Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) is a brilliant designer who created The Process to control world market. He has come to this tropical island location with Susan Ricci (Rebecca Pidgeon) and George Lang (Ricky Jay) to sell it to his boss Mr. Klein (Ben Gazzara). He wants assurances of a big bonus. Then he's approached by Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin). There's also an FBI agent Pat McCune (Felicity Huffman).This is a very over written script from director David Mamet. It's all about the process (forgive the phrase) and not about narrative. The big money making Process is never explained. It's about manners and style. The Mamet dialog is sometimes so amazing because it fits the movie. This movie is like some kind of stage play on a Caribbean resort. It's all so very fake and somewhat stiff. This is a smart movie written by a very smart man except it's a little too smart for its own good.

Easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen. In order to complete this thing, the makers/writer had to create the stupidest main character ever. He continually puts himself into situations, and performs acts, that require the suspension of belief and the necessity of the audience to reject common sense or any intelligence at all. It is not an intricate plot, or suspenseful if, in order to create that atmosphere, the main character is a dolt. But that is what happens in this movie. Nothing makes sense. The fact that the actors didn't roll their eyes every time the plot was ridiculous (which was every five minutes) is a credit to their acting abilities. The fact that they took part in this movie is not. The title of the movie should have been "You've Got To Be Kidding" or maybe "Stupid, stupid, stupid". Pick another movie - it almost has to be better than this one.

Sometimes actors get type casted. One of those actors is Steve Martin. Known for his starring roles in comedies, in this movie he plays a completely different kind of part and plays it well, which is surprising as the movie is a crime drama. The movie itself is great. It has a clever plot, interesting characters, an engaging style, and strong finale. The bad guys are wonderful and their hapless victim, worthy of empathy. The movie is about greed, and false appearances. The bad guys seem good and the good guy is, well, we don't know; the audience is kept guessing. The entire cast is excellent. After watching this movie, one can leave feeling that they have been entertained and also shown what can happen when you let your guard down and trust others just because of the way they look. Yes, appearances can be deceiving and this movie shows how.

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.