Highly Overrated But Still Good

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Based on the brief two-line plot synopsis it sounds as if "Het Vonnis" is the Belgian version of "Death Wish", but a lot more accurate comparison would be that this is the Belgian "A Time to Kill", for example. The majority of the film takes place inside the courtroom where a vigilante action/crime of vengeance is being trialled, while the crime itself is only gradually shown in brief sequences. There exist hundreds of courtroom dramas, admittedly, but "Het Vonnis" is given a typical and unmistakable Belgian character due to the subplot of the so-called "judicial error"… It might be happening elsewhere in the world, surely, but I assure you that in Belgium it occurs embarrassingly frequent. Writer/director Jan Verheyen, who truly surpassed himself with this film, allegedly wrote the screenplay out of frustration after watching another saddening news bulletin of such a judicial/procedural error. These errors can be a lot of stupid things, but the most outrageous of them all is that a criminal gets released from prison – although clearly proved guilty – because the signature of the investigating magistrate is missing on some document. This is exactly what "Het Vonnis" is about. Luc Segers is what they call "a man who's got everything". He's happily married to a beautiful wife named, they have a lovely 7-year-old daughter and Luc is about to be promoted to CEO of the company he's been putting his heart and soul in for so many years. But then Luc loses everything, when a senselessly brutal robbery leaves his wife and daughter dead and himself in a long coma. It doesn't take too long before the police apprehends the culprit, but he's released again even faster due to such a judicial error. From that moment, Luc Segers' mind snaps and he can only think about revenge, against his family's murderer and against the legal system. He executes the murderer but immediately surrenders himself to the police, and promptly a gigantic media circus ensues. Segers' is a hero according to the public, but the humiliated legal system naturally can't allow for him to get away with vigilante murder. This is definitely Jan Verheyen's best and most mature film. He's often looked down upon by Belgian critics and amateur film experts, and admittedly he has made a few inferior films, but I've always been a fan of him. "Het Vonnis" is extremely well- written, full of jaw-dropping monologues and courtroom pleas and wisely – very wisely – doesn't at one point attempt to insert any comic relief or irrelevant sub plots. The climax is intriguing and keeps your mind active for long after the movie has finished. The acting performances are stellar, but I didn't expect otherwise since "Het Vonnis" stars the elite of the Belgian acting community. Most of all, I would prefer to see Jan Verheyen return to hosting horror nights on TV or touring with his cinema show called "Nacht van de Wansmaak" again, but making good movies like this one is the next best thing

The cast is picked brilliant, the acting is great and the story totally convincing. I was drawn into the movie, it grabbed me almost in a 3D fashion and it didn't let go till long after I had left the theater. Even when the movie gets to the point where it's most likely to become dull, it kept me totally fascinated due to righteous argumentation's. The movie matters for it argues convincingly that righteousness is the most important value to society. It's what a successful state characterizes. It's the social contract between citizens and state. Thusfar a citizens best chance to righteousness has been in democracies. But it's not a given fact and even vested democracies risk implosion due to injustice. The movie greatly shows the difficulty in defining principles as justice and righteousness and how defending those basic human rights can lead to totally opposite conclusions. I don't envy the jurors that didn't get a chance to go for a compromise and wander what my verdict would have been...

I was very sad to read only rather negative comments here on this movie. I did not expect too much but was truly amazed by it, the way it looks, the top acting, the story that is very modern...'Het Vonnis' has it all. The story is straightforward but gets you in the movie from the very start until the 'verdict'.The movie is full of small new flashes with real Belgian reporters which gives a feel like it really happened.In Belgium Jan Verheyen is considered by many people as a director who makes commercial movies and a bit laughed at for that, very sad. He admits his inspiration comes from classic American movies and this can be felt here.If you are in 3-hour-Romanian-incest-drama's-in-black-and-white you should skip...all the others, go see it!

Most courtroom dramas that hit the European screens, are American movies. Of course, Hollywood has quite a tradition in making good courtroom thrillers. From the genre-defining 'Twelve Angry Men' to modern examples like 'Runaway Jury' or 'A Few Good Men', they all focus on the dramatic events during a courtroom trial. It's films like these that have made sentences like 'Objection, your honour!' familiar to all audiences in the Western world. It is refreshing that Flemish director Jan Verheyen has tackled this genre in his own way. He is mostly known for commercial, mainstream movies aimed at large audiences. 'Het Vonnis' ('The Verdict') is no exception, but there is a difference. This film is more than just entertainment. Verheyen also wants to tell the audience something. He is upset by the way some criminals escape their punishment because of mistakes made by the prosecution. 'Het Vonnis' tells the story of such a mistake. The story setup is brilliant: a man sees his wife and daughter being killed before his eyes. The murderer is found, but not convicted, because his lawyer finds a mistake in the charges: on one of the documents, the signature of the prosecutor is missing. Senseless with grief and anger, the man decides to kill the murderer and let a jury in court decide if he is guilty or not. The trial is as much about the Belgian justice system as about the crime itself. The film has some fine moments. The first few minutes, during which the lead character sees everything he cares about shattered and destroyed, are very good. The director creates intensity with some creative aerial shots and fast focus changes. The courtroom scenes at the end are another highlight. Verheyen chooses to muffle the sound of the judge reading the final verdict, but he shows in an indirect way if the suspect is guilty or not. Another nice creative choice is to not show the murder itself, except by short flashbacks during the trial. Of course, the film will mainly appeal to Belgian audiences. There are some nice shots of Antwerp, and fun cameos by well-known Flemish reporters and experts. Commercial television broadcaster VTM co-produced the film, which is why there are quite a few shots of news reports and popular shows. Verheyen clearly makes his point about the justice system. Sometimes, it is so occupied with following the strict rules, that injustice is the inevitable result. But his suggestion that in Belgium countless murderers, rapists and bank robbers never get convicted because of mistakes, is not correct. The main problem with Belgian justice is that it is inefficient and slow.