The Debt

If this movie had been made a few years later, Jessica Chastain would have visited Prague sooner than she managed to with the movie Zookeeper’s Wife. I’m sure of that. You see you can feel Prague’s good old architecture from this film, which is also quite similar in Budapest. That’s why they use Budapest to shoot East Berlin every now and then. Nevertheless, I watched this movie mainly because of Jessica, who once again put in an incredible acting performance. It was a bit worse with the story that tries to look very interesting, spy-like and fateful, but it’s actually about one botched operation and the related lie. Nothing too big, nothing too complicated. The atmosphere is definitely good, but you sort of suspect all the time how things will eventually turn out and you have no reason to yearn for the ending from the very start, which is a pity for a movie like this. (2017-04-17)

Decent craftsmanship. Three Mossad agents vs. a Nazi war criminal. Madden build a convincing atmosphere on both sides of the time line and the actors don’t let him down. I enjoyed the younger members of the cast more, Jessica Chastain is a fox and on the same acting level as Helen Mirren, and even Sam Worthington rocks in Berlin (the scene with the plate). An excellent, nicely tight story with an unexpected, although rather strange ending. And Newman’s music is first rate. (2011-11-27)

I don't know, I don't know, but based on what I have been able to see lately, I feel that the American thriller is in decline. Whether it's the films "Man on a Ledge," "Contraband," "Colombiana," or even "The Debt," none of them are groundbreaking. After "Man on a Ledge," I once again encounter Sam Worthington in a thriller, who - if nothing else - at least proves in this case that he still has some acting ability. Except for that terrible accent. The structure of the film is quite interesting as it takes place in two different time periods. One is the "present" (which is actually the year 1997) and the other is the year 1965, specifically in Berlin. In the older date, an event occurs that has consequences for the future. Excellent casting, however, does not guarantee the realization of potential. The same can be said for the screenplay, which, although it hints at interesting moments - especially the submarine emerging from long confinement in the apartment - ultimately only represents something incredibly long and boring. I have always felt that a thriller should be a suspenseful film, where you eagerly await what will happen next. But films like "Die Hard" are not made every day. The attempt to incorporate emotions and focus on human fates in "The Debt" did not work out. Instead of being thrilling, the film is boring. Therefore, it becomes tedious and ultimately uninteresting. The two different time periods actually dilute the story even more instead of helping it. This is really a shame because I had high expectations from the cast. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/08/jane-eyre-ekologicka-afrika-cislo.html (2013-02-24)

Very respectable, both as a psychological drama and as a suspenseful thriller. However, it would have been better to focus more on one or the other. The Debt could have then found a more distinctive place in cinema alongside, for example, the dramatic Munich or the thriller Valkyrie, next to which it is more likely to gather dust as it is. John Madden tries at all costs to engage American viewers while intellectually fulfilling Europeans and narrowly misses the mark. Ignore the ending, which is utterly inappropriate and calls my four-star rating into question. (2011-11-01)

As I've grown older, my perspective on movies and series I watched years ago has certainly shifted, and this film is a prime example. At one point, chasing Nazis might have seemed justified, but seeing the recent outcomes of such actions feels like kicking someone who's already unconscious. I'm not here to defend anyone, but dragging elderly folks in near-vegetative states to court, with more tubes and wires than Robocop, doesn't seem to have a point. What kind of punishment will they get? Life imprisonment? Right. The blindfolded lady with scales must be having a good laugh. Anyway, this film captured a time when such actions seemed more sensible, and I particularly enjoyed the part set in Berlin. However, the part set in the present and the ending was executed so poorly that I debated whether it deserved that third star for quite some time. / Lesson learned: While we played cops and robbers as children, kids in Israel apparently played games like Simon and the Nazis.3*- (2022-06-22)