"SPARTAN" (2004) (Val Kilmer, Derek Luke) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Heavy Extreme Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Mild Moderate None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Suspense/Thriller: A covert military operative and his young protégé attempt to find and rescue the kidnapped daughter of the President of the United States. PLOT: Robert Scott (VAL KILMER) is a veteran military officer who trains young recruits such as Curtis (DEREK LUKE) and Jackie Black (TIA TEXADA) in the ways of working at the highest levels of covert government operations. His expertise means he's called in when it's learned that Laura Newton (KRISTEN BELL), the daughter of the President of the United States, has been kidnapped. Working with top government men such as Stoddard (WILLIAM H. MACY) and Burch (ED O'NEILL), Scott sets out to find out what he can and retrieve the young woman. With Curtis serving as his assistant, Scott determines that Laura, who recently and dramatically changed her looks, was abducted by forces working for imprisoned sex slave ringleader Tariq Asani (SAID TAGHMOUI). Armed with the knowledge that they don't know who they've kidnapped, Scott springs Asani from prison custody, hoping to find out where Laura's been taken. Things go completely awry, however, ending with news reports of Laura's death. Scott thinks the case is closed, but when Curtis reveals he spotted an important clue that contradicts that report, the two covert operatives set out to find and rescue the girl. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of anyone in the cast or the works of writer/director David Mamet, they just might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For violence and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: VAL KILMER plays a covert military operative who's called in to find and rescue Laura. He does anything to bring her home, including killing many people (villains and bystanders), uses strong profanity and smokes a few times. DEREK LUKE plays Scott's young protégé who's just joined the secret unit and works on the Newton case that includes discovering an important lead. He uses some strong profanity. TIA TEXADA plays a young military recruit who desperately wants to be on Scott's team and help rescue Laura. KRISTEN BELL plays the President's daughter who's apparently gone wild (and had sex with her professor) before being kidnapped. She uses some strong profanity. WILLIAM H. MACY plays a no-nonsense government man who sends Scott to rescue Laura at any costs. ED O'NEILL plays another similar government man who uses strong profanity. SAID TAGHMOUI plays an imprisoned ringleader of a sex slave operation who Scott frees for information. He uses some strong profanity. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated suspense/thriller/drama. Profanity consists of at least 30 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually explicit dialogue is present, while a woman is briefly seen in her thong and bra and another propositions a man (removing her shirt - we see her bare back) but nothing happens. Violence consists of many deaths and some injuries by various means (mostly shootings, while a knife is used to kill one), some of which have rather bloody results. Non-lethal fighting (some of it rather brutal) also occurs. Some of those scenes and other moments may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes. Some characters drink and/or smoke, while some drug references are made and some tense family material is present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE It sounded like a comment was made about a mother being drunk or a drunk. A few people have drinks in a bar where a female bartender pours one for Scott. We hear that a pimp-like guy has "roofies" (date rape drugs) on him. Scott takes a swig from a beer bottle. There's talk of getting morphine for a wounded man. An agent has a beer in front of him. A comment may have been made about someone being "coked up." Scott pours a drink for himself and Curtis. Scott asks Curtis if he's ever come down off drugs and then mentions that adrenaline is the most powerful of them all. Scott has a drink with Jackie. There's talk of sex slaves being drugged. BLOOD/GORE Playing the part of "bad cop," Scott backhands an agent who's being interrogated, sending some blood flying and the guy to the floor. We see a large scar on Scott's back. We hear a gunshot and then see that an agent has reportedly committed suicide (we see blood on the floor and his head). A man has some blood on his face after Scott roughs him up. A mortally wounded man has some blood from his mouth. We see blood on a prisoner's clothing after he's been shot and killed. Scott has fake blood applied to his clothing to make it look like he shot and killed someone. Asani has a lot of blood on his neck from a bullet grazing him there. From a distance, we see two men (one wounded, the other dead) who are bloody from being shot. Curtis has some blood and a bandage on his head. A person is suddenly shot in the head from a distance, with blood squirting out. We see some blood on a recently shot person. We hear and partially see a girl vomit into a sink. We see a small pool of blood and then a trail of blood drops leading away from it. Scott slices a man's throat, killing him (we see blood coming around the victim's hands that are at his neck). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Those responsible for all of the bad things planned for or that occur to Laura, as well as killing or attempting to kill others obviously have extreme cases of bad attitudes. Scott does various bad things (killing innocent people, etc.) to get the job done. It's suggested that an unseen professor has been cheating on his wife with his students, including Laura who reportedly cheated on her boyfriend. Scott does various bad things (killing innocent people, etc.) to get the job done. Various minor characters (a pimp, a woman who runs an escort service) operate in illegal endeavors, including prisoner Tariq Asani who is involved in a sex slavery operation. When Asani stares at Scott, the latter asks the former, "Are you a fag, my friend?" (he says he isn't). A Secret Service agent mentions the President coming to town to "get laid" and comments on him cheating on the First Lady. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be unsettling, tense or suspenseful to some viewers. A man chases a woman through the woods, but it all turns out to be just part of a military training exercise. Armed with an assault rifle with a scope, Curtis covers Scott as he slowly enters a beach house at night looking for Laura and/or her abductors. A man comes out and confronts Scott, while we see another man creeping up in another room with a rifle. Curtis then shoots that man, prompting Scott to shoot the other man several times. A Secret Service agent holds her gun on Scott who's working undercover. Scott and another operative sneak up on a bunch of bad guys at night and then get into a gun battle with them. Many people are shot and wounded or killed, including the other operative, while Scott's machine gun is shot from his hands. Scott discovers a tracking device in his knife and then tries to avoid the bad guys who quickly close in on him and another person. