Spartan ★★★ 2004 (R)

The president's daughter has been kidnapped— possibly by a Middle Eastern group of woman slave traders—and cagey special ops agent Robert Scott (Kilmer) is entrusted with the task of bringing her home. But, as with any Mamet venture, what seems to be the reality might not be and the deeper Scott gets into the job the less he can be certain of. His dilemma and the questions that swirl around make for high-octane action-thriller fun…until it sadly runs out of gas toward the end. Kilmer seizes the character along with the fundamentals of the smart, fast-paced language; Luke has a good turn (as Scott's trainee) as do perpetual Mamet performers Macy and O'Neill. 107m/C DVD . US Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, Tia Texada, Kristen Bell, Johnny Messner, Lionel Mark Smith, Tony Mamet, Clark Gregg, Steven Culp, Aaron Stanford, Geoffrey Pierson, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill, Andrew Davoli, Said Taghmaoui, Matt Malloy, Kick (Christopher) Gurry, David Paymer; D: David Mamet; W: David Mamet; C: Juan Ruiz-Anchia; M: Mark Is-ham.

Spar·tan / ˈspärtn/ • adj. of or relating to Sparta in ancient Greece. ∎  (usu. spartan) showing the indifference to comfort or luxury traditionally associated with ancient Sparta: spartan but adequate rooms.• n. a citizen of Sparta.

Spartan a citizen of Sparta, a powerful city state in the 5th century bc, which defeated its rival Athens in the Peloponnesian War to become the leading city of Greece until challenged by Thebes in 371 bc. The ancient Spartans were renowned for the military organization of their state and for their rigorous discipline, courage, and austerity.

Spartan native of Sparta XV; adj. XVI. — L. Spartānus, f. Sparta (Gr. Spartā, -ē): see -AN
.