Slating Spartan

Review of the Spartan DVD & Val Kilmer commentary

[spoilers]

Thanks to Time Out magazine's promotional offer, I have been enjoying a free trial of ScreenSelect's DVD rental service.

As Spartan was written & directed by David Mamet, I thought it would fuse the crafted dialogue of Glengarry Glen Ross with the intricate plotting of House of Games and the excitement of Ronin (where he is credited as Richard Weisz in protest at not being given top billing.) Was I severely mistaken.

It stars Val Kilmer as a special forces operative who is asked to find a kidnapped politician's daughter.

It's a simple thriller with obvious twists that could be seen coming a mile off. Mamet sets up a number of scenes only to end them for no good reason. Perhaps they were curtailed after poor test screenings.

For example:

1) An attempt to befriend a contact by posing as a Good Samaritan goes wrong through a blunder by Kilmer's partner

2) A raid on the kidnappers is aborted when a news report comes in

Mamet's trademark dialogue is absent although perhaps the laconic Kilmer fits the bill as the operative who prefers action to the words of politicians.

In addition, there's a significant plot hole: when Kilmer cleans his knife, he finds a bug and we cut to a jeep arriving at his location. It's implied that he has been bugged for some time yet the buggers have not bothered to intercept him until the very last moment. Why would they wait?

For the actors, Kilmer leads fairly well and has more depth to his character than the one he played in Heat. His rookie partner, played by Derek Luke has the misfortune to be shot twice.

In a so bad, it's good way, I found Kilmer's commentary amusing. Usually, DVD commentaries are done by the director with or without colleagues. However, Mamet's input is missing. Perhaps he wanted to dissociate himself with this turkey. Kilmer's role is a leading man constrains him to mainly talking about his role & his character. He's wise enough to not rabble on to fill up airtime and there are often 1/2 minute pauses between his comments. He discusses the training of special forces operatives and his perception of their experiences in the field.

More amusingly, Kilmer speaks disdainfully of "Daveed Mameh" (as DM's theatrical luvvies are alleged to refer to him), in his absence. He pokes fun of DM's propensity to fill the set with his friends because he alienated the cast. He relates the story of falling asleep on a cold, oily hangar floor because he was exhausted after a day's shooting.

Kilmer claims that Mamet is a failed actor who abuses his actors. He states that Mamet made William H Macy (playing Kilmer's superior) repeat take after take because he was jealous of Macy, whom he had known for 30 years. In an interview, Mamet claims that he employed Macy because he owed him $2700 from 1970 and wants payback. He even claims Mamet cast his rabbi as target practice for Kilmer. His criticism of Mamet extends to the latter's wearing of his Pulitzer Prize-winning T-shirt, day after day.

Kilmer's conservatism extends to his criticism of Mamet's cussing, even though it is much reduced in this film compared to his previous oeuvre.

Finally, Kilmer is surprised by and bemoans the scenes left on the cutting room floor. I wonder if the film could be salvaged by a 30 minute longer extended edition.

So, a below average thriller but the commentary raises a few laughs. The public agrees with my verdict with the film being a colossal financial failure, making less than $4.5M.