Spenser Confidential Review

Despite a fitting cast and entertaining action choreography, director Peter Berg's film Spenser Confidential stumbles over an uneven tone and a bland structure. While a definite amount of effort was put into filmmaking and production, the movie struggles to find captivating or original moments. Instead, writers Sean O'Keefe and Brian Helgeland often take routes that result in tired action clichés and poor one-off humour that is inappropriately placed. While the overall presentation of Spenser Confidential may act as practical action for those looking for a pacey film that lacks commitment, it fails at producing anything memorable, becoming a movie that fades into insignificance the moment it is over.

Spenser is a hot-headed ex-cop who has decided to leave his hometown of Boston forever after serving a sentence in prison. But before he can, Spenser immediately gets roped into a strange conspiracy that results in two of his former colleagues murdered. Unable to turn his back on the people he shows loyalty to, Spenser gets the help from a brash MMA fighter named Hawk in attempts to take down the criminal underworld that killed his former comrades.

Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg have found a mutual stance on filmmaking and the stories they would like to tell. For nearly a decade, the two have worked together, creating competently hard-hitting films such as Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, and Mile 22. Spenser Confidential marks the fifth film that the duo have worked together on, and it is also their fundamentally weakest effort. While the film produces enough for Mark Wahlberg to harness the action-fueled protagonist that's expected of him, the film fails to muster anything else in its nearly two-hour runtime. There is a clear comfortability with Spenser Confidential, and the lackadaisical motivation to create a challenging narrative becomes far too apparent.

While the lack of ingenuity dampens many structural elements of the narrative, the movie manages to generate significant entertainment now and then. The most enjoyable fragments of Spenser Confidential are often thanks to the notable cameos of Post Malone and Donald Cerrone and the supporting cast of Winston Duke and Alan Arkin, who manage to give energy to even the scripts more generic pieces of dialogue.

Overall, Spenser Confidential would have been too generic to have had a significant theatrical impact and is something that will luckily find a far more applicable audience on Netflix. The film will appease those looking for a brainless romp with adequate action and a notable cast. But viewers who are familiar with the prior works of Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg will know that the pair can achieve much more.

Serviceable efforts from both cast and crew make Spenser Confidential a generic and forgettable experience despite a few momentous parts.

Produced By: Netflix
Runtime: 110 minutes
Rating: R