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A good cast and Mamet's mastery over the written language elevate an otherwise conventional thriller.
All Critics (134) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (87) | Rotten (47) | DVD (16)
The real violence, as is always the case with Mamet, lies not in the mayhem but in the thrusting rhythms of the dialogue. Aug 7, 2004
The real violence, as is always the case with Mamet, lies not in the mayhem but in the thrusting rhythms of the dialogue.
Peter Rainer
Both technically accomplished and moderately entertaining. Mar 25, 2004 | Full Review…
Both technically accomplished and moderately entertaining.
Andrew Sarris
Mamet's understanding of the essentials here and his skill in supplying them are not major achievements for him, but it would be wasteful not to recognize them. Mar 21, 2004
Mamet's understanding of the essentials here and his skill in supplying them are not major achievements for him, but it would be wasteful not to recognize them.
Stanley Kauffmann
Spartan is the same old stuff, but now it's been thoroughly Mametized, like a spray-on treatment you could spritz out of a can. Mar 21, 2004
Spartan is the same old stuff, but now it's been thoroughly Mametized, like a spray-on treatment you could spritz out of a can.
Stephanie Zacharek
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. Mar 18, 2004 | Full Review…
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.
Rex Reed
Is Spartan a perfect, or even a great, movie? Probably not. But in its prickly irascibility and deeply unsettling intelligence, it makes for a very, very good one. Mar 12, 2004
Is Spartan a perfect, or even a great, movie? Probably not. But in its prickly irascibility and deeply unsettling intelligence, it makes for a very, very good one.
Michael O'Sullivan
He'll always be writer first, but for a relentless entertainment with actual with wit and soul, Spartan may just be the best thing David Mamet has done, certainly the best he has directed. Mar 30, 2011 | Rating: 8/10 | Full Review…
He'll always be writer first, but for a relentless entertainment with actual with wit and soul, Spartan may just be the best thing David Mamet has done, certainly the best he has directed.
Joshua Starnes
Very violent movie ultimately just falls apart. Dec 28, 2010 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Very violent movie ultimately just falls apart.
Nell Minow
A very well characterized thriller... Apr 29, 2009 | Full Review…
A very well characterized thriller...
Felix Vasquez Jr.
This political thriller is very much by its own definition, the tightly woven, creatively disciplined offspring of that old warrior spirit that is Mamet. May 26, 2007 | Full Review…
This political thriller is very much by its own definition, the tightly woven, creatively disciplined offspring of that old warrior spirit that is Mamet.
Prairie Miller
A tight and engrossing mystery thriller. Oct 11, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
A tight and engrossing mystery thriller.
Russ Breimeier
A clinic for how this genre should be done. Jun 26, 2005 | Rating: A | Full Review…
A clinic for how this genre should be done.
Bill Clark
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Super Reviewer
not a very good movie at all. Its confusing and then when you understand the story you realise that the storyline is weak and boring and very flawed. Its a weak plot and William H Macy does not have a big enough part!
Solid action adventure with val kilmer.This being hes last big screen film before driving into direct to video trash!!This is gripping to the end with excellant performance thru out. Worth checking out.
The beginning is nothing but confusion. Sure, the agent Val Kilmer is playing is introduced while training recruits and then gets thrown into his most dangerous case. From here on the audience is introduced to a lot of nameless characters doing a lot of random things until things finally get a little clearer and we learn that the agent has to find the president's hijacked daughter. From here on the plot takes quite a few turns and it's impossible to say where the movie is going next, which adds to the confusion but also keeps it at a very entertaining level. Val Kilmer is a convincing loner, William H. Macy is hopelessly underused and all minor characters don't live long enough to be even mourned. In the end that makes for a decent action thriller, which could have been even better with a straighter outline and a little more care for the side characters. But still, fans of the genre should be satisfied.
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