Spenser Confidential Movie Review

I’m drawn to Mark Wahlberg in movies. I don’t know why. I still imagine him singing in everything I’ve seen him in and his role as Spenser in the Spenser Confidential movie (from Spenser for Hire) it’s no exception. It’s important to realize, that I’m the right age to remember Marky Mark and I must say, going from pop to serious actor must have been very hard.

All that aside, I think Wahlberg is best suited to lighter roles, comedic roles, and characters that aren’t supposed to have an even remotely menacing presence. Spenser Confidential film is an action-comedy and he isn’t menacing as a character, but he is supposed to have a presence. One that says ‘Don’t mess with me.’ I just wasn’t getting that vibe from him here.

The writer behind the series of books this Netflix Original movie Spenser Confidential has plonked onto their catalog is Ace Atkins. Spenser’s character was originally dreamed up by Robert B. Parker who handed the torch over to Atkins. Parker’s first four detective stories have already been made into a television series, Spenser: For Hire in 1985. In addition are three TV Movies featuring this extremely likable leading man. Atkins’s novel Wonderland is the story they used for this Netflix film. This particular film has a sequel in the works titled Spenser Confidential 2.

Where to Watch Spenser Confidential

Spenser Confidential full movie watches online in most countries on the Netflix streaming platform.

Too lazy to read Spenser for Hire?

Get Burt Reynolds to read three of Parker’s books to you on Audible by using the link.

Spenser Confidential Movie Review

Despite being described as an action-comedy flick, Spenser Confidential movie is a follow-the-dots kind of thing. Action scenes are circumstantial at best. Most are almost announced as something to look out for with unimaginative hooks in earlier scenes. The comedic accents worked best through the character of Hawk.

Also, I’ve never seen any of the films or series for Spenser for Hire using this well-known police officer from Boston’s role. I did, however, know who the killers were shortly after the film introduced them. Nevertheless, I won’t spoil the movie for anyone, rest assured. But I did find this story was less about figuring out who the bad guys were and more about why they were bad in the first place. The reason behind figuring it out so easily is being able to spot who is who. For one thing, we don’t get to know many people. If the writers were trying to create any mystery, they didn’t do a very good job of it.

Action Comedy Netflix Movies

The narrative opens at the end of Spenser’s five-year incarceration. Through flashbacks, we learn that he bashed his captain, Boylan. Similarly, these same flashbacks are predominantly used throughout to fill in the backstory pieces for Spenser Confidential. Spenser’s character is confusing, as the hero and all-around good guy, there is too much time spent on having him avoid his love interest, Cissy (Iliza Shlesinger). Cissy’s character will be a challenge for most, but I grew to like her throughout the film. She’s loud and opinionated and not given a great series of dialogue but she brought the right amount of crazy to it to make it slightly enjoyable.

Hawk (Winston Duke) was my favorite cast member in the film and easily outshines the lead role from Wahlberg. A towering gentle giant with a speck of background made him extremely likable. I found myself wondering if there was any debate over him having the lead role as Spenser. It made a lot more sense.

Overall, Spenser Confidential is a film you can watch when you don’t feel like thinking. The final scenes are set up for more from the series of stories already in circulation and compared with films like Murder Mystery, this one is way better at treating you like you have no problem-solving abilities but showing you a good time.

Spenser Confidential is rated

3 cute old sausage dogs out of 5

Spenser Confidential cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, and, Michael Gaston.