When it comes to buddy action comedies, many of them tend to follow the same formula which often can result in most coming across as being by-the-numbers. What makes memorable ones such as 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys, and Rush Hour standout are the chemistry that the main leads share with their plots being serviceable enough to make for an enjoyable ride. That doesn't appear to be the case with Netflix's Spenser Confidential, which stars Mark Wahlberg and Winston Duke. Marking Wahlberg's fifth collaboration with director Peter Berg, the talented pair aim to make magic happen again with their newest effort combining elements of action mixed with crime and comedy all rolled into one. Despite their noble efforts to deliver solid popcorn entertainment, the end result comes across as feeling like a mixed bag with Spenser Confidential ultimately passing as being serviceable entertainment even though the main leads lack the memorable chemistry, as well as the trademark back-and-forth bickering that generally accompanies the popular genre.
Based on Robert B. Parker's 2013 novel Wonderland by author Ace Atkins, the plot for Spenser Confidential centers on a former Boston police officer (Played by Mark Wahlberg), whose released after serving a 5-year sentence with him trying to uncover a conspiracy involving widespread corruption that includes many police officers, politicians, and ruthless drug dealers. Carrying a story that feels ideal for a buddy cop action flick, Spenser Confidential provides enough reasonable entertainment for it to be considered passable, though never truly maximizes its full potential. The film often comes across as feeling standard for the genre with nothing new or fresh being brought to the table. Although the film boasts decent performances from its main cast, it can't help but shake the by-the-numbers feeling that one gets when watching it. The films single greatest fault besides operating as being just an average effort, lies with the fact that there isn't a compelling enough duo placed on the screen for audiences to rally behind nor truly care about. As an intended piece of entertainment, Spenser Confidential offers a temporary distraction but not enough to where one will be thinking about it afterwards.
Despite the films shortcomings in regards to its writing, the acting performances from the main cast manage to be effective with them being appealing choices for their roles. Generally with a film like Spenser Confidential, the concept offers the main cast the opportunity to have some fun with playing their roles. Although that appears to be the case here, they also feel hindered by the scripts lack of character depth. In the films main role, Mark Wahlberg delivers a solid performance as ex-cop Spenser whose wrongfully jailed for attempting to call out the cover-up of a key case involving the murder of an activist. Wahlberg once again gives audiences his tough guy persona with him commanding the screen with his presence. He proves to be a natural at playing such a part as it helps that his presence is often likable in his films despite how audiences generally feel about him off screen. Winston Duke manages to be appealing as Spenders partner and sidekick Hawk. He makes his character both fun and likable to audiences despite his chemistry with Wahlberg sorely lacking in comparison to other buddy cop film pair ups. The rest of the cast deliver notably strong performances with comedic actress Lliza Shlesinger bringing energy to the screen with her performance as Spensers smack-talking and loud-mouthed on and off again girlfriend Cissy Davis. Even though audiences may find frustration with her characters attitude towards Spenser and other characters, Shlesinger still is able to make her appealing. Alan Arkin brings class to the ensemble with his role as Spensers friend Henry Cimoli. Where the chemistry between Wahlberg and Duke may fall short of its intended reaction, Arkin picks up the slack by providing humor, sarcasm, and charm with the scenes his characters in. Bokeem Woodbine does a solid job of playing Spensers partner turned antagonist Driscoll with Woodbine being believably convincing as a corrupt cop hiding his shady dealings behind the badge. As a whole, the cast for Spenser Confidential does a fairly solid job of playing their roles, along with trying to add some flavor to them. The strongest performances in the film come from both Wahlberg and Arkin with the latter being strong as the films righteous protagonist, who refuses to look the other way upon discovering shady misgivings going on within his own precinct. He plays his character being the smart, tough, and stubborn former Boston police officer to maximum effect. The film is ultimately watchable and carries a fair amount of entertainment value due to the effort the cast puts into trying to make the story work.
