Customer Reviews

Spartan

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Many don't seem to have any real argument against this movie other than that it is "bad". Well, thanks for those helpful reviews about how the movie is "bad" over and over, but that doesn't help people.

It isn't bad. Matter of fact, it is pretty good. The first few minutes are corny, but the rest of the movie is great. Basically Val Kilmer tracks this 19-year-old girl down. He shoots alot of people and the action is great. I mean, it's not like he has a futuristic blaster and blasts people in the shoulder. I love movies with guns that look real and I love seeing cool gun fights. This movie has quite a few gun fights and they are good. They are imaginable also. The guns are awesome.

The movie's plot is okay, but again, the gun fights and guns make it worth watching. Also, the plot has quite a few twists, including alot of things that you wouldn't exactly be prepared for.

This movie isn't "bad". It's good, and after watching it I was pretty impressed.

David Mamet is one of the few practitioners in today's film industry who can justly be called an auteur (that is, the "author" of a film, who has enough control over the project to bring his vision more or less intact to the screen). Auteurs, who had their heyday in the 1960s and '70s, are scarce in this era of corporatized $150 million blockbusters and calculated teen flicks. I can't think offhand of any other except Robert Altman, and I am becoming more and more impressed with Mamet. (I've never been unqualifiedly enthusiastic about Altman; see my review of Gosford Park if you're interested.)

Both in his previous film, Heist, and in Spartan, Mamet shows a growing mastery of direction. Spartan is set in a rather sinister shadow-world of secret military operations ruled by unsavory civilians. It's an atmosphere that may make you cringe a little, but it's certainly germane to the storyline, and Mamet builds it up skillfully detail by detail. He even trusts the audience enough that for a few minutes at the film's beginning, you're not sure what you're watching or its meaning, only that it feels creepy.

By the time it becomes clear what's at stake -- the president's daughter, a college student wasted on drugs, has been kidnapped, not for political reasons but by a sex-slave organization that doesn't even know who she is -- you understand why the secret mission to recover her is entrusted to the character played by Val Kilmer, tough enough to chew razor blades and for whom only accomplishing the mission matters.

Mamet displays a knack here for mood painting through visuals and the apt musical score by Mark Isham. A black light shines through many a scene. I am emphasizing this side of Mamet's work because I don't think he gets as much credit for it as he deserves; what everyone remarks on is his dialogue.

As usual, he puts plenty of abrasive poetry in the mouths of his characters, and adds little touches of eccentricity without getting carried away by them (as Altman so often does). He seems to be a good actor's director, too. Kilmer is certainly an asset, and Mamet gets strong performances out of a cast with few big names. Particularly striking is an actress I've never seen before by the name of Kristen Bell (I won't tell you her role because it might be a spoiler if I did).

Mamet, for all his much-noted facility with surprises and switches, isn't as good at plotting as he is at dialogue. Spartan falls into genre cliches at times and includes unlikely events and coincidences. Even when the script gets formulaic, though, Mamet's special brand of cinematic chemistry rarely lets up.

This is an excellent thriller mostly thanks to the storyline that takes a few nice twists and the excellent lead role played by Val Kilmer. Supporting cast is first-rate and the tension built throughout the movie is there in spades.

DVD is a waste, though, as all you get is a Kilmer commentary track. Rent it don't buy which is why this gets a "4" rather than a "5."

This is the first David Mamet movie I ever watched and I really enjoyed it. It was loaded with action from the word "go". Non-stop series of cuts at a good pace throughout. For the first 30 minutes or more, you might have no idea what is happening; I didn't. The storyline/plot unravels and reveals itself as it goes along. Although there is plenty of action it feels realistic, not like the typical modern special effect driven movies. The acting is straight forward and cold but it works. Val Kilmer is fantastic in it. Still to this day, it is one of the most memorable films I've ever watched because I bought it from some used film rack for a couple of bucks and I had no expectations... and low and behold I was riveted throughout.

The president's daughter is stolen and it requires all the US secret resources to find and bring her back before the people that did the abduction know who she is.

Looks like it is too late so everything will be called off. No wait Curtis (Derek Luke) has seen the sign. What does this mean? A movie that was well done. Lots of action, good acting, and emotion.

Yes this is a formula movie and the theme is older the hills. But that is why we watch these movies. We suspect who the good buys and bad guys are but never know until they turn on us.

