who finds himself on a wild adventure with an ordinary gal, who just happens to be Jewish. (This dynamic was much more of a focus and explored in much greater detail in the book this movie is based on, A New Song by Sarah Isaias, but is treated as no big deal in the movie, which felt like a bit of a missed opportunity but also was strangely encouraging at the same time. Because maybe it IS no big deal, and people from different religions really CAN respect each other as people and work together and even be attracted to each other without challenging the other's belief system or getting hung up on their differences. Crazy thought, right?) Hollywood needs more of this.

Bottom line: This is a fun little adventure film, a treasure hunt, a romantic comedy with a little something extra to make you think, and I highly enjoyed it.

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.

It's alright I mean I love Stana Katic she's amazing she's giving me kinda Castle vibes. Mostly because she's not a cop in this movie but just a civilian other than that there are to many plot holes there is not really an explanation about who the whole tattoo group is other than people who believe in God. The story ark is alright little predictable but what are you gonna do about that right. But again Stana is amazing!

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

Wow, this was not what I expected from Stana Katic. The main 'plot' of the movie seems to be how many scenery shots they can get of the Middle East. Although beautiful, that's most of the movie, with a little story thrown in as an afterthought.

The story itself was dull and extremely predictable. It's like it was written by a fourth-grader that wants to be a playwright some day.

It also felt a Lot like Castle in tone. All they needed was Fillion, better writing, and it could have been a Castle movie.

At least in this, Raza Jaffrey couldn't act his way out of a box (which would have been more interesting to see). Even Katic's performance was stiff and almost emotionless.

Except for the panoramic views, it was just plain terrible.

It's strawberry cotton candy. You'll have a few laughs - two surprising ones. There are a few serious notes, but no tears. It's fun and harmless. Which isn't a bad way to spend an hour or so in these times.

On a scale of Stana's projects the writing here isn't as good as Sister Cities and nowhere near as good as the best of Castle. The writing and just about everything else is better than The Librarian thing she did.

It's a nice if trite story well told with decent actors mostly in Jordan on a small budget. Production values are modest and good. The camera work and score are very nice. Direction and editing are well above average.

It's a movie version of the school essay about what I did on my vacation.

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.

This is a terrible film! That phrase could be repeated over and over and it still would not describe how awful the script and the acting were. The script appears as if it were written for a high school drama production, and the acting was at the level of community theater. These types of movies must be given free to streaming sites as that might be the only way they can get any exposure. Do not waste your time on this at all!

'Action and romance', what's not to like about this movie! As a fan of Stana Katic ,I Ithoroughly enjoyed the suspense and surprises as the story played out. 'Chemistry' between the leading characters is evident and the story line moved quickly and kept me on the seat of my chair. Once again, Stana has chosen a 'strong' leading female role. The locations are 'beautiful and inviting'.

I was so blown away by this film. I'm quite picky when it comes to movies, but this one definitely failed to disappoint. So rarely have I encountered a film that has the ability to elicit such a wide range of emotions, most notably the ability to both laugh and cry within minutes. The humor laced through this film was so well done and gave it this beautiful lighthearted aspect that balanced perfectly with the weight of emotion certain scenes carried.

The setting of Jordan was gorgeous and had me tempted to look up plane tickets by the time the movie was over. I loved the glimpse into the country, the journeys through the desert and the city of Petra, that this film gave us, how it was such an integral piece of the story as a whole. Paired with the mesmerizing score, it was magic amidst the mystery and suspense.

The casting, in my opinion, was brilliant. I couldn't picture anyone playing these characters better than Stana Katic and Raza Jaffrey. It was so easy to root for them as a couple and to get sucked in by their chemistry. They bounce off of each other so well and their banter was fantastic, really bringing the romantic comedy aspect of this piece to life. On a more emotional note, each moment concerning Rachel and her brother squeezed at my heart. Kudos to Katic for portraying the distance and disconnect threaded through Rachel's love and affection for David so well. It struck a chord with me in a way no other form of entertainment has thus far and I've always believed any form of art that can do that is truly something special. And lastly, Alfonso Bassave and Meg Cionni deserve special mentions; their characters were especially interesting - odd, even - in the best way and I loved every second of their screen time.

Overall, every aspect of this film came together so effortlessly to fuel this unique and intriguing adventure of a plot. I have yet to read the book it's based on, but this film unquestionably made me a fan of the director, Amin Matalqa, and his work, which has a distinctive quality that shines here. 'The Rendezvous' is the definition of refreshing, a true gem of a film, and all involved should be so proud of this one.

I hardly ever watch a movie twice, but this is one I can see myself returning to time and time again.

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.

We watched this movie in Fort worth, it's a great movie. Every scene is connected to the next one. You cannot blink your eyes when you watch it. We cannot believed that this movie was filmed in a very limited budget. It is mysterious and dramatically that you even cannot leave the theater for a second. The director Amin is a very nice guy. Thank you for your poster and we are very happy to met him in the theater. We was chatting and sharing about the movie. It was a great night. Good job Amin.

I thought this movie was interesting and kinda fun. Acting not bad and locations were cool. People may think the plot was far fetched but it's a movie and end of the world conspiracies are always good places to start. If you like to watch Indy or smaller films then you'll enjoy this.