My review of "Spenser Confidential"

When it was announced that Netflix was going to have Mark Wahlberg in a Netflix exclusive action buddy film, I kind of groaned silently. The trailer looked decent but I wasn't sure of the quality of the movie. Netflix had been notorious for churning out quick movies for its popular streaming service. I was worried that this was just another movie that felt like it was made a "made for TV movie". Technically yes it is a made for TV movie but I'm happy to let you know that it doesn't feel like one.

Spenser Confidential has Mark Wahlberg play the titular character Spenser. He's a highly moral Boston cop that took matters into his own hands when he caught his police chief boss, played by Michael Gaston, committing spousal abuse. Consequently Spenser is sent to prison for his actions.

Now that he's out of prison, Spenser has a disgraced reputation but he plans to become a truck driver and move to Arizona. In the meantime his friend Henry, played by Alan Arkin, has allowed him to stay at his place. Spenser quickly realizes a lot has changed since he's been in prison.

This movie doesn't do a lot to explain things but it's a pretty simple premise so I didn't think much of it. Spenser is roomed with a character named Hawk, played by Winston Duke. Hawk is kind of a weird fellow. He wants to be a great MMA fighter. You can see that he can bring out huge rage but he's pretty calm and collected most of the time. Henry wants Spenser to train Hawk in the art of boxing. I guess that's the best you can get for their pairing.

For the most part the chemistry between Spenser and Hawk work. There are very awkward moments to the point of corniness but what's a buddy movie without some corn?

I thought Spenser's girlfriend Cissy, played by Iliza Shlesinger was done beautifully. She's really funny as the crazy girlfriend but you slowly realize she's a really great person. I kind of wished there was a little bit more of her as she stole the few scenes that she was in.

One thing I couldn't quite get over was Winston Duke's accent. It's really weird. I can't quite understand where this accent is from but it's very awkward and somewhat distracting. I think I may have mentioned this when he was in the movie Us. I admire the fact that he is diversifying his portfolio but I guess I'll just have to get used to his weird accent. Hey I got used to Arnold Schwarzenegger's accent. It won't be too difficult to get over his. I'm just surprised no one really talks about it.

As a buddy action film the action and special effects are actually pretty good. I think that Netflix's reputation for poor quality movies is starting to go away. This felt like a higher production movie and it's nice that they have bigger stars in this movie. It feels like a movie that came out in the theaters that we're renting on a streaming source.

Overall, I would say that this movie kind of impressed me with what Netflix is doing with their movies. This was a nice popcorn movie that I probably would have gone out to watch in the theaters but was able to watch it in the comfort of my own home. It was enjoyable and fun. That's why I will give this movie a 7 out of 10. Although it was in enjoyable in my first viewing I probably won't be giving this movie multiple viewings but I would suggest anyone that's into buddy action flicks to watch it.