In 1965, the Israeli MOSSAD identified another Nazi criminal, Dieter Vogel, nicknamed the Surgeon from Birkenau. Three of the best young agents – Raquel, David and Stefan – are sent to East Berlin, where Vogel quietly works as a gynecologist in one of the hospitals. Their goal is to capture him and bring him to Israel for a show trial. But during the operation, something went wrong, and the perpetrator had to be killed. The agents became heroes anyway, Stefan even rose to the rank of minister later. However, in 1997 it became known that the official information was false and Vogel is still alive – now he is staying in a nursing home in Ukraine. David stepped under the truck, and Raquel went to a new address to finish the job at least now.
In 2007, an Israeli film with the same name and plot was released.… But not by genre. Assaf Bernstein's "Reckoning" was a thoughtful–if somewhat jingoistic-drama about duty. Actually, this is how the English word debt is translated. Moreover, by "debt" here we can mean both Vogel's debt and the debt of the three agents who lied to everyone for so many years. It was their torments that Bernstein (and he wrote the script) put at the forefront.
John Madden was making a completely different movie. The script was greatly reworked by Hollywood screenwriters, who turned it into a rather energetic political thriller. However, Madden, who became famous for "Shakespeare in Love" (1998), and ten years later surprised many with a completely different "Killer" (2008) from everything he had done before, was apparently not interested in making a purely genre film. So he tried to make both a drama and a thriller in one bottle. Which sometimes, of course, succeeds, but that's exactly what happens sometimes. The director's ambitions are not to say that they ruin the film, but he, without a doubt, would only benefit if Madden made just a thriller. Anyway, the best thing about Payback is the action scenes. One episode in which Raquel strangles Vogel with her feet while sitting in a gynecological chair is worth it!
Most of all, the picture intrigues the acting ensemble. And in the roles of both young heroes and old ones. Sam Worthington ("Avatar"), Jessica Chastain ("The Tree of Life"), Marton Csokas ("The Lord of the Rings"), Tom Wilkinson ("Nothing Personal"), Kieran Hinds ("Witch Mountain"), Esper Christensen ("Quantum of Solace") and above all Helen Mirren – as on Not to watch this? Especially if you remember that Mirren has only recently established herself as an action heroine, starring in the comedy thriller "RED". In fact, it's the acting that turns out to be the film's greatest strength. She removes all claims against Madden, because even what seems like heavy nonsense, the actors act out in such a way that it's a pleasure to watch. La tendencia mobile-first se refleja en opciones como este sitio .