"You've had your whole life to prepare for this moment. Why aren't you ready?"

David Mamet sometimes hits the mark with his movies. HOUSE OF GAMES was one of them. SPARTAN is the latest one to be added to the list of great David Mamet movies.

Kristen Bell plays Laura Newton. She is the actress to watch as she has been cast as the title character of UPN's upcoming Fall show, VERONICA MARS. Scott (Val Kilmer) is a government agent who is assigned the task of finding the kidnapped daughter of a government official. He is teamed up with Curtis (Derek Luke) to find Laura, but some things start to screw up as Scott gets closer to finding Laura. The movie also stars William H. Macy, Ed O'Niel, and the wonderful Tia Texada. The music score by Mark Isham is the best film score I have heard this year. I love how lights flare up and I credit this to cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia. SPARTAN has so many twists and turns that it keep surprising you that you don't know how everything will end.

VIDEO/AUDIO: The movie is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The colors are good and the blacks are OK. The audio track is in English with the option of English, French, or Spanish subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES: There is a commentary track by Val Kilmer which is quiet, but sometimes Val does give some insights into the movie including the David Mamet cameo that was cut from the movie and a little talk about Robert DeNiro doing a scene in Heat.

There is a theatrical trailer for SPARTAN, and there are two forced trailers before the menu (THE BIG BOUNCE, SHADE).

FINAL ANALYSIS: SPARTAN is at least worth a rental. It is great thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat with it's twists and turns.

this review is (c)6-19-2004 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without prior permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com and look for additional content (and sites updates) at http://www.livejournal.com/users/enterlinemedia