“Spencer entertains in its action, but faults at its ending.”
Hello again readers to a film review on Cinema Perception. In this review, I will be discussing yet another action film. Though it will not be a theatrical film, the review is on a Netflix action comedy film called Spenser Confidential.
Starring Mark Walberg, the film centers on a Bostonian police officer, Spenser, as he seeks out the men responsible for the death of a Boston cop in the hopes of seeking redemption of his past. In general, seeing Walberg act makes the film’s plot much more important as he faces bad guys, doing his own stunts.
After seeing Spenser Confidential, there were several positives that this film had with it. To start, the film did a good job of delivering action scenes. There was no point in the film where I found myself wondering when Spenser would kill the goons. In addition, there were a number of stunts within the film that were well choreographed and very well detailed. For instance, Spenser’s fight with convicts was probably the best brawl fight I’ve seen in a film. As one man fell down from a punch, another man took his place. Not only was the choreography great, but the film also did well in placing a good soundtrack. Also, the film had a bunch of one-liners to break up the seriousness of the action. I found it hilarious to see Hawk, played by Winston Duke, listening to his music and doing nothing while Spenser gets attacked by a gang. With an hour and 55 minutes of runtime, the film was very smooth in direction.
As for the negatives, there were some things that the film did poorly on. For one, the film failed in providing enough character development. It was not until halfway through the film that I learned about Walberg’s character. Due to this debacle, the film, in turn, had certain gaps that were not addressed earlier. Also, the film did not know how to truly end. A typical action film would end by the hero redeeming himself and walking out into the sunset with his companions. For Spenser Confidential, it looked almost as though the film wanted the viewer to watch out for another sequel as it came near to the final scene. Despite its scuffles on character development and its misdirected ending, the action comedy film was decently entertaining.
Overall, Spenser Confidential was a very well rounded film as far as entertainment. Personally, I felt this film had a different style to Walberg’s action films that he had done in the past. As for my rating, I give the film three out of five stars for its action and drama. If this film is not on par, try The Other Guys or Pain and Gain as a substitute. As always, this is Nicholas Bartelmo signing off from Cinema Perception.
Nicholas Bartelmo is a fourth-year student majoring in history. NB790429@wcupa.edu