Spartan

Una mirada interesante a la comunidad de inteligencia, sus tácticas y la necesaria ruptura de las barreras éticas para hacer el trabajo. Una película muy típica de Mamet. Dura, concisa, inteligente y rápida. Entre el denso y maravillosamente críptico diálogo, no encontrarás ni una sola frase que explique descriptivamente lo que está pasando. Es como si de repente te encontraras entre los agentes en la vorágine de un caso urgente. Los espectadores cómodos se pierden. Mamet exige el 100% de atención y la recompensa con creces. Te mantiene en vilo desde el primer hasta el último momento, y la visión incómodamente realista de la investigación y el mundo de los altos patriotas más allá de los horizontes de nosotros los mortales es sobrecogedora. Val Kilmer como el genial exterminador está perfecto, con una gran mano en la sofisticada cinematografía y escenas de acción pulcramente estilizadas y sin música significativa. Se pasa de un entorno al otro, el desarrollo de los acontecimientos avanza y la dinámica general de la película es mejor que en Speed: Máxima potencia. Un thriller brillante que se enorgullece de su inteligencia y que te hará sentir asco no sólo del comercio de personas, sino de la propia política. ****1/2 (26.08.2004)

Spartan is an unobtrusive movie that is easy to mistake for a regular B-grade production. Quite the opposite applies, however, and this turns out to be a raw, cold and unusual glimpse behind the scenes of secret ops. David Mamet wrote an outstanding screenplay and directed it well. It’s no miracle in visual terms (any episode of 24 has better production design - which is rather surprising in view of the budget in this picture), but this is ingeniously turned into an advantage in the form of almost intimate atmosphere, and that’s what’s most important. The intelligent plot certainly doesn’t underrate the viewer in any way and requires his full attention, which is rewarded by (not only) a story full of suspense. If it weren’t for the finale in the hangar with the lame and totally inappropriate explanatory monolog by the villain, then this would be flaw-free. It’s best not to read the distributor’s accompanying text, because it reveals almost the entire plot. Another big plus is Val Kilmer with his wonderfully minimalist performance, which couldn’t have possibly be better. Just a shame that all the others are slightly second-rate actors and therefore spoil things rather. All in all, however, Spartan is a very pleasant surprise. (15.02.2007)

It's boring. Fast-paced, quite raw, and straightforward, but I still didn't like it. A cold look into the world of secret services is a very interesting topic and almost always provides the basis for an interesting screenplay, but this time David Mamet didn't quite succeed. As a whole, it seemed quite clichéd, and throughout the entire time, I couldn't help but feel I've seen all of this before. It surprised me that Mamet also took on the role of director, but he clearly knows how to shoot action. The big, raw, and strongly realistic shootouts occasionally reminded me of Michael Mann's style. (23.10.2005)