Good movie but grossly overrated

What begins as a feel-good-human-interest story turns into a mystery, then a tragedy, and ultimately an outrage.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Down the drain goes 110 minutes, totally wasted on this movie where everyone is questionable as to their motives. A real confusing story leads down various paths to nowhere, because in the end believability flies out the window, and the viewer is left holding a 110 minute bag. Mamet scored a true winner with "House of Games", and while "The Spanish Prisoner" may not be his worst film, it is so far from being logical, that I simply cannot suggest anything except to avoid like you would a rabid dog. I could go on and on about how characters suddenly appear out of thin air, simply to pile on another layer of nonsense that lacks both logic and believability. The way the conclusion is rushed in to tie everything together is laughable. - Merk

As the story begins you get the feeling that, despite the triviality, something important is going on. But you don't know quite what it is. Early scenes, with a variety of characters, contain little bits of business that imply, suggest, hint, portend. Dialogue adds to this impression. "You never know who anybody is", says one character to another. Welcome to the world of corporate intrigue.Our protagonist is Joe Ross (Campbell Scott), presumably a Boy Scout type straight arrow, innocent and charming. On behalf of the company he works for, he has created a formula called "the process", highly valued, that will make him and his company rich. Trouble is, others may want to steal his formula. The appeal of this film is the challenge of trying to figure out, among all the characters, who are the good guys and who are the villains.Except for scenes early in the plot and at the end, most scenes take place indoors, using sets with persuasive production design. These interior scenes are lit darkly, consistent with a dark, sinister tone. There are lots of close-up shots, as the emphasis here is on characters. What secrets, if any, are they hiding? Background music is low-key with just a hint of Spanish origin. Casting is acceptable; overall acting is quite good.My only complaint is that the story is a bit too contrived. I can't imagine that a villain, or villains, would go to such extreme lengths to accomplish their objective. A simpler plot might have been more realistic.Even so, this is a very good movie. What makes "The Spanish Prisoner" so enjoyable is that it is all story ... no camera gimmicks, no annoying car chases or obnoxious TV news reporters, no filler. As a result, some viewers will find the film slow going, dull, and bland. It's a film for intelligent viewers who like puzzles and mysteries. And its theme of greed fits right in with contemporary American culture.

I was tempted to run screaming from the room after viewing the first twenty or so minutes of The Spanish Prisoner due to its less than desirable bunch of actors. However, I was intrigued in spite of myself and ended up finishing the film. A man is hired by his boss to work on a top- secret project and espionage ensues. The writing was phenomenal, in my opinion. I would have preferred to read this as a novel as the plot is only slightly predictable and there are so many twists that no one could figure it out entirely. The acting is simply sophomoric. I think David Mamet should fire the person who did the casting. However, the writing was good enough to balance out the atrocity of the acting, hence my rating of 5.

This movie was made in 1997 and for its time it worked. I remember seeing it at the theater and being completely satisfied with the plot and various twists and turns.After seeing it for the second time today, I have to admit there are a number of quirky out-of-date elements that take away from the pace and validity of the plot. First, I did not remember the outcome or most of the plot. That's why I decided to watch it again. Second, I think the dialogue and the plot are outdated now. I have to believe this is a mystery/drama that has outlived our evolution as movie-goers. It is a good example of how our expectations and general knowledge/stimulus has evolved over time - this example being 12 years old. I found the dialogue to be slow and stilted at first and in fact thought the actors were uncomfortable with themselves; almost "reading" their lines in the first 2/3rds of the movie. The plot now has plenty of holes - why would a smart man fall for the way the "Spanish Prisoner" grift was performed? Clearly we have increased our sophistication with regard to plot and acting since 1997. The end is still well done and I believe the last 3rd of the movie is worth the time spent. I rate it a 6 out of ten for entertainment, but the entertainment also includes the awareness of how the movie doesn't work that well for 2009.