Spartan

This one better than most of David Mamet's later films and this is just as good as House of Games and Homicide. This movie stars Val Kilmer as a government agent who is called in to help with the search of the president's missing daughter. Val is willing to do just about anything to get her back and the less you know about the plot, the better you're off. I'm surprised that i never even heard of this movie until it came in theaters. I saw no previews for it or any ads anywhere. The first place i heard about was when Val Kilmer was on The Daily Show to promote the movie. I only went to go see it was that it was written and directed by David Mamet. It would be a good thing to not read any reviews before you see it.

If you go by the plot, or by the casting (Val Kilmer's done his share of stupid actioners), you might well go into this expecting guns, explosions, and improbably ninja-esquire super-agents who parachute around and kill things with their teeth.

But this is Mamet, so what you get instead is a sort of weird emotional flatland for almost two hours of film, with Kilmer doing an excellent (Val KILMER? Whoa!) job of portraying what top-level soldier/drones are like: emotionally neutral, physically economical, and not always all that bright.

If you're looking for somebody hoisting a bazooka and wisecracking before he blows up the compound and saves the girl in the bikini while smashing the drug smuggling ring, this ain't your film, friend. It's very well written and extremely well acted, but also quiet, murky, and deliberately understated.

Don't expect whiz-bang excitement or crackerjack dialogue. If you can shelve that and put yourself in the frame of mind of a Kurosawa samurai movie, where contemplation and futility take equal time with action and excitement, you'll find this movie a lot more rewarding.

David Mamet's Spartan had me leaving the theater thinking 'yeah, it was a good movie, some things I didn't understand'. Perhaps that's Mamet's intention- he's one of the reigning rulers of writers who use calculated, cool twists in storytelling- but I felt the moments in the film where I wasn't surprised so much by the turns taken. Not to say Spartan doesn't have some surprises (a few elements, such as a couple of deaths and a revelation or two which I won't put down here), and as a visual storyteller I got involved in the tension building with Val Kilmer's situation.

Kilmer, playing both mentor to training rangers and "worker-bee" to the United States government's special op's, is put on the case of the kidnapping of the President's daughter. It needs to be solved before the media grabs it, but it may not be that easy. Kilmer's Scott is a little more distant in tone and style sometimes, thinking of things to say to people that could border on a hack's cliche, yet Mamet isn't unforgivable in all the dialog. What dissapointed me were some of his choices in shots - he's not always as subtle as you might've thought in his cut-aways and use of music. While this is different territory in subject matter (dealing with a thriller on a political, topical scale), some of the tricks Mamet was pulling seemed stagey, and more predictable than he's known for.

Should people rush to theatres to see Spartan? Depends- for fans of Kilmer there's a lingering aura of understatement, concern, of a character who has been following rules his whole life, and it's not that bad. Derek Luke is a formidable supporting presence. Ed O'Neill strikes up some dramatic credit amid his post-Married with Children days. William H. Macy could've deserved a little more screen time to emphasize his importance to the story. And Kristen Bell is believable as the torn daughter. The script isn't rapid fire Mamet in delivery and tone, so it is at a pace that will dissapoint those who are looking for non-stop thrills. Maybe my grade is un-fair- the material does seek to be seen again- but I just didn't get that it was top-shelve stuff. B

Oh boy, where to start on this confusing convoluted thriller from ace screenwriter and director Mamet. Val Kilmer does his best to add some real spark to a story about the apparent accidental kidnapping of the President's daughter. Kilmer is a super duper special forces agent who will do anything, and I mean anything to succeed at his assignment. Accidental I say, because it turns out she was kidnapped by Middle Eastern white slave trade marketers who deals with young blonds, after a security lapse that left the President's daughter vulnerable in a sleazy Boston club. Now keep in mind, the slave traders do not know who she is, at least that's how the story goes. But wait a minute, just after we learn all of this and the evidence is pointing in that direction, a HUGE plot twist develops that puts all of that to bed. Or does it??? I'll leave the spoilers out because what I've told you is just the beginning of the movie. David Mamet is a king of twisting confusing sometimes plots, being borderline ridiculous, and this one is no exception. But Val Kilmer saves the day as he does with a lot of movies, and his performance alone is worth seeing this Mamet thriller. I'm a huge Kilmer fan and it's always a joy to see him perform, no matter how far out the role. And this IS a pretty far out role. The supporting cast includes such standouts as William Macy (one of his worst roles ever), Derek Luke as Kilmer's novice partner, cameo-like appearance by Ed O'Neill, Kristen Bell as the kidnap victim. Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it for thrillers that have that giant leap of logic. The ending is pretty exciting, again with logic totally turned off, but what the hell, there's a lot of action, several twists and turns and I'll take that anytime over the mindless fluff that is coming out of Hollywood lately.

This is a competent political thriller written and directed by the talented David Mamet with a strong central performance from Val Kilmer as an American secret agent with a direct and brutal style of operation. From the opening sequence of a woman running through woods (like "Silence Of The Lambs"), this is a taut tale which never lets up the pace, with strong violence and a number of plot twists along a road with plenty of blood and betrayal, and the music by Mark Isham adds real atmosphere. But there are no great action sequences or memorable lines of dialogue to lift the film to a higher level. Nevertheless the movie deserves a higher profile that it is receiving so far.