Spenser Confidential - Not the Best Out There in Term of Action Comedy Movie

This movie was actually released on Netflix many months ago, but I might not have been really interested in watching stand alone movies then as I tend to focus my time on watching their original series. However, as I was still holding myself from going to cinemas due to the pandemic, I shifted my attention to some of Netflix movies. I finally decided to watch this yesterday after watching a comedy series (which I will write about it later). Anyway, let's get on with it.

Brief Story Line

Spenser (Mark Wahlberg - Patriots Day, Instant Family etc) was a disgraced former cop who went to prison for 5 years. After serving his time, he stayed at the house of his old friend Henry (Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine, Argo etc) and shared a room with a wannabe MMA fighter named Hawk (Winston Duke - Us etc). Spenser also had an on/off relationship with Cissy (comedian Iliza Shlesinger) before he was sentenced to jail.  

When a couple of police were murdered on the first day of his return, Spenser was visited by his ex partner Driscoll (Bokeem Woodbine - Billionaire Boys Club, Overlord etc) who together with other police suspected Spenser's involvement. Despite his original plan to be a truck driver and leave Boston, Spenser could not leave the case behind due to his tendency to help people in trouble plus he also believed it involved dirty cops.

Together with Hawk, Spenser would try to solve the case even without the police approval. So what would happen to them? You can find them all in this action comedy movie.

End of Brief Story Line

Well this was a movie where the formula has been used so many times that we have become accustomed and there was no room for interesting surprises anymore. A former cop who formed an unlikely alliance to solve a major case which involve huge dangers. The thing with this kind of film was it would only be interesting if the partnership seemed real and the comedy was strong. Unfortunately in this case, I did not find the chemistry between Spenser and Hawk to be too convincing. 

Don't get me wrong though, Winston Duke was such a contrast presence when partnered with Mark Wahlberg, but there was very little time where he actually provided fun moments. The only time I could chuckled a bit was involving Spenser's dog Pearl and during the time when Spenser ordered take out food. In actual fact, I thought Mark Wahlberg provided a better comedic side in here (even though his character was a bit similar to the movie Mile 22 which happened to be directed by this film's director Peter Berg). Amazingly Berg and Wahlberg have worked together 5 times including in Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day. One thing though, I think this movie was at least more enjoyable as a whole than Mile 22.

The action part in here were pretty standard and focused more on hand to hand fight performed by Mark Wahlberg and Winston Duke. There were nothing too spectacular (except maybe a bit during the climax) but it is pale in comparison with other full action movies. The special effects were OK with nothing special. Oh btw, this movie was adapted from the novel Robert B. Parker's Wonderland written by Ace Atkins which after further reading had given me a better understanding of the movie's idea and Spenser's character.

Overall for me personally, this film did not provide the best entertainment I had hoped for. It was pretty mediocre and did not leave me with the best impression. And with a duration of 111 minutes, it also felt a bit too long. So if you are looking for a great or truly entertaining action comedy movie, this might not be the best option there is. But if you are a fan of Mark Wahlberg, then obviously you could watch this for personal satisfaction.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3 out of 5 stars