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Spartan [2004]


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A disappointment for this Mamet fan
Review date: 2008-03-15 Rating: 6 out of 10

I like David Mamet a lot, but this one was a disappointment for me. There seemed to be two movies, the first in the U.S. to find a kidnapped girl. This is treated with intensity and action. Then, whoops, the twist and we're off to Dubai to fight kidnapping for prostitution and ruthlessness in high places, and we're again treated to intensity and action. The main guy is played by Val Kilmer as one of these humorless Hollywood heroes for whom there is no obstacle which can't be overcome and whose backstory, as they say, has hidden depths of tragedy and alienation. Mamet insures that we see the guy's back without his shirt on and it's not a pretty sight. We learn nefarious things are going on with the big man's staff (the big man is, I assume, the President and the girl's father; she's been kidnapped) and then all of a sudden William Macy takes center stage for the last ten minutes with almost no preparation. //Spoiler alert// Our hero, of course, is a loner -- which is a sure tip-off that anyone he sort of becomes close to is going to get killed. They do. Surprisingly for a Mamet film, there's not a single actor, in my opinion, who brought much interest to a part. However, one thing I liked about the movie and other Mamet films is that he doesn't explain the obvious, so you have to stay alert.

But having said all this, some film critics I like have written good reviews of the movie.

If you're interested in Mamet , take a look at The Spanish Prisoner and Heist.

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Reviews


A THINKING MAN'S THRILLER
Review date: 2007-09-05 Rating: 8 out of 10

David Mamet first caught my attention when he did a small grifter film called House of Games. It was released three years prior to The Grifters and I am quite certain that The Grifters took a lot of inspiration from House of Games. The Grifters had a high priced cast and more money was spent on the production but it was not quite as good as Mamet's masterpiece. Later, I would learn that Mamet would go on to write some of the best dialogue in all of film with movies like The Untouchables (just like a Wop, brings a knife to a gunfight), The Heist ( everyone loves money, that's why they call it money) and my favourite Mamet film, Glengarry Glenross ( I make $900,000 a year, that's why...). Mamet has a gift for the way people sound and the way they might deliver a line. Spartan continues his trend of interesting and crisp dialogue and fascinating characters. I have to agree with Roger Ebert when he says that this is Val Kilmer's best performance since Tombstone. He nails the character Scott, to a tee. Where as many action thrillers are about guns and explosions and certain bad acting, this is more about the characters. I am not saying that dumb action thrillers aren't fun sometimes, because they are. But if you like films that treat you like you already know what you need to know, and then proceed to show you things that you don't, then Spartan, like The Bourne Identity, is a film that you should enjoy.

Val Kilmer plays perhaps a member of the Secret Service, or perhaps he is just one of those covert operatives that is so good at what he does that he is just an invisible spook who shows up to do a job that others have trouble with. Mamet has given us a character that is so exemplary and pensive and good at what he does that he is the paradigm that all others in his line of work should emulate. There is no hesitation with him. He is driven and he is serious and like The Terminator, he will not stop, ever, until he has finished the job.

In this film, that job is to rescue the president's daughter, who was kidnapped while the Secret Service agent watching over her claims he was sleeping while she disappeared. But what the real reason is we may never know. There is the possibility that her disappearance may have political ramifications that would go as high up as the President himself. It is learned that Laura Newton may have been kidnapped in a scheme that involves an international sex trade with American women. The kidnappers do not know they have the president's daughter. And that may complicate things.

What makes Kilmer's character so fascinating is the way Mamet writes him. This is a man who has seen much and done much and when the time calls for it, he does not hesitate to use whatever force is necessary to acquire information. He hunts down bar owners, prostitution ring leaders and terrorists. He kills death row inmates to get information, he roughs up middle aged women who hold keys to the case and he holds an extreme form or prejudice towards anyone who may be a link in solving the case. This is a job to Scott and he treats it like that. I think this is the fundamental difference in a film like Spartan and many other less intelligent films that try to glamorize political espionage thrillers. This film talks and sounds like you are literally witnessing what happens behind closed doors. It gives you the feeling that what are witnessing is everything that does not get reported in the papers. This is about as raw as it gets and Mamet can take full credit for writing and directing the film as beautifully as he did and Val Kilmer can be proud of what he brought to the table.

This is one of the best films of the young 2004 and while it will be forgotten soon enough, when it comes out on video, it is a film that must be seen.

