‘SPARTAN’ DOESN’T THRILL

 

by: Josh Marks

 

According to the dictionary, a Spartan is “characterized by self-discipline; austere.”  Val Kilmer displays both these qualities as a government agent on a mission to rescue the president’s daughter in David Mamet’s new film of the same name.

 

Laura Newton (Kristin Bell) has been kidnapped from Harvard.  Agent Robert Scott (Kilmer) and rookie Curtis (Derek Luke) have been assigned to the case with the help of the FBI and CIA.  Their investigation takes them from a nightclub near Fenway Park all the way to Dubai in search of the girl.  The plot thickens when White House operatives Burch (Ed O’Neill- that’s right folks, Al Bundy) and Stoddard (William H. Macy) join the case. 

 

Mamet uses dialogue in his films to convey some parallel imaginary world.  However, even with that knowledge coming into this movie, the conversations just come off as annoying and corny. 

 

This political thriller could have benefited from a little more fleshing out of the characters - it would have been nice to see O’Neill and Macy given bigger roles. 

 

Another disappointment is the subplot.  The internal abuse of political power is given too much of a backseat to the mission undertaken to rescue the president’s daughter.  The mission is everything and for Scott the politics of the situation are observed as an outsider - when he is not getting shot at, he watches the events unfold on television.

 

The plot is supposed to build up to some suspenseful crescendo but by the time the requisite twist was thrown in near the end, that other new thriller with the mysterious actor was looking a lot more appealing.