Directed by Peter Berg who worked with Wahlberg previously on projects such as Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, and Mile 22, the inseparable filmmaking pair continue the trend once again with their fifth collaboration together. Berg and Wahlberg appear to be an ideal duo, who both understand how to work off each other in regards to achieving the desired effect for the stories they bring to the screen. Unfortunately their latest effort ranks as being one of their weaker efforts rather than being one of their strongest. Berg's directing here falls within the category of being unexceptional as nothing about his work on the film warrants strong praise. Here, he keeps the story moving at a slow yet steady pace which allows the story to gradually unfold as the film progresses. The cinematography is both entertaining and fairly well-handled with the films local scenery being well photographed, along with the action sequences being on point with them also showcasing decent choreography. The violence serves as being one of the main centerpieces of the story with the main antagonists (Crooked cops and drug dealers) shown committing savage beatings, as well as showing surprising creativity such as them wielding machetes with Wahlberg's character being able to overpower them in a comic book style fashion. Although thrilling at first, the action later becomes predictable with the audience automatically assuming that Wahlberg's character will either overpower the group of baddies trying to kill him or his big muscular partner will conveniently show up to the rescue. The rest of the films action consists of decently-filmed though typical car chases, shootouts, and fist fights occurring one after another. Berg keeps the action consistent throughout the story with him spreading it out long enough for the story to develop in between each sequence. The editing is handled with great restraint in regards to the film maintaining a steady pace, while not feeling too jarring in regards to the quick cutting during the films action scenes. Berg's directorial work here for the most part is decent with audiences getting the chance to see glimpses of his skills as a director in regards to staging solidly effective action sequences with Wahlberg helping to deflect from the films glaring issues in regards to its writing.
The screenplay by Sean O' Keefe and Brian Helgeland serves as being both a hit-and-miss effort with the script being at its strongest when establishing the films main plot. Beyond that, the biggest issues with the writing stem from its severe lack of humor given that the story is aimed to be a buddy cop action flick. The film itself appears to not only struggle in this regard, but also feels confused in whether it wants to be seen as a comedy or straight action flick with there being very little chemistry between Wahlberg's character and Duke's. The script carries a noble message which says that certain people are truly righteous ones who'll stop at nothing in the pursuit of justice. With Wahlberg's character, the audience effectively see's his determination to bring the crooked cops to justice regardless of the fact that he's not only outnumbered but essentially going up against a corrupt system. Despite the script wanting to deliver a powerful condemnation of police corruption, the writers don't go all in with doing so, and appear confused on what type of film they want Spenser Confidential to be. The lack of a true partnership between Wahlberg and Duke's characters becomes a glaring issue that holds the film back in terms of being as entertaining and memorable as it could've been. The script for Spenser Confidential feels like a half-hearted attempt to be both an entertaining and deep buddy cop action flick, but often finds itself relying on both predictable and generic cliches such as the audience figuring that Wahlberg's partner (Bokeem Woodbine) will inevitably end up being revealed as one of the films main crooked cops, along with Alan Arkin's character becoming a hostage bargain given the way his character is built up throughout the film. The writing for Spenser Confidential for the most part isn't terrible, it just feels lazily written and uninspired with it relying on generic plot and character tropes from other movies within the genre. Instead of going all in and embracing the buddy cop aspect of the story, the script takes a half step rather than a full one and it shows.
Considering that both Paul Berg and Mark Wahlberg achieved success with previous strong efforts such as Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, and Patriots Day, it's a bit disappointing to see their latest effort pale in comparison to their past work. At best, Spenser Confidential serves as being an okay effort but lacks the charm, charisma, and heart of previous buddy cop flicks to make it a genuinely solid movie. The story ultimately finds itself going through the motions with the audience being left scratching their heads while wondering when the films humor will arrive (Which it almost never does). One of the films rare scenes of intended humor involves a comically awkward sex scene involving Wahlberg's character and Shlesinger's with them attempting to perform sexual intercourse in a public restroom. The scene both proves effective in being fun to watch while also coming across as being an awkward moment in the story. Spenser Confidential desires to be both serious and comedic at the same time with it feeling as if it can't choose on what exactly it wants to be. What saves it from being a complete disaster is the appeal, as well as the effort its main cast puts into trying to make it work. For the most part, they manage to succeed at making it a watchable effort though certainly not one that audiences will remember in the long run. One hopes that for Berg and Wahlberg's next inevitable outing, they choose a much stronger and more consistent script to work with as their talents feel somewhat wasted here.
Final Verdict: For Mark Wahlberg fans as well as those of the buddy cop film genre, Netflix's Spenser Confidential offers mild entertainment, but largely pales in comparison to other stronger films within the genre.
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