Mamet creates a narrative so complex that it's scarcely worth the effort to unravel it.
Spartan (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:129
Fresh:82
Rotten:47
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: A good cast and Mamet's mastery over the written language elevate an otherwise conventional thriller.
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Robert Scott (VAL KILMER) is a career military officer working in a highly secretive special operations force. A man hardened by years of brutal service, he is respected by his peers and elders in... Robert Scott (VAL KILMER) is a career military officer working in a highly secretive special operations force. A man hardened by years of brutal service, he is respected by his peers and elders in the world of espionage. When Scott is recruited to find Laura Newton (KRISTEN BELL), the daughter of a high-ranking government official, he is paired with novice Curtis (DEREK LUKE), who becomes his protégé. Working with a special task force comprised of Presidential Advisors, the Secret Service, FBI and CIA, Scott and Derek stumble upon a white slavery ring, which may have some connection to Laura’s disappearance. As the story unfolds, the straightforward search-and-rescue mission becomes complicated by the political ambitions of those in high places – like Stoddard (WILLIAM H. MACY), a political operative who may know more than he’s telling about the clandestine circumstances surrounding Laura’s abduction. Scott and Curtis are at the brink of tracking Laura’s whereabouts when the mission comes to an abrupt conclusion, with the media issuing reports of the girl’s death. Scott returns to the quiet life of landowner in a rural location and awaits his next assignment in relative peace. But Curtis can’t rest. In his naiveté, he seeks out Scott to confide his belief that Laura is in fact alive. If she is, their continued unofficial investigation will put them as well as Laura at the center of a dangerous conspiracy that reaches the highest levels. Franchise Pictures presents Spartan, a political thriller written and directed by DAVID MAMET and starring VAL KILMER, DEREK LUKE, ED O’NEILL and WILLIAM H. MACY. Spartan is produced by ART LINSON, MOSHE DIAMANT and ELIE SAMAHA, and executive produced by FRANK HUBNER. The director of photography is JUAN RUIZ ANCHIA; the production designer is GEMMA JACKSON; and the editor BARBARA TULLIVER. Spartan will distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. -- © Warner Bros. [More]
Starring: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Tia Texada
Starring: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Tia Texada, Kristen Bell, Ed O'Neill
Director: David Mamet
Director: David Mamet
Screenwriter: David Mamet
Producer: Moshe Diamant, Art Linson, Elie Samaha
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Spartan
[Mamet] can stage action scenes as muscular as all the Hollywood big boys now, and he can come up with concepts just as loony as theirs, too.
With the intelligent, stripped-down Spartan, Mr. Mamet demonstrates that he can take something as staid as the political thriller and make it work on his own terms and vice versa.
Like Heist, Spartan includes its share of twists and doublecrosses, but it's so effective in immersing you in its dimly lit, claustrophobic world that you don't sit outside the action pondering how Mamet is trying to con you.
Yes, there are machine guns, helicopters and car chases. But Mamet's inimitable rhythms and his taste for particularized lingo give the action stuff a certain personality.
When the suspenseful plot is ultimately unraveled, it turns out to be a cynical, cinematic riddle that makes little sense.
Spartan never achieves that exquisite verbal choreography for which [Mamet] is famous...
Mamet is now only as he has ever been: a good academic and a really bad filmmaker, though on the bright side, he did resist casting one of his mannequin wives this time around
Mamet's gamesmanship was more fun when it was less eager to look important.
Spartan plays out like a classic mind game, and an awfully good one at that.
It's commercial, intense, violent and energetic. All you need to do is stand up to Mamet's verbal bullets.
If the average screenwriter had just one tenth of Mamet's talent, movies would be a whole lot more fun.
Spartan is Tom Clancy without the pop-literature pretense. It's 24 for those who like more of a cerebral challenge.
...in this case the pulp has been so hard-boiled, winnowed down and leather-treated, there's nothing left on-screen but muscle.
By despairing of the military or intelligence communities rather than heroizing them, Mamet is quietly bucking the system.
Kilmer is back in a taut thriller and Mamet uses him to full advantage.
Despite a promising setup, the journey leads to the same kind of dramatic dead end found at the end of the playwright-filmmaker's last screen effort, Heist.
Latest News for Spartan
October 26, 2006:
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June 06, 2005:
Milian and Bell Feel the "Pulse"
Variety reports that pop star Christina Milian ("Be Cool") and actress Kristen Bell ("Spartan") have signed on to appear in the Weinstein Company horror... More...
March 30, 2005:
Weinsteins to Restart Dimension with an All-New "Pulse"
The Hollywood Reporter reminds us that there's always another Japanese horror flick worth remaking. Dimension Pictures has just signed Kristen Bell ("Spartan," TV's... More...
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