Spartan

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Sometimes, it's hard to figure the public. "Spartan" was a major film from a major studio, Warner Bros., made by a major writer-director, David Mamet, and starring a major movie star, Val Kilmer. Yet it bombed at the box office. Seems more than a little unfair, considering it's a very good film, and especially considering the profits made by far less accomplished films. Maybe life is unfair. Certainly, it is life's inequities that is one of Mamet's themes in this 2004 action thriller.

Val Kilmer plays a military intelligence officer named Scott. Marine Master Gunner John Bobby Scott. Or maybe it's not John. Or Bobby. Or even Scott. And maybe he's not a Master Gunner or even a Marine. All we know for sure about him is that he's very, very good at what he does. Which is to train agents for and participate in government covert operations.

Kilmer usually plays complex characters, and Mamet usually writes complex scripts, but this time both men step out of character somewhat to do a straightforward espionage drama. Well, as straightforward as these men know how. You see, you're still going to find one of Kilmer's typically conflicted characters and some Mamet's literate dialogue, just less of both. You'll also find fewer of the clipped cadences that Mamet so loves in his characters' speech patterns, so this is another change for him.

The movie proceeds with commendable pace and purpose, only losing its way about halfway through when Mamet appears to give up on subtlety and decides to provide his audience with what they want in a spy thriller, namely excitement and melodrama. Mamet is known for his plot twists, so expect them here, too; but rather than the filmmaker's usual cerebral kind, they're more action oriented. As a result, they don't seem quite as smart or clever as Mamet's more intellectual games. No matter; the action here is tense and suspenseful from beginning to end, with very little filler and very few distractions, even if some of it goes over-the-top in the last half hour.

The plot involves the kidnapping a young college woman, presumably the U.S. President's daughter, although that fact is never mentioned in the film. The kidnappers have grabbed her not knowing who she is, for sale overseas in a sex-slavery scheme. The problem is that the government knows that when the kidnappers find out who they've got, they're going to kill her rather than risk death themselves. So the government has only a limited amount of time before the newspapers find out the girl has gone missing, and the kidnappers find out, too.

Scott is called upon to lead the investigation. "I'm here to get the girl back," Scott tells his superior, "and there is nothing I will not do to get the girl back." Yeah, he's a tough guy and not above literally breaking a suspect's arm to get him to talk. But Scott is a follower, not a leader. He does what he's told, and as I said, he's good at doing whatever he's told. He's cold, almost emotionless, and the question that nags the viewer throughout most of the story is at what point he will begin thinking for himself. Because with Mamet's cynical view of how politicians, governments, and government agencies work, we're never sure whom to trust. As Scott says, "It's all in the mind... That's where the battle's won."

This is primarily Kilmer's picture, and with his riveting screen presence, he pulls it off handily. Among his supporting cast are Derek Luke as Curtis and Tia Texada as Jackie Black, a pair of Scott's student protégés who assist him with his investigation. Then, there is Kristen Bell as Laura Newton, the kidnapped girl; Ed O'Neill as the head of the government's investigative team; and that good ol' Mamet standby, William H. Macy, as Stoddard, a government flunky.

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