Spenser Confidential Movie Review

Spenser Confidential (2020)

Watch Spenser Confidential on Netflix // Read the novel
Written by: Sean O'Keefe & Brian Helgeland (screenplay by),  Ace Atkins (novel), Robert B. Parker (novel)
Directed by: Peter Berg
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Michael Gaston, Bokeem Woodbine, Marc Maron
Rated: R
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Plot
When two Boston police officers are murdered, ex-cop Spenser teams up with his no-nonsense roommate, Hawk, to take down criminals.

Verdict
It's a typical detective/investigation movie with Mark Wahlberg as the hero that gets into a lot of fights to solve a mystery. Winston Duke is a stand out side character, but this is only a slightly above average movie. The corruption story doesn't make a lot of sense, and I'm not sure this will get the sequel that the final scene desperately sets up.
It depends.

Review
Another collaboration between Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg. This is much better than Mile 22, but not as good as Deepwater Horizon.

Mark Wahlberg plays Spenser.

Mark Wahlberg plays Spencer. He's an ex-cop fresh out of prison and ready to move out of Boston and move on with his life. He's planning to become a truck driver, but a murder that involves his former captain stalls his fresh start. He can't in good conscious let a crime go unpunished even if he didn't like his captain. This is loosely based on the novel Wonderland.

This is pretty standard. Spencer is a suspect in a new crime, there are dirty cops, and only Spencer can solve the case. This doesn't offer much, if anything new, but it's not boring if you can get past the feeling of having seen something like this before. The action keeps the pace quick with Spencer frequently outnumbered and thus getting thumped. The movie seems to be constantly afraid of being boring and thus incorporates lots of action to counter. Spencer's ex is unnecessarily inserted into the movie, and that seems to be more male fan service than not.

Mark Wahlberg and Winston Duke.

Winston Duke does a great job playing Hawk. It's a great role that's a nice counter to Spenser. Hawk looks like a typical heavy but is provided a few character traits to make him unique.

The crime and coverup that drives this movie doesn't make much sense, but that was never intended.

This is setup for a sequel when Spenser sees another wrong he must correct. This movie is an easy watch that is light on story and development. It does have a nice classic rock soundtrack.