On the Hallmark scale, this is a solid 10. Rachel Skarsten has been in two of my favorite Hallmark movies. I loved "Royal Nanny" and "Timeless Love" and "Christmas Island" was also pretty good (mostly because of Skarsten and Walker).
Rachel Skarsten is an interesting actress. She's beautiful, but not in a way that you can't picture her walking around in everyday life. She's very expressive, and it's fun to watch her face react to a scene. As Whitney, a librarian jolted out of an ordinary life and saved from what was likely to be a less than inspiring date, Skarsten is a perfect blend of strength, uncertainty, courage, and vulnerability.
I wasn't a fan of Corey Sevier at first, but over the course of several very good movies he has won me over. He's perfect as Josh, an undercover FBI agent with no life. He has no family and apparently no friends and Sevier really captures the sadness of this man's life. There's a poignant moment during a beautifully filmed charades game when Josh really sees what he's been missing and it gutted me. In that moment, he embodied so many lonely people in the world who, sadly, know all too well what they are missing.
It's worth noting that this very entertaining movie was directed by Corey Sevier and he nailed it. It was written by Kate Pragnell who also wrote last year's very enjoyable "Take Me Back For Christmas."
There's lots of fun moments, including a shout out to "Die Hard" (the air vent scene) and a brave recognition that "Die Hard" really is the best "Christmas" movie (no doubt reigniting that debate in many households). I also loved the hot tango scene. There's also a lively scene with the wonderful Jayne Eastwood who plays a jeweler who can apparently make anything in just a few hours.
Unfortunately, the security for the Heart of Christmas necklace seems to have been provided by a hungry crew from Keystone Klowns Security. Don't come looking for realism here (there are some rope rappelling sequences that also defy reality). But, let's face it, nobody demands realism from Tom Cruise's "Mission Impossible" movies so why expect that in a Hallmark adventure movie? The light FBI procedural structure here worked well enough for a Hallmark romance.
The plot has a few twists and it's all a fun and refreshing change of pace for a Hallmark Christmas romance.
And these days, anything with Rachel Skarsten is automatically worth watching.