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Rifles/Shotguns/Assault weapons/Knives: Carried or used to threaten, wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Get the f*ck out," "You're f*cking A right," "What the f*ck /are we talking about?" "Get us the f*ck out of here," "I f*cked up," "Weepy bunch of m*therf*ckers," "Shut your f*cking mouth," "F*ck it," "F*cking c*cks*cker," "You're entitled to sh*t," "What the hell /is that?" "Whore," "Slut," "Stone cold whore master," "Do you want to gossip or shoot somebody?" and "You dumb son of a bitch." A military guy badgers an underling by saying that all he has for him is a "stiff d*ck and bubblegum" and that he's out of bubblegum. Laura's ex-boyfriend jimmies her mailbox open to retrieve a letter he sent her. Some miscellaneous characters have tattoos. JUMP SCENES A man is suddenly shot. A person is suddenly shot in the head from a distance, with blood squirting out. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 30 "f" words (6 used with "mother," 5 used sexually as are the terms "boffing," "screw" and "get laid"), 2 "s" words, 2 slang terms using male genitals ("c*cks*cker" and "d*ck"), 8 S.O.B.s, 5 hells, 1 ass, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Jesus," "Oh God" and "Oh Jesus." SEX/NUDITY A military guy badgers an underling by saying that all he has for him is "stiff d*ck and bubblegum" and that he's out of bubblegum. Scott, playing the part of "bad cop" during an interrogation, asks an agent about Laura, "Were you f*cking her? (he says no). It's suggested that an unseen professor has been cheating on his wife with his students. Scott asks Laura's ex-boyfriend if Laura was "f*cking another guy" and there's more talk of that, including about her sleeping with her teacher. Scott uses the "f" word sexually again in this conversation. There's talk that an agent left his post and was "boffing" his girlfriend. The "f" word is used sexually. Trying to find leads on Laura, Scott poses as an older man on the hunt for younger women and finds a pimp of sorts who works in that field. We see an older woman who runs an escort service (implied prostitution). Scott then goes to see a young woman who works for that service. She shows some cleavage and we then see surveillance footage of her dressing (from a distance) that shows her (from the front) in her thong underwear and bra. When Asani stares at Scott, the latter asks the former, "Are you a fag, my friend?" (he says he isn't). The term "screw" is used sexually. A Secret Service agent mentions the President coming to town to "get laid" and comments on him cheating on the First Lady. A young woman tries to smoke, but Scott stops her. She then says she could make him give her the smoke and removes her shirt. He sees her topless (we only see her bare back), but nothing happens and she puts her shirt back on. SMOKING Scott smokes a few times, Stoddard smokes once, and some miscellaneous characters smoke (one holds an unlit cigar) in several scenes. Scott rolls a cigarette for Laura, lights it, takes a puff and then gives it to her. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see a mother grieving over her daughter's death. We hear that Laura has not had a good family life and does not want to return home. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Secret government agents and operatives and their duties and actions. Scott does various bad things (killing innocent people, etc.) to get the job done. VIOLENCE As the last test for admittance to the secret unit, two military men battle in a room while others watch. We only see brief glimpses of the two struggling, but hear more of the related sounds. Playing the part of "bad cop," Scott backhands an agent who's being interrogated, sending some blood flying and the guy to the floor. We hear a gunshot and then see that an agent has reportedly committed suicide (we see blood on the floor and his head). Scott grabs and hits a man, slams him into a wall twice and punches him in the back. After a brief talk, Scott hits him again, slams him into a dumpster and then breaks his arm (we also hear the loud sound of that). He then orders Curtis to take out the guy's eye with a knife. Curtis pulls out a knife, but the guy then decides to talk. Scott grabs an older woman (who runs an escort service) by the throat and threatens her while looking for information. He then pushes her back down into her chair. Armed with an assault rifle with a scope, Curtis covers Scott as he slowly enters a beach house at night looking for Laura and/or her abductors. A man comes out and confronts Scott, while we see another man creeping up in another room with a rifle. Curtis then shoots that man, prompting Scott to shoot the other man several times. To get his hands on Tariq Asani who's being transported with another prisoner via a car, Scott poses as a gas station robber and gets into a brief gun battle with the owner, eventually shooting and presumably killing him. He then fires at the prison guard driver, hitting and presumably killing him and grazing Asani on the neck (with bloody results). Arriving at another destination, he goes inside and fires some shots into an empty table (to make the prisoners think he's killed others). He comes back out, shoots the other prisoner dead, and then aims his gun at Asani, threatening to shoot him. A man shoots an agent, prompting Scott to shoot and kill the man. A person is suddenly shot in the head from a distance, with blood squirting out. A gunman repeatedly shoots at Scott who takes cover behind a small shed. He appears to be hit by one such shot, but we then see that's not the case. Scott and another operative sneak up on a bunch of bad guys at night and then get into a gun battle with them. Many people are shot and wounded or killed, including the other operative, while Scott's machine gun is shot from his hands. Scott shoots another person dead (we don't see the impact). Scott punches a girl in the stomach to make her be quiet (lest she give away their location). Scott shoots a man but is hit and wounded in the exchange. A man shoots and wounds an agent and fires shots at a plane. Scott slices a man's throat, killing him (we see blood coming around the victim's hands that are at his neck). Reviewed March 8, 2004 / Posted March 12, 2004

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