Reading mail from /var/spool/mail/root

Solution 1:

Try mutt. Or elm. (Given that when you say command line utility you mean working in text mode.)

Edit: Even better, put an alias for root into /etc/mail/aliases to redirect root's mail to another account. Remember to run newaliases afterwards. This only works if you have a working MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) of course.

Solution 2:

Pine was replaced by Alpine some time ago.

Alpine is a fast, easy to use email client that is suitable for both the inexperienced email user as well as for the most demanding of power users. Alpine is based on the Pine® Message System, which was also developed at the University of Washington.