The Debt, an American remake based on the 2007 Israeli film of the same name, follows the story of three Israeli operatives set with the mission of apprehending a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin in 1966. Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stefan (Marton Csokas), and David (Sam Worthington) don’t know each other, but must now live together in one rundown apartment as they execute the plan to capture the man who once conducted the most horrible of medical “experiments” on Jewish captives, Dieter Vogel, the “Surgeon of Birkenau” (Jesper Christiansen). He’s now working under an assumed name as a gynecologist and fertility specialist, which is about the creepiest thing I can imagine.

In the “present,” which is 1997, Rachel (now played by Helen Mirren) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) have had a daughter, now grown and a journalist. She’s written a book about her parents’ mission and how they ultimately killed Vogel, which is launching with great fanfare. However, it’s obvious from the odd behavior of Rachel and Stefan at the book launch, and their references to David (Ciarán Hinds), that something more than the attention itself bothers them about the book—namely, that the mission those thirty years ago didn’t quite follow the narrative that has become the celebrated story. Flashing back and forth between the two timelines, we piece together the true sequence of events, and what must be done in the present to bring justice in line with the people’s beliefs.

The core of the film’s success relies on the chemistry between the three younger actors as they’re holed up in their apartment in East Berlin, Rachel and David pretending to be a married couple having trouble conceiving, and her visiting Vogel in his new guise. Especially once the plan hits a no-turning-back hitch, the tension requires these characters to keep high emotions under control. Though the script (adapted by Matthew Vaughn & Jane Goldman, and Peter Straughan) could stand to devote a bit more time to how their relationships evolve in that pressure cooker of a situation, the actors sell the significant developments well, especially Chastain and Csokas. Worthington is fine, but can’t quite keep up with those two. I generally like Sam Worthington, but his physical attributes don’t necessarily match what he’s shown he can actually do with a role. He doesn’t always convince me of his seriousness, and I find myself wondering sometimes: “Sam, have you considered a nice romantic comedy?”

In casting the same character with two actors, it’s more important, in my opinion, that the actors give off the same vibe than that they look especially similar (within reason, of course). To play a young Helen Mirren can’t be an easy task, but Jessica Chastain does an admirable job and shows once again that her status as a rising star is warranted. I’ve only seen her here and in her extremely charming performance in The Help, but I’m already ready to call myself a fan. Marton Csokas—who seemed a new face for me even though I know I’ve seen films he’s been in—also impresses in his ability to emulate the formidable Wilkinson in voice and mannerisms. Without such solid actors on board, the film would not have held enough momentum to keep me as engaged as it did.

Director John Madden is probably best known for Shakespeare in Love, for which he received an Oscar nomination, in addition to the film’s infamous win for Best Picture. He does a serviceable job here, but the film does lag in places, particularly when we’re shown the same parts of the “past” timeline multiple times, to communicate the differences between the official story and what really happened. Things definitely enter “we get it” territory. Yet, despite these slower moments, I often didn’t want the film to flashback to the “present” timeline from the past. Madden and his cinematographer Ben Davis and editor Alexander Berner gave that world more depth and more tension that felt genuinely earned, rather than manufactured from cuts between characters who might run into each other, oh no!, a technique that’s relied upon far too heavily in the film’s climax.

Even with these snags, The Debt is a mostly competent drama/thriller, but its final message was a bit lost on me. The tone and the title of the film, along with some prominent dialogue from the characters, suggest a theme that revolves around duty to one’s country. I’m not sure in the end what stance the film takes on that topic, however. The ending feels more designed to be shocking than to answer that question, which is a shame, since that was the place to bring together all of the pieces we’re presented along the way. We’re left in a more muddled place than a truly good film would have left us. Still, for fans of the actors at work here, it’s worth seeing.

Final Grade: B-

Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class (2011) does everything you would expect in a summer blockbuster featuring super heroes and super villains. It’s actually kind of surprising the level of accomplishment that the movie reached, given the well-reported rush that the production went through. Think about it like this: Vaughn was not brought in as the film’s director until only about a year ago. To think that he was able to jump aboard this project and in about twelve months’ time produce a well-made movie is a borderline miracle, even though we can clearly see evidence of its quick assembly. However, the film is a highly enjoyable entertainment, bringing the series back to form after the disappointments of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). I, for one, welcomed it with open arms.

As we all know by its title, the film acts as a prequel to the Bryan Singer film, X-Men (2000). One of the big pluses that this film had going for it was that Singer returned to the franchise as a story contributor. This time around, the film takes place in the 1960s, during a very troubling time in American history. One of the more interesting aspects was how the filmmakers wrapped the origins of Professor Xavier (James McAvoy), Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), and their young students to the Cold War, the U.S. arms race with Russia, President Kennedy, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Who would’ve thought that the true nature of the Cold War and the possibility of WWIII were due to a few mutants harboring a superiority complex? Hopefully high school students won’t get their U.S. History lessons mixed up. But it works within the context of the film; interweaving the story with real world situations, the film feels a little more relevant. We see the connection between these mutants wanting to be accepted in to society with the real-world outcasts of the time more clearly.

