As a thriller, Spartan will hold your attention, but unfortunately writer/director's David Mamet's style doesn't fit well in this milieu.
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.
Theatrical Release:Mar 12, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $4,291,858
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.
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Reviews for Spartan
deflates the well-worn Tom Clancy-ish spy genre of its emphasis on straightforward plot-point-to-plot-point narrative and refills it with a politically charged undercurrent
The first two-thirds of the film is one of the best of the year. Then it doesn’t exactly fall apart, just goes down a couple of notches to mediocrity.
...the latest voyage into David Mamet land, as removed from real life as Bill Gates is from a job at Starbucks.
Not one character makes sense, there is no shred of craft, and the script sounds like it was written by a 6-year-old who has accidentally swallowed a microchip.
Spartan demands you participate. I hope I'm not the only person who finds that refreshing.
This gritty bit of pulp fiction is more than just lurid action and violence... Spartan is lean and spare, but it delivers.
The trajectory of the film's storyline is impossible to predict, as it changes every 20 minutes or so.
A political thriller with topical currency, Spartan delivers the goods.
Those who figure the phrase 'smart action movie' is a contradiction in terms should be referred to celebrated playwright-turned- filmmaker David Mamet's Spartan.
The message may not be comforting, but it's a wake-up call to consider individual rights and responsibilities, political wrongdoing and spin-doctoring, and the role of the press.
...neither a stylish thriller nor is it a deep probing look at the human condition...
[A] superb drama...Kilmer’s performance is a searing portrait of a man whose professional dedication has overtaken his soul.
Entertaining, riddled with movement, suspenseful and packed with intrigue, intrigue and oh, did I mention...intrigue?
He commits the very last sin his characters would permit -- he loses control with multiply paranoid layers that wear out instead of boring in.
Latest News for Spartan
October 26, 2006:
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June 06, 2005:
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March 30, 2005:
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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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