|
|
| |
|
|
By Peg Aloi
|
|
|
|
|
The characters in David Mamet’s new thriller might be mistaken for those in a Michael Crichton novel if not for their tendency to spout profane haiku instead of dialogue. Val Kilmer’s Robert Scott is an ex-Marine and Secret Service demi-god investigating the abduction of the president’s daughter from Harvard Yard; when she turns up dead after a scandalous boating accident off Martha’s Vineyard, Scott is disgraced. But his trusty rookie sidekick, Curtis (Derek Luke), convinces him that the girl is alive, that she’s been dragged into a white-slavery ring (you heard right) in Dubai. Forced to work alone (since his cronies are involved in the cover-up, it being an election year, and all), Scott comes up with some nifty mercenary moves, and Kilmer overcomes his initial discomfort in the role (which was perhaps better suited to a more intellectual actor like, oh, Vincent D’Onofrio). Good performances come also from Ed O’Neill (Dragnet), William H. Macy (under-utilized, as he often is), and Tia Texada (Third Watch). Apart from some head-scratching moments of implausibility and some fuzzy ethics (signaling Mamet’s inevitable, if willing, surrender to Hollywood-mandated genre styling), Spartan is a tense thriller tinged with timely political cynicism. (106 minutes) At the Apple Valley, Entertainment, Flagship, Opera House, Providence Place 16, Showcase, and Tri-Boro cinemas.
|
