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Spenser Confidential

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Spenser Confidential

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• Comedy
• Action

• 2020
• Peter Berg
• 111 mins
• 15

Summary

When Spenser, an ex-cop better known for making trouble than solving it, just got out of prison and is leaving Boston for good when two of Spenser's former colleagues turn up murdered. He recruits Hawk and his foul-mouthed ex-girlfriend Cissy to help him investigate and bring the culprits to justice. Action comedy, starring Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin and Iliza Shlesinger

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Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Steve Morrissey

Growing up in 1980s Boston, the teenage Mark Wahlberg was a fan of the TV detective series Spenser: for Hire, which was both set in and shot on his doorstep. In what's something of a personal passion project - he produces as well as stars - Wahlberg is back in his home city, now playing the white-knight private eye who's remarkably adept at getting beaten up, considering he's also an ex-boxer. He's also back with director Peter Berg, for their fifth film together. But unlike the much more cinematic Lone Survivor or Patriots Day, Spenser Confidential has the look and structure of a TV series reboot - author Robert B Parker wrote 40 Spenser books and Ace Atkins has written eight more since Parker died, so there's really no shortage of material if more instalments get greenlit. This opener takes a while to get going, but once the standard-issue back story is out of the way, busted-cop Spenser is out of jail (wrongful incarceration, of course) and on the case of a double cop killer, the pace picks up. Wahlberg's dog-eared charm - think a compact Rockford Files-era James Garner - is a real plus here, and so are the support players. Winston Duke has charisma but is a touch underused, but then it took Parker four books to even introduce Spenser's taciturn mixed-martial-arts man-mountain sidekick, Hawk. The same is also true of wry, quippy father figure Alan Arkin. Getting the best of it is stand-up comic Iliza Shlesinger as Spenser's ballsy, caustic ex, a spitfire standout who gets all the biggest laughs.

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6.2/10

How to watch

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Streaming

• Netflix

Credits

Cast

rolenameSpenserMark WahlbergHawkWinston DukeHenryAlan ArkinCissy DavisIliza ShlesingerCaptain BoylanMichael GastonDriscollBokeem WoodbineBettyColleen Camp

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Crew

rolenameDirectorPeter Berg

Details

Released on

2020-03-06

Languages

English | Hindi

Formats

Colour

News & features about Spenser Confidential

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  Spenser Confidential sequel: Will Mark Wahlberg return as Spenser on Netflix?
  
  There's definitely scope for Spenser and Hawk to team up again

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  Spenser Confidential is Netflix's most watched film this week, despite being panned by critics
  
  The action comedy is the latest collaboration between Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg

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