Product Details

• Actors: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Tia Texada, Jeremie Campbell
• Directors: David Mamet
• Writers: David Mamet
• Producers: Art Linson, David Bergstein, Elie Samaha, Frank Hübner, James A. Holt
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English, Russian, Swedish
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: June 15, 2004
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00023BNAQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,936 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Writer-director David Mamet (House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner) applies his gift for con games to the world of politics with Spartan. A super-duper Secret Service agent (Val Kilmer, Wonderland) is assigned to find the kidnapped daughter of the President of the United States; was she kidnapped because of who she is, or as part of white slavery ring? Is she dead or alive? To find out the answers, Kilmer puts on disguises, engages in elaborate ruses, and kills ruthlessly--only to discover that he himself may be the one being fooled. Mamet pushes his macho/cryptic dialogue into laughably bad territory and some plot twists seriously test one's suspension of disbelief, but that's part of the game; like any con artist, Mamet knows how to hook you and reel you in, no matter how absurd things get. Also featuring Derek Luke, William H. Macy, and Ed O'Neill. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker

Mamet in zero gravity. Scene by scene, the writer-director's new movie plays with a spitting intensity, but nothing anyone does has the natural movement of life. The characters seem propelled by the logic of film noir: save the girl, avenge the partner, don't turn on the lights. Val Kilmer plays a military specialist investigating the disappearance of a government official's daughter. The official is probably the President, although the movie is coy about that fact, thereby avoiding any real-world political fallout. Kilmer, who, at times, looks very "Iceman," has the most fun with Mamet's machine-gun dialogue. Along with his protégé (Derek Luke), he uncovers a non-P.C. blond-girl smuggling ring run by Arabs. A few double crosses later, the movie presents the cynical premise that a politician would sacrifice his daughter's life to preserve his chances for reëlection. Even the Grassy Knoll crowd will have trouble swallowing that one. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A taut, intelligent movie, August 5, 2004

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spartan (DVD)

I like David Mamet's screenwriting a lot, and his direction is good too. While this movie isn't his absolutely top-drawer material (_House of Games_, _Spanish Prisoner_), it's still way better than the usual run of 'political thrillers'.

If you know who Mamet is, you already know that his dialogue is lean, focused, and idiosyncratic to the point of surreality. You also know to expect a plot consisting of one mind-bending twist after another. This movie will meet your expectations.

It probably won't exceed them; as political films go, this isn't quite up to _Wag the Dog_ (another of Mamet's best screenplays). Its plot is actually -- for Mamet -- pretty straightforward: Laura Newton, the president's daughter, has disappeared, and super-duper Black Ops guy 'Scott' (Val Kilmer) is going to get her back.

By the time we're through we've been cycled through quite a bit of ruthlessness, cynicism, and unflattering revelations about political ambition. The direction is extraordinarily good -- and, for what it's worth, the deaths (of which there are many) are eerily realistic, not yer usual Hollywood screaming-bullets-and-exploding-cars BS. The ensemble cast is wonderful (particularly Kilmer).

But we don't really visit any new territory. For my taste there are a few too many cliches here -- which would be somewhat more acceptable if they were at least Mamet's _own_ cliches, but some of these are Tom Clancy's.

Nonetheless it's all handled deftly and intelligently, and it's miles above the usual run of political thrillers. I'm giving this one four stars by comparison with Mamet's other films, but compared to everything else it's a five-star movie.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing mystery for people who like to think, February 26, 2005

By 

Inspector Gadget "Go Go Gadget Reviews" (On the trail of Doctor Claw) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spartan (DVD)

Spartan-Rigorously self-disciplined or self-restrained. Simple, frugal austere. Marked by brevity of speech, laconic. Courageous in the face of pain, danger, or adversity.

If you like Ronin then Spartan is choc-full of the same kind of cryptic dialogue with double/triple meanings and clever touches. Not surprising really since Spartan is written and directed by David Mamet who worked on the Ronin script.

When the President's daughter is kidnapped a strict, no-nonsense Secret-Secret Service agent (Val Kilmer) follows an intriguing trail of clues and dead-ends to find out where she is, who took her and why. Hardly sounds original but Spartan dares to do what very, very few Hollywood movies are willing to try; it assumes its audience actually have brains and can figure things out by themselves.

Spartan is the slickest, smoothest and smartest thriller for a good while. Kilmer has his critics and is constantly given a hard time. But here he proves what an actor he can be given the right material. Ed O'Neill also pops up and adds some post-Married With Children credibility to his resume.

Like Ronin, the action is stern and serious. There's nothing far-fetched or unbelievable about this. It may lack the epic feel of Ronin but Spartan is by no means a small movie. I strongly recommend this if you are tired of idiotic action movies and need a fix of something with some class.

The DVD is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and a commentary by Val Kilmer (should be interesting).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Where is the girl?", July 22, 2004

By 

Cubist (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spartan (DVD)

This oft-repeated line lies at the centre of Spartan, a political thriller from writer-director David Mamet. At the heart of this film is a mystery, one that the central character must solve and, in doing so, discover something about himself.

When the daughter (Bell) of the President of the United States goes missing, the Secret Service brings in Robert Scott (Kilmer) to investigate. He is one of those shadowy operatives with no name (of consequence) that does all of the government?s dirty business under the veil of secrecy and plausible deniability. He is assigned a young, inexperienced partner named Curtis (Luke). They have very little time before the media gets wind of what has happened. The two men go undercover and trace the young girl?s whereabouts to an international prostitution ring.

Scott is a typical Mamet protagonist in that he wastes few words and everything he says has meaning. Val Kilmer is a perfect fit for Mamet?s tough, no-nonsense world. He does a good job with Mamet?s tricky, distinctive dialogue. Much like Gene Hackman?s character in Heist, Kilmer?s Scott is efficient and ruthless in his methods because time is of the essence and his way gets results.

On paper, the film?s story is a conventional one?it belongs to the action-thriller genres?but Mamet flips all of the clich?s and stereotypes on their head with his unconventional dialogue and characterization. Every bit of dialogue and every action are important. This requires the utmost level of attention from the audience because if you miss something, the film does not slow down and allow you to catch up.

Mamet is a breath of fresh air in this politically correct climate in that he never sentimentalizes his characters or their situations. Spartan remains true to this attitude right down the line to its satisfying conclusion.

There is a delightfully eccentric audio commentary by actor Val Kilmer. For every interesting factoid (he talks about all the training and preparation he did for the role), he drops surreal observations such as this, ?If you?re listening to this and watching the film for the first time?You?re really strange.? Imagine hearing that in Kilmer?s trademark cadences and you get an idea of what a surprising treat it is listening to this track. While, there are quite a few lulls in the actor?s commentary, there are enough bizarro gems from him to make it worth sitting through the dry spots.

The attitude of Kilmer?s character in Spartan reflects that of the movie itself?all business. Mamet?s film is a sleek, professional political thriller that was unfairly ignored by audiences and snubbed by many critics. Perhaps it was his not so thinly-veiled critique of the Presidency or the highly stylized prose that scared off mainstream audiences. Regardless, Spartan is a top notch thriller that is exciting as it is intelligent.