I can’t believe I’ve never reviewed Spartan before. I’ve watched it at least four times, most recently during my trip. It stars Val Kilmer as a shadowy special operator – so shadowy it’s never clear what branch of the services her’s from, though it’s strongly hinted that he’s a Marine, which is kind of odd for the kind of operator he portrays. The president’s daughter has disappeared, likely kidnapped, and Kilmer’s character will do anything (and allow the death of any number of secondary characters) to get her back.
If you are running a Covert Forces or Direct Action style campaign, this is great inspiration. It’s an especially good portrayal of a special operator used in a domestic context.
Oh, and it has Clark Gregg – Agent Phil Coulson himself – in a small but important role.
More of a thriller than an actioner, ex-Delta Force operator Eric Haney consulted with David Mamet for this movie, and the two went on to develop the Unit TV series. This gives the movie the veneer of authentic spec ops action as well as having that great David Mamet dialogue.
“You have to set your mother-fucker to recieve.”
If you dig on political thrillers with hints of black-bag ops, this movie will likely satisfy.
I give this movie 4 chambered rounds out of 5.
There is more information on Spartan here.
You can find more information on Direct Action here.
You can find more information on Covert Forces here.