Spenser Confidential

First off, I enjoyed the movie as a strict action/detective flick. Wahlberg is likeable in just about everything he does. Alan Arkin as Henry Cimoli was perfect. Iliza Schlesinger as Cissy was sexy (those breasts!) and comical. Her standup gets annoying so keeping her screen time to a minimum in this move was a good choice. Winston Duke didn't do much with the character of Hawk other than looking imposing because he was big, not because he oozed menace. Still, it was a fun action movie that moved along at a brisk pace and had lots of great action scenes.

However, this version of Spenser has next to nothing to do with the book or TV series character other than his name. I'm not sure I understand why they bothered calling it Spenser if they changed everything about the character. The series ended over 30 years ago so its not its not like it had great name recognition. They could have called it Joe Confidential and it would have had the same impact. Spenser was a renaissance man. He was streeet smart, suave, quoted literature, was a gourmet cook, had a moral code, was loyal to his girlfriend (Susan; a college professor) and was kicked off the force for being a smartass and not blindly following bad rules, and never went to jail. Hawk and he met as young boxers and went their separate ways, one into law enforcement and one into the criminal life. They crossed paths many times, but respected each other, even if it meant squaring off against each other. Its what made their relationship special. Its why I gave the movie a chance, to see if they explored their earlier life together. I guess it did that, but they went for the cheap character development in favor or more smash ups and fist fights. Wahlberg and Duke as roommates at Henry's place was just lame writing. There was so much fertile ground that could have been covered here and they blew it.

As I said in the first paragraph, it was an enjoyable movie, but it didn't do anything to distinguish it from every other action film that gets made these days. Spenser is a unique character with such a rich background and that was just ignored for more set pieces.

Typical Mark Wahlberg flick with likeable actors. Nothing new, still entertaining. I don't get why some people have to analyse this kind of movies to death just because it's not Oscar material.

Sure this movie doesn't break any new ground, but its a fun & entertaining action movie.

The plot is basic. Try and get to the bottom of a police cover up. They throw in a twist or two to make it interesting (that you'll probably see coming), but it doesn't take away from the enjoyment. Wahlberg & Duke have a great chemistry together, both have some funny moments, and along with Arkin, its what sells the movie and will keep you watching.

The choreography in the fight scenes is also good. It looks very raw and authentic. The bathroom & restaurant brawls are the standouts. The only negative is that the fights scenes throughout the first hour or so are all very quick. All are under 2 minutes, and feel like they could (and should) have gone on longer.

Overall, I'd recommend giving it a watch

I liked the movie but I can't understand why they changed the story line from the wonderful Spenser series written by Robert Parker. Spenser and Hawk are amazing characters why change that? Why change Susan, Spenser's beau and psychologist into Cissy the dog groomer? Where's Belson? Why is Pearl a basset hound and not a golden retriever? I think they should have just named the movie Confidential and changed all of the characters names which would have made the movie more credible.

If you're taking this more seriously than that you weren't paying attention. There's not a moment in this movie where they submitted any requests for you to think higher of this than a fun flick. Try judging it on that.

It was fun. For fans of die hard and such. Was it dark and depressing like many crime drama's? no. Was it stupid like most comedy crime dramas? no. Was it boring like most everything else? no.

Fun characters, with great people acting them, obviously. Alan arkin for god's sake. (but she stole the cake if we're honest) Plot was never slow. Setting is always engaging. Boston is just fun . . .