Another strength that the film had was the development of the Erik Lehnsherr character. Erik (who will become Magneto) has always been one of the more fascinating characters of the X-Men universe to me. This is a man who has seen and experienced the very worst from mankind in his lifetime, and has been filled with hate and vengeance ever since. The opening of this movie harks back to the opening of X-Men, where we see a young Erik being torn away from his family in one of the Nazi concentration camps. We get to see more of his background here, and how his subjugation under the evil villain Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) fed his hate and pushed him to seek revenge on all those who would discriminate and torment others. Michael Fassbender has been a great actor for quite some time now, and I almost feel that this movie doesn’t really deserve his talent. But he uses his skill and charisma very well in his performance, allowing us to both fear Erik and sympathize with his plight. As he describes himself in the movie, Erik is Frankenstein in search of his maker.

His storyline is contrasted with that of a young Charles Xavier. A mutant with telepathic abilities, Charles is depicted as a young hotshot college graduate eager to enter the world of teaching. His wild ways are quickly ended when he is called upon by Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) and the CIA to help stop Shaw from collaborating with the Russians to send missiles to Cuba. Charles runs into Erik, hot on the heels of Shaw himself, and the two form a unique bond and friendship, with one man driven by anger and the other motivated by the possibility of equality between mutants and humans. The very best scenes are between these two men, and showing their recruitment of young mutants to help stop Shaw and find a safe place in the world for them to live. The two both try to fight for a certain goal, but are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Their relationship is developed and tested very well as the movie progresses, and during the final passages, when the two make their stands on where the mutant/human balance should lie, it’s very well executed.

That’s where the last couple of X-Men installments lacked, as they had less of a focus on character and story, instead concentrating on just effects. With the gist of this film being on Erik, Charles, and the young mutant team, the special effects and CGI really do not have as much bearing on the quality of the film. With the movie rushed in such quick production, a lot of the effects during the action scenes seem underdeveloped, and a lot of the mutant power abilities don’t feel very convincing. But Vaughn was able to make due with what he had, and because much of the action has a point and the stakes are well realized, I was able to forgive the movie of that.

There were other minor issues. Take, for example, the underdevelopment of a lot of the supporting characters, which has been an issue with all of the movies. With so many characters being introduced, there simply is not enough time to fully get to know all of them. This is most exemplified in the Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) character, the shape-shifting mutant who will become known as Mystique. Her arc throughout the movie felt poorly handled, and her relationships with Charles, Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), and, finally, Erik, simply did not feel real within its timeframe. It seemed the amount of people moving within this story and the choices they make felt compacted and shortened. There is certainly enough material here to warrant a number of other installments, but it seemed that the filmmakers wanted to get as much as they could in, while setting everything up appropriately to bring us back around to the first movie.

With those minor problems aside, X-Men: First Class still works as a very well made comic book movie, bringing life back to a series that was almost dead in the water. The action was well staged, the acting was good by most of the principle actors, and the dynamic between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr felt real and believable. For the most part, this movie was just a lot of fun. There was an air of enjoyment to it—not taking itself too seriously, but accomplishing what it sets out to do probably better than it should have. I had a good time while watching it; there was not one dull moment or a scene that was not entertaining. If you’re looking for a well-made popcorn movie to see in the theaters, let this one be it.

Final Grade: B+

Spencer and John look at the cinematic history of the X-Men franchise, preview the indie films coming out this summer, and give their DVD picks of the week.

For his DVD pick, John selected the powerful war drama, Platoon. Spencer chose the Criterion release of the Charlie Chaplin classic, The Great Dictator (DVD/Blu-ray)

This episode is available on iTunes and Zune. It is also available on Miro and Stitcher, or you can find our podcast RSS feeds on our subscribe page and use whatever system you want.

You can follow all of the happenings on our website through our blog’s RSS feed.

Spencer and John preview the movies slated to be released during the summer of 2011, before closing out with their DVD picks of the week.

For his DVD pick, John selected the Criterion release of the classic movie, Blow Out DVD/Blu-ray). Spencer selected the latest spectacular documentary series to come from the BBC, Human Planet (DVD/Blu-ray).

This episode is available on iTunes and Zune. It is also available on Miro and Stitcher, or you can find our podcast RSS feeds on our subscribe page and use whatever system you want.

You can follow all of the happenings on our website through our blog’s RSS feed.