Spartan

Review by Clint Morris

Robert Scott [Val Kilmer] is a career military man assigned to dangerous ‘for the sake of my county’ tasks.

His latest mission involves finding the kidnapped daughter of a high-ranking government official.

And whilst the hunt would probably normally end when the news publicise that the girl's body has been discovered washed ashore, it's merely the beginning of Scott's rather intriguing, somewhat gobsmacking Dick-for-hire chase.

Spartan is a good film, but that doesn't really need to be said. One look at who the writer/director is and you'll automatically recognise it's a quality film.

The question that probably should be asked is…is it an enjoyable film? After all, quality and fun go hand in hand, don't they?

The answer to that question would lie somewhere between 'sort-of' and 'yes'. As good as the performances and screenplay of Spartan is, it isn't actually the most entertaining film you'll see. The first half of the film moves at a snails pace, and the story comes together so leisurely and a little too splotchy that you'll be hard pressed finding anyone that hasn't at least yawned once by the film's middle.

Having said that, when Spartan does kick in, it kicks in hard, and there's no turning off when it happens. Mamet obviously conceived the film to start unhurriedly and then, not unlike a NASCAR racer, speed up towards the finish line – and it packs quite a punch when it all comes together.

Granted, this is far less a film than say The Spanish Prisoner or Homicide, yet it still shows the filmmakers knack as both a storyteller and underrated taskmaster of cinema.

His lead, Kilmer, deserves a lot of the credit for keeping the audience immersed too. He gives an all-round, but exceptionally human performance that keeps us somewhat more interested in his journey, than the plot at play.

Not the finest of his catalogue, but nevertheless, David Mamet's Spartan still packs a welcome punch – and it's great to see Kilmer, as solid as ever, delivering those blows.

3 out of 5

Spartan
Australian release: Thursday July 15th
Cast: Val Kilmer, Tia Texada, Derek Luke, Lionel Mark Smith, Johnny Messner, Tony Mamet, Vincent Guastaferro, Robert Bella, Aaron Stanford, Geoffrey Pierson, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill.
Director: David Mamet.
Website: Click here.

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