And is it my imagination or is Val Kilmer getting better?

Many of the reviews are way off base. Consider the rave reviews by The Washington post, New York Times and Roger Ebert "two thumbs WAY up" Not the ramblings of these miscreants
Some people just don't get Mamet. Too bad for them. But hay - Lowest common denominator films always appeal to the masses. While excellent, intelligent films such as Spartan are not appreciated.
To put things simply - If popularity were any barometer of quality McDonlds would be a 5 star restaurant.

Many of the reviews are way off base. Consider the rave reviews by The Washington post and Roger Ebert "two thumbs way up" Not the ramblings of these miscreants
Some people just don't get Mamet. Too bad for them. But hay - Lowest common denominator films always appeal to the masses. While excellent films such as Spartan are not appreciated.
To put thing simply - If popularity were any barometer of quality McDonlds would be a 5 star restaurant.

I understand the other reviews about the "bad dialogue," but what I found great was that Agent Scott came off as direct. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" He doesn't give anyone a chance to think or retort, generally getting what he needs from his mini-interrogations. On the other hand, when he needs to, Scott makes some observant and intelligent remarks. But they are used to make him more humane, because at the heart of his character, he is a soldier - nothing less, nothing more.

It wasn't supposed to be an intense action flic, and I can see why it didn't receive much fanfare in the States (it's definitely not a flag-waver, which Americans seem to sing accolade about more readily than movies with condescending tones). But overall the cinematography was very nice and the story kept me hooked throughout.

Director David Mamet has created a little gem of a movie. It is not flashy, it does not rely on towering effects or an outrageous amount of violence to get its point across. Instead, Spartan is a thriller that allows the viewer to utilize his or her mind in order to make the connections between the movies shadowy and alluring plot points. Many mysteries come up all throughout the movie, and it takes quite the amateur detective to figure them out. Luckily, the mystique of the movie is a great aid to the entertainment value, as one is quickly drawn into the gloomy and gritty cutthroat world that Spartan takes place in.

Val Kilmer, who delivers a riveting performance as a coldly mechanical Special Forces officer, is part of a super secret covert operations force known as "The Cadre". Kilmer is removed from his job as a training officer to undertake a highly sensitive operation. The President's daughter, a glamourous college student, has been kidnaped, and the race is on to find her before it hits the press. Kilmer is a man used to getting results, so he begins a violent rampage through the criminal network that seems to have taken the girl hostage. Through any means necessary, Kilmer soon discovers a fiendish sex slavery ring that procures young girls for overseas clients. Just as Kilmer is about to close the deal and rescue the first daughter, dark political forces way over his head step in. Kilmer realizes that some, for their own unknown motives, would prefer the first daughter stay lost, forcing him to make a difficult decision. He is just a gunman, a well trained killing machine, dynamic thought has not be allowed to him. Should he follow orders he knows are morally wrong, or go renegade and investigate for himself? Kilmer, a man of honor, makes a decision that will effect the lives of many, especially his own. He is the singular Spartan, sent to settle a military problem by himself.

The atmosphere of Spartan is the most potent aspect of the movie. It is constantly dark and shadowy, a world besmirched by brutal villains and nefarious political operatives. The shroud is only broken by the figure of Kilmer, who is a monotone but intriguing force of righteous nature, as he tears through this world of lies with a 9mm pistol and a sharp brain. The plot is well paced, slowly revealing strands of truth at appropriate points. I felt the supporting cast was a little sparse in their effect, as the normally wonderful William H. Macy is relegated to a very small part. Also, the ending, which was effectively disturbing, also struck me as ridiculous in a sense, but that is up to you to decide. Numerous cliches and unconvincing coincidences pop up, but they do not take away from the overall quality of the film. A very cerebral and fascinating thriller.

Roger and Ebert loved this movie. I cannot tell you why. Val Kilmer plays a secret agent in charge of rescuing the President's kidnapped daughter. Derek Luke is kind of like a partner. On their way, they discover that this was a conspiracy that started at the top, in the White House. The story for this movie was actually pretty decent. It was the dialogue that I had a problem with. The lines between the different characters was so bizarre, and so cryptic, you often found that you had lost track of the important moments because you were too busy trying to figure out what the hell they were trying to say to one another. One of my favorites was "You gotta get me to the tall corn". It sounded very Dora the Explorer-like.