9/10

The Devil is in the Details
Review date: 2007-05-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

David Mamet has the capacity to truly make awesome movies. `The Spanish Prisoner,' although directed with workmanlike style, was ingenious writing and provided some of the best twists since `The Usual Suspects.' Spartan brings about a change of scope for the languid paced writer/director. His films always take their time getting to the point and it could be construed by some that Spartan marks its time until the final twenty minutes, which in any other filmmaker's world would be the bulk of the drama. However, Mamet finds poetry and the Devil in all the details.

First and foremost, his screenplay is a winning combination of Film Noir, labyrinthine plotting, peppered with his trademark dialogue that is a joy to the ears. No one quite writes like the Man Mamet anymore. Every line oozes with subtext or plays on words with such smooth effectiveness and bullet point efficiency, you are quite happy to listen to the actors speak his prose all day long. And what perfect casting it is. Val Kilmer is ice cool in the role of Scott, embodying his sense of danger and ruthless proficiency without ever lapsing into caricature. Mamet even finds time for his favourite character actors William H. Macy, who is wonderfully taciturn until his fantastic monologue at the climax, and Ed O'Neil, who we really don't see enough off nowadays. Derek Luke seems to struggle keeping up with the professionalism surrounding him, but gives it a good shot all the same, while Mamet makes a small discovery in Kristen Bell, as Laura Newton, the abducted daughter at the heart of the film's puzzle. Her later scenes with Scott are witty, realistic and tackled with hard nosed expertise, casting aside the sweet as sugar young teenage girl cliche for something much more darker and much more dangerous.

The action is more of an extension of the brilliantly adroit and sometimes very droll scripting, and provides two sequences in particular that are expertly handled, and never stray too far into the realms of cliché. The violence is kept minimal but believable, so every corner of the story that is explored never strikes a false beat. There is even a deus ex machina type twist that shocks midway through, keeping the momentum going until the final lap of honour. And it is here where many have criticised the lack of a genuine climax. I completely disagree. It is at the climax I felt Spartan truly reveals its colours as a moderate engagement on politics and perception, and even throws in some modern commentary on political means justifying the end. Bill Macy delivers such observation with one hell of a lunatic, ideological wet dream speech as he stalks the shadows in the airport hangar during the final moments.

Spartan never misses a beat. It's not an action movie but a cerebral thriller, that rewards close attention, and repeat viewings, without ever talking down to its audience the first time around. Kilmer reminds us why we once championed him as a good actor with his strong, precise performance as Scott, while Mamet makes his most commercially viable movie to date and continues his obsession with portraying every aspect of life and work as one, long, elaborate con. Hopefully, those of you out there with a taste for the unexpected and the craftsmanship of a true grandmaster at the top of his game will find yourselves totally enthralled in a thriller that never loses its smarts.

Superb.

Brilliant
Review date: 2006-11-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

I rented this film just to have a change from the normal style of films I go for like comedies and I'm glad I did. A very good film from start to finish. Val Kilmer's character was captivating with his "no nonsense" tactics and the supporting characters were also very good. I didn't expect much from the film so found myself repeatedly saying, "this is a good film" till the end. Straightforward, action packed, shocking and thrilling. A very decent watch, brilliant.

Intelligent thriller
Review date: 2006-06-20 Rating: 8 out of 10

Val Kilmer is back to top form here as the secret service agent at the top of his game who finds himself involved in a kidnap of a VIP politician - of course, this is David Mamet, so the plot has a way of going into blind alleys and left turns that you never quite see coming. In fact, do yourself a favour, and find out as little as you can about the plot, you'll enjoy the movie all the more! Having said that, the loose ends dont quite all tie up, and the ending does not live up to the build up, but this is only a minor quiblle when the acting and script are of this quality.
The music is minimal, and the directing is not flashy, but all serves to further the story - a quality so lacking in Hollywood these days.
The pace never lets up, and the script of course is sharp and real. William H Macy plays a small but pivotal role in a rare serious role, and the rest of the cast exude realism in all the roles, not least Ed Reilly who casts off his Married with Children tag with this one.
This is not one to see just because you want action, but for an intelligent thriller that engages the brain, thumbs up.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Ed O'Neill
Derek Luke
Val Kilmer
William H. Macy

Creators:
Val Kilmer (Primary Contributor)
Derek Luke (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900388016
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2005-02-21
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

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