Spartan ( * * * * * )

"Any movie written by David Mamet, +1 star; any movie written and directed by David Mamet, -1 star" This was almost a Tredekka Rule. Spartan's the reason why it's not.

The Acting: Val Kilmer rules as Agent Scott, whose past affiliations would seem to include everything from the Army Rangers to the CIA, FBI, and untold, unnamed black ops around the world. A mysterious operative for the United States government, he's the go-to guy when the President's daughter (Kristen Bell) is kidnapped. The cast includes Ed O'Neil, William H. Macy and Derek Luke, all of whom manage to spit out Mamet's distinct, oftimes circular dialogue. Kilmer's disarming catch phrase is "I'm just a worker bee" and he likes to call people "baby," but all the while his quick eyes study everything. Derek Luke is a superb Ranger with sniping skills that come in quite handy. Macy takes what looks like a walk-on cameo, twists and extends it, and winds up being much more. To quote Hubbs (Blogzilla) the whole movie is "lean and mean."

The Story: ...is so good, I didn't know what the hell was going on. Kilmer's character makes 24's Jack Bauer look like a pussy in comparison. He'll break any arm, shoot any dude--even fellow cops--he even gives Laura Newton, the president's daughter, a body check just to shut her up. When he tells Derek Luke to put out an uncooperative informant's eye with a knife, you know he's not fucking around. This movie is so well-written...and, yes, even well directed...that I began to see it as a condemnation of every phony James Bond movie and James Bond ripoff out there. After seeing this, I realized James Bond is the Mickey Mouse of spy movies.

The Direction: "You've got to set your motherfucker to 'receive'!" snaps Kilmer in one scene, and it's good advice. Blink and you'll miss something. Mamet cut his teeth in Chicago theater as an actor, writer and director before winning a Pulitzer for Glengarry Glenross, and his early films looked hella staged. I've seen House of Games, Oleanna, Homicide, The Winslow Boy, The Spanish Prisoner and Heist and I wasn't impressed with any of them--even his writing seemed better when directed by others (The Edge and Glengarry Glenross, both written by Mamet and directed by others, are two of my top three all-time favorite movies). Not so here. Mamet even bought a dolly or something...the camera moved and I was like, "wha??"

Overall: If you like high body counts and characters who act like they're really in the situation they're in, you're probably pretty cool. And you'd like Spartan.

Tredekka Rules:

• Rule 5: Spitting = Good Acting. I think I should clarify this rule, because it's a weird one. Yes, sometimes it's good acting when an actor spits, as in he hocks one up or simply expactorates. But only if he does it with comic timing or dramatic meaning. Sometimes spittin' is just a plot device and it doesn't deserve points (though I'll probably not make that distinction and give the points anyway, as I did with Armageddon). Spartan has the kind of spitting that's a sign of good acting. When Derek Luke runs out of breath at the beginning of the film after a training exercise and bends over, and a huge stream of saliva pours out of his mouth, that's a sign of unselfconscious acting. That's acting minus vanity, or the superfluous need to look dignified. That's what I mean by Spitting = Good Acting. Somebody else spits in Spartan, too, but I forgot who. +1 point.
• Dodged The Pretentious Bullet Award, +3 points. There's no bloated scenes of the President being histrionic. In fact, he's not in it as a character at all. Mamet took all the boring politics and melodrama out of this melodramatic political thriller. The movie follows Kilmer from scene one, and you learn things as he does, in shorthand shop talk. It's excellent.
• Rule 25 (NEW RULE): The Windy City Award (Any Movie Written By David Mamet Gets +1 star)

Tredekka Score: ( * * * * * )