'The Debt' has solid cast and promising story, but payoff comes up short

There's a compelling story at the heart of The Debt, in which three Israeli agents are assigned to capture an unrepentant Nazi doctor living in Germany and bring him to Israel for trial. But despite some solid performances and gripping moments, The Debt doesn't deserve as much credit as a taut thriller as its makers obviously intended.

The plot toggles between the late '90s -- in which one of the agents, Rachel (Helen Mirren), is being feted in Tel Aviv for her bravery -- and the mid-'60s, when the young Rachel (Jessica Chastain, The Help) and compatriots David (Sam Worthington, Avatar) and Stephan (Marton Csokas, The Bourne Supremacy) launch their mission.

The man they're after is the evil Doktor Bernhardt (Jesper Christensen, Quantum of Solace), who committed horrific atrocities during the Nazi era under the guise of medicine. At first, their plan seems to go well, with Rachel posing as a patient -- Bernhardt is an unassuming East Berlin gynecologist. But complications arise. This leaves the agents and their captive trapped in a crumbling apartment with no means of escape.

It's here, within these claustrophobic confines, that The Debt comes alive, with the elderly Bernhardt verbally sparring with his young captors and probing for psychological weaknesses. Christensen perfectly summons up a vision of a man steeped in hate and delusion.

But The Debt, based on the well-regarded Israeli film Ha-Hov, has ambitions to be a love story and a thoughtful action flick as well. Writers Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan (who among them have written X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass and The Men Who Stare at Goats) and director John Madden ( Shakespeare in Love) shoehorn in love-triangle tension among Rachel, Sam and Stephan.

This might not seem so extraneous if there were genuine chemistry among the younger actors, especially between the earnest Chastain and nice but bland Worthington.

As for the action elements, The Debt may be too violent for those usually attracted to a Helen Mirren movie. And be warned: Although Mirren -- who's solid as usual -- is being used in the ads as the film's hook, she's actually not in large chunks of The Debt, as much of it is set 50 years ago. Still, the movie looks great, easily moving from contemporary Israel to swinging Tel Aviv and grimy 1960s East Germany.

In the end, The Debt -- with its stellar cast, name-brand filmmakers and the shell of a good story -- just proves that the sum is sometimes not as good as its parts.

Cary Darling, 817-390-7571