Actors: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke
Director: David Mamet
I think Spartan is probably a failure. It's about 45 minutes of dynamite Hitchcockian thriller. Then it's about an hour of plot threads coming together in a way that reveals the weakness of the plot. Hitchcock films are almost universally ridiculous, plot-wise - the way they work is by letting the viewer know as much as the protagonist. Mamet violates this rule about halfway through the movie and it leaves us wondering when the protagonist will realize his error - and we know that he must, otherwise there's no movie - and what's left is us knowing both more and less than the protagonist. Either way it's got some fun Mamet-y dialogue - not enough to save the film. I give it 3 stars on the basis of the beginning alone, really. When you shoot for a modern Manchurian Candidate, sometimes you end up with this.
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