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I was in Best Buy rooting around and came across this DVD again. I picked it up primarily because I like Val Kilmer and David Mamet and figured that they could make a pretty good movie together. The premise is that Kilmer (who has put on a few pounds) is a veteran Secret Service agent. He's a self-confessed "worker bee" and isn't interested in the bigger picture. He's called in when a VERY important daughter is snatched. Once on the assignment things start to get confusing. . . .
It definitely feels like a Mamet - very spare in dialog with the occasional odd little phrases that seem to be "insider speak" which give the film a sense of truism, but can leave the casual viewer wonder what that last line meant. You don't get to know the characters very well - what you see is what you get for the most part. Although, there is a little character building done with Spartan and one other person. Good action sequences abound - quick and violent without a lot of windup or winding down. PQ is pretty good, not great - like the soundtrack. Dialog is clean (thank goodness) so understanding the Mametisms is fairly easy - deciphering them may not be.
Overall, it's a decent enough effort, although the end felt a touch rushed. Summing it up, if you liked Ronin the chances are good you'll like Spartan (a Ronin-lite if you will). I give it :3: out of :5:
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