Spenser Confidential

I love a good action movie! I like Wahlberg, I know what to expect if I see his name. Take it for what it is, a action/entertaining movie. And stop bit**'in about it's this and that! It's entertainment 😃

Whatever the good you can say about this film, it is NOT a Spenser and Hawk story. Whoever wrote it took the names of the main characters and glued them onto a random buddy cop story. I like Wahlberg and Arkin is a great actor. But there is nothing in this movie which Robert Parker would recognize as the great characters he created. The most disappointing part is Hawk. In the books and the original series, he is a force of nature - cool, deadly and competent. Winston Duke is probably is a fine actor, but they wrote the character as if he were Michael Oher in the Blindside.

All that said, this is a good enough distraction as a whodunit action film. It has enough action, humor and conflict to fill the time. I do think they were trying to set this up as a pilot for a new Spenser series.

In Boston, the former police officer Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) is sentenced to five years in prison after beating his dirty Captain Boylan (Michael Gaston). On the day that Spenser is released, Captain Boylan and an honest police officer that was Spenser's friend are murdered. Spenser decides to investigate and teams-up with his roommate Hawk (Winston Duke) that lives with him in the house of their landlord and friend Henry (Alan Arkin).

"Spenser Confidential" is an entertaining action-comedy-crime film directed by Peter Berg. Mark Wahlberg's character is predictable following his code and the movie is funny in many moments. The conclusion is a cliffhanger for a possible sequel. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Troco em Dobro" ("Double Change")

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 . . .

Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg were on the same page when drawing up this neo-noir action-comedy buddy film.

Never aspiring to more than great entertainment with the simple message that sometimes the good guys DO win, and doing the right thing is the only way to live one's life, the dynamic duo of Wahlberg (Batman) and Winston Duke (A linebacker sized Robin) "upper-cut" punch their way through a fringe dirty-cop cartel in Boston as "everyman" heroes.

Alan Arkin takes on the "Alfred" role with his usual perfect droll advice and view of the world, and Iliza Shlisinger as a South Bostie version of Lois Lane (yes, I know LL comes from a different Super Hero comic;) rounds out the Bat-Team.

Lots of fun and action once the back-story is developed enough to set the stage, with a perfect mix of wry humor doled out throughout.

The cliched story of your average Joe/Jane rising to extraordinary circumstances to help out a wronged good cop by a cartel of bad guys and bad cops, works in this film, which does not apologize for being great fun, and does not pretend or aspire to be more than it is.

In the age of fake news and political agendas, great to sit back and enjoy a couple of hours of feel-good good guys win fantasy.

New action franchise? Potential for sequel is approximately 65%.