Being a huge fan of any film written and directed by David Mamet, I couldn't wait to see his newest one called "Spartan" and which stars Val Kilmer.  And as with the case with all his previous films, "Spartan" didn't disappoint.  This is a political thriller that contains the twists and turns as well as the dialog that is so characteristic of most of Mamet's movies.  The story takes sudden turns at several points in the movie which will confuse most of the audience initially, but by the end of the film, everything ( I think!) is tied up and explained.

      Val Kilmer plays Scott who is a secret marine operative who is evidently one of the best in the business.  One day, the President's daughter Laura is kidnapped from a nightclub near Harvard where she is going to school.  Scott is put in charge of finding the President's daughter and has forty-eight hours in which to locate her before he is reported missing by the media.  It turns out that she was not kidnapped for ransom or political reasons, but instead has been snatched to be put into a white slavery ring overseas.  However, because this is a Mamet film, unexpected events come to play and things are not quite as they appear.  To give anymore of the plot away would probably be giving too much so I will stop here.

      Even though he has often played in some forgettable, if not rotten, films, I've always like Val Kilmer and I was pleased to find that he is excellent in this role.  He handles the unique Mamet dialog with ease and makes it all sound believable. Some other known actors, such as William H. Macy and Ed O'Neill show up in much smaller but pivotal roles.  All the other actors do a fine job as well including Kristen Bell who plays the President's daughter.

      While some of the story may seem to be contrived, the film none-the-less gives us an entertaining tale of political good and evil with sex and betrayal thrown in for good measure.  It held my interest throughout and I have to admit that certain scenes appear to start out of nowhere and I was thinking what the heck is going on.  But then I kept reminding myself that this is a film written and directed by Mamet.

      So, I highly recommend this intelligent political thriller and any fan of Val Kilmer will not be disappointed.  At times, certain events may be over the top stuff but in a film like this, it didn't matter to me.  Just hearing the Mamet dialog is alone probably worth the price of admission.