Spartan

An 2004 espionage thriller written and Directed by David Mamet, and starring Val Kilmer and Kristen Bell. The the story follows Bobby Scott, a government secret agent charged with finding and recovering the kidnapped daughter (Kristen Bell) of a high ranking government figure, and is partened with the new recruit Curtis. Scott is obedient and cold when it is necessary, but quickly discovers a much larger and more sinister political scheme. Spartan has been labelled by some as 'the thinking man's thriller', and has a more moody and slow-paced atmoshpere. The film received mixed to good reviews, particularly regarding the ending.

Tropes used in Spartan include:

• Amateur Sleuth: Curtis.
• Anyone Can Die: A lot of people around Bobby Scott tend to end up dead, and rather suddenly. Most notably, Curtis being shot from an unknown sniper.
• Anti-Hero: Bobby Scott is shown as cold and relentless when it comes to getting the job done. However when finding the truth behind the daughter's kidnapping he follows his conscience.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Scott uses his importance as a secret agent to do, and get away with many morally questionable things.
• Bittersweet Ending: Bobby manages to rescue the president's daughter, but his allie Sergeant Black is killed amongst the chaos. Also, he get's zero recognition for his rescue and outcasts himself to another country.
• Blasting It Out of Their Hands: This happens quickly in one scene, in which Bobby is being shot at and one hits his submachine gun. He visibly shows pain, but ultimately isn't harmed and maanges to pull our his sidearm.
• Dramatic Gun Cock: A variation. After killing one of the convicts Bobby pulls the trigger with the shotgun pointed at the other one. The firearm is empty but he does it to intimidate and get information from the convict.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: We briefly see one of these early in the movie.
• Duel to the Death: Curtis goes through one of these as a graduation process to the Delta Force.
• Eye Scream: Bobby orders Curtis to take out another man's eye when he's not giving up the information they want. It doesn't actually happen as he spills the beans before he does it. It's left open whether it was a scare tactic or a real possibility.
• Faking the Dead: The president's handlers decide to fake the death of the daughter to draw attention away from an affair he was having, which could make him loose a lot of popularity with the public. Also Bobby does this to get away from the sniper who has him pinned down.
• Government Conspiracy
• Gray and Gray Morality
• Love It or Hate It
• Mamet Speak: Being a Mamet film this is expected, Also combined with a lot of Spy Speak.
• Master of Disguise: Bobby doesn't change much of his physical appearance when he occassionally takes on a different role except his clothes. But his mannerisms and way of speaking are done in a way that's likely to manipulate others and fit the situation.
• Military Alphabet
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Bobby roughs up Jerry and breaks his arm in order to get information from him.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Though perhaps not quite as close as other examples, Bobby Scott could be seen as Blue Oni and Curtis as Red Oni.
• Sex Slave: The kidnapped daughter is forced into sexy slavery in Dubai, though how much happened before she get's rescued is uncertain.
• Staged Shooting: Bobby stages the shooting of a police officer and gas station owner to fool two convicts into thinking he's a criminal.
• The Exile