Spartan

Movies about corrupt politicians are nearly as common as corrupt politicians. But when writer-director-potty-mouth David Mamet (he handled all three duties in Heist) gets his hands on a story, it finds plenty of routes into uncharted territory. Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is a celebrated military man who works for a clandestine special operations force and is called in to help when the president’s daughter is kidnapped. But when secrets are exposed and the president’s operatives (the straight-faced Ed O’Neill and William H. Macy) resolve to keep them quiet, Scott becomes the last good, good guy. Luckily, he’s not all protocol and paperwork. To get the information he needs to save the first little lady, Scott cracks bones, gouges eyes, and splatters brains. The film’s R-rating helps ensure realistic violence, not to mention Mamet’s terse, expletive-laden dialogue, which makes for an odd, but amusing, fit for the combat-heavy subject matter. Do we recommend this? Sir, yes, fucking sir!