Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

Spartan

(2004)

Written and directed by David Mamet. This got off to an excellent start, and throughout it was miles better than your usual spy thriller, never indulging in the usual idiotic fistfights. It surprised me several times. Still, by the end it had somehow gone astray. The final revelation, which I will not spoil, would have been wildly unbelievable 20 years ago, but these days I’d believe anything, politically, there seem to be no depths our elected leaders will not sink to.