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Spenser Confidential

2020

Peter Berg

Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger ...

5.2

5,008

Action. Comedy When two Boston Police officers are murdered, ex-cop Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) teams up with his no-nonsense roommate, Hawk (Winston Duke), to take down criminals in this action-comedy. Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) — an ex-cop better known for making trouble than solving it — just got out of prison and is leaving Boston for good. But first he gets roped into helping his old boxing coach and mentor, Henry (Alan Arkin), with a promising amateur. ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Elisabeth Vincentelli The New York Times	"The movie may be an easily forgettable action comedy, but as a Mark Wahlberg vehicle it is also easily watchable."
		Frank Scheck The Hollywood Reporter	"This tired action-comedy (...) feels more like the pilot of a short-lived summer broadcast television series than the film franchise to which it clearly aspires"
		Peter Debruge Variety	"Spenser lands so squarely within Wahlberg’s limited range that the movie finds room to have some fun with the genre"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"A dire action-comedy only an algorithm could love (...) There’s almost nothing about this ultra-disposable programmer that doesn’t feel derivative to the point of self-parody"
		Johnny Oleksinski New York Post	"Here’s some perfectly mindless couch viewing (...) The performances are comfortable and the plot is just thrilling enough for anyone in pajamas (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Leah Greenblatt Entertainment Weekly	"The business of catching and killing unfolds so schematically that it’s hard to invest much in 'Confidential's reinforced-cardboard characters and bloody plod of a plot."
		Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times	"Energetic, violent and fun (...) A possible sequel is teased at the end of this adventure, and that wouldn’t be a half bad idea."
		Adam Graham Detroit News	"A dumb-as-rocks detective story that feels like it was sketched out on a used napkin from Dunkin' Donuts."
		Barry Hertz The Globe and Mail	"The action is muted, the production design lacklustre, and the momentum engineered for frequent bathroom breaks and other household distractions (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		Jim Vejvoda IGN	"[A] mildly entertaining time-passer (...) The chemistry between the core cast lends the film enough charm and fun to keep the viewer invested in what happens next even when the murder-mystery story itself proves utterly predictable"
		Ignatiy Vishnevetsky AV Club	"As an action-comedy, 'Spenser Confidential' fails on both fronts: It isn’t funny, and its bursts of action are both unimpressive and scarce."
		Ian Sandwell Digital Spy	"[It] ends up a confused mix of gritty crime drama and quirky action-comedy, never fully satisfying as either."

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