WARNING: may contain spoilers!I wanted to like this movie, and it had potential. I have no problem with a complicated plot, as long as it all hangs together and is believable. But this movie has too many unbelievable points, e.g., the Joe Ross character would never have brought the secret to the meeting and agreed to give it to the Jimmy Dell character. He had previously shown that he was both aware and serious about keeping it secret. And despite his beef with his company about getting his compensation in writing (deservedly), it never shows him being willing or interested in betraying the secret, only that he was exploring talking to a lawyer about getting his share of the money.And like most plots, when too many people are involved in a conspiracy, it starts to get ridiculous. In this movie, there must have been a dozen at least!One final point. When Jimmy Dell gave the guy the book and asked him to take it personally to his sister, what did he think would happen when he found out, as he later does, that it was an old woman? Wouldn't that have completely ruined their chances to get at him?Since most of the reviews are glowing, I wanted to put out another viewpoint.

„The Spanish prisoner" is along with „House of games" Mamet's finest movie . There is quite a lot of Hitchcock style in it , but in the end the whole thing is pure Mamet. What makes is different than other thrillers is the theatrical approach to it . If you're expecting chases , action, violence or shock you won't find it here . The whole movie is quiet , moves slowly and actually feels like a real life . I would even dare to say that is an intellectual thriller."TSP" requires patience from it's audience. If you have it you will be rewarded . It's impressive how subtlety Mamet changes our perception of characters through the movie . When the twists will come around you will be only able to smile with appreciation – they are so clever.Campbell Scott is great as Joe Ross – the main hero . He reminded me of a serious Harold Ramis . There are many different aspects of he's character that he is able to show the audience. I was pleasantly surprised by Steve Martin (yes , THIS Steve Martin) as Jimmy Dell. His cold demeanor really fits his character. Ben Gazzara gives a nice supporting role as Klein. There are also Mamet's god old buddy's – Ricky Jay as advocate and friend of main hero George Lang and Ed O'Neil (famous Al Bundy ) as FBI agent. The only weak point in the acting team is Rebecca Pidgeon (Mamet's wife ) as Susan Ricci . Her character is barely written and her acting is very one note. It's the weakest performance of the movie.The whole thing was not only written , but also directed by Mamet . He's a solid director , but his movie lacks emotions . It seems like it never bothers to be exciting . It's kinda refreshing after all those Hollywood thrillers. Yet , I believe that the ending begs for some REAL TENSION . It comes out as rather anti-climatic final also because it feels like a deus ex machina type of ending ."The Spanish prisoner" is a cake that lacks the cherry on the top (or I should say at the end) , but it's still a great cake. I give it 8/10.

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.

All the positive reviews on here had me looking forward to seeing the twists and turns of The Spanish Prisoner. But instead I watched a movie where the only one who doesn't know what going to happen is the unlikeable main character. The plot isn't predictable from the outset but you'll see the twists coming 5 to 10 minutes before they get there. At times its interesting to see the smaller details of the set-up being put into motion but for me, that's not enough. None of these characters are likable. The dialogue is stale and reads like a play straining to be overly clever. The acting of Rebecca Pidgeon, who plays more or less the love interest, is wretched. Like Ed Woods movie wretched. And there are some questions/plot gaps regarding the level of involvement of the FBI (a minor complaint). Oh and this film ends with one of the weakest final lines I've ever heard.