Spartan (2004)

Such a frustrating disappointment

A Disappointing Continuation

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A Secret Service agent is investigating the kidnapping of the daughter of a senior politician. His investigations uncover a human trafficking operation.Sub-par. Plot is perplexing and often simply random. David Mamet tries to be too clever for his own, and our, good. Dialogue is all over the place, and often quite hammy.Val Kilmer does his best James Bond / Mission Impossible routine, but doesn't pull it off completely. Just not overly convincing. Bizarre dialogue doesn't help. Supporting cast are good, especially Derek Luke and Ed O'Neill.

If you like intelligent, slow-moving thrillers, than Spartan is just the movie for you. It's not by any means the best thriller out there, but it's a realistic and captivating movie. This isn't one of those action-packed, explosive-heavy films, even though the plot will beg to differ. Speaking of the plot, the pacing can be a little tedious especially in the first half-hour, but thankfully the film begins to pick up steam and it finishes with a bang.One can see this is totally a David Mamet film because of his flair for out-of-the-ordinary dialog. Mamet directed a film with a rather straightforward plot. This is about a ranger who always get the job done, so he is assigned to find the kidnapped daughter of a high-up political person.The acting is pretty good, better than I was expecting. Val Kilmer has been slipping of late and he actually does a decent job here. Derek Luke is decent as the rookie cop and William H. Macy has several good scenes as a political insider.Overall, Spartan is good enough to be a watchable political thriller and it has several unexpected twist and turns. As a warning, sometimes the film may not make sense and the plot may seem illogical at times, so this is a film to pay attention to if you want it to make sense. There is great dialog here and we can thank Mamet for that. I rate this film 8/10.

I'm a fan of David Mamet's movies (both his and the ones he wrote the screenplay for) . "House of games " is one of the best movies ever made. Mamet's other contributions to cinema are great too (including "The Untouchables " and "Ronin" ). So , I was curious about this one . This time Mamet tries a political action thriller. The result ? Surprise , but a bad one.Mamet has always been a rather weak director . I admit that . Still , his flat sense of direction worked quite well in his movies , mostly because they were very theatrical from the nature of plot. Hell , I think that's why "House of games" has surrealistic , hypnotizing feel to it. The problem with "Spartan" is this is an action/thriller . All the action scenes here lack tension. They look like they were directed by amateur. The movie also never has any sense of entertainment . There isn't a moment when you feel that time is running out for our heroes.What is more surprising is the rather bad plot . The story is very predictable and you don't have to be a genius to figure out most of the twists. Worse , some of the twists are rather forced (the sign , the scarecrow sitting on the chair when you need it ) . There is one really good twist at the end of movie , but on the other hand Mamet also throws a rather forced deus ex machina at the end. The dialogue is also bad , very dour , very forgettable . It's surprising , because Mamet always crafts the dialogues very carefully . He knows how to write a stylish dialogue . Here the dialogues are purely informational. The acting is good . Val Kilmer gives a really good performance , one of best in his entire career (along with "Tombstone" and "The Heat"). He plays his character just like he should (and could) play Batman all those years ago in "Batman forever" . Silent , brooding , tough and honorable. Kirsten Bell has a small , but good role in the movie . It was good to see Ed O'Neill ("Married with children") in a convincing serious role and William Macy is pleasure as always. Overall , the acting is the best thing in the movie.I also like the bitter mood of the movie . The story here sadly feels like something that could happen in real life and it makes "Spartan" different than most Hollywood thrillers .It doesn't change the fact that weak screenplay , bad dialogues and crappy direction make this one a misfire in Mamet's career . I give it 4/10.

Maverick Ranger Scott, known for ruthless, unorthodox methods but good results, is called in to help the secret service after Washington big whig's brat daughter is abducted while studying at Harvard. Scott quickly realizes the protection detail's prime suspect, her boyfriend Michael Blake, is innocent and dumped her for being a drug- addicted slut. Next he traces her to a bordello, only to realize the captors didn't realize who she is but simply recruited her for the Middle Eastern white slavery market, and are likely to dispose of her rather than confront her father. But instead of the support expected in such high-profile case, Scott gets orders to work in secret before the press catches on, and even finds his quest sabotaged. Mamet all the way. Dialog, story-line, but it's also a wee bit different than most Mamet work!It's a really tight story, well acted and keeps you on your toes. Well done. A twisty turny masterpiece.