Spenser Confidential is an action thriller about Boston cop Mark Wahlberg aka the titular Spenser. The movie opens devoid of context with Marky Mark beating up his Captain in front of his wife. Smash cut to his last day in prison where he beats up three MMA fighters and Post Malone(inmates). He's picked up by his old boxing coach(?) Henry (Alan Arkin) while running away from his hot headed ex-girlfriend Iliza Shlesinger(who's name is Cissy but I'm not sure any character actually says her name) who drove an hour to the prison to pick him up. Cool! Marky Mark meets Hawk(Winston Duke) who is Henry's boarder and protege. That night the Captain is beheaded with a machete in a school bus parking lot and Spenser is on the case. Confidential!
Wahlberg has some presence and talent but I'm not sure he as ever been successful as a lead outside Boogie Nights. Don't get me wrong he's made some good movies but they are primarily ensemble pictures. This asks too much of his narrow abilities and relies on him too heavily and the flimsy, wavering script does him and the entire cast no favors. Arkin is fine but is clearly just working. Shlesinger is surprisingly good and gives significantly more effort than the movie deserves. The same is true of Duke, an incredible actor, who gets lost in the odd unsuccessful tone and unnecessarily convoluted plot which is light on actual character. The one actor who seems totally comfortable and approaches the material with the exact amount of casualness it warrants is Bokeem Woodbine, who plays Marky Mark's old partner, it's always a delight to see him and he is unflappably cool and charming here.
Visually the movie is flat and washed out, the sound mix is awful, but the soundtrack is great. It's clearly shot on location which gives it points but overall the movie looks and sounds look a total mess. Whether true or not the production comes across cheap and with the star power of the cast that is noticeably incongruous.
A muddle of a mess of a snooze. Available on Netflix.
Don't See It.
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