Spenser Confidential: Mark Wahlberg’s new Netflix movie described as a ‘paint-by-numbers mess’ in first reviews

Netflix movie marks Wahlberg’s fifth collaboration with filmmaker Peter Berg, following films including ‘Mile 22’ and ‘Patriots Day’

Mark Wahlberg’s new Netflix movie, Spenser Confidential, has been described as a “paint-by-numbers mess” in its first reviews.

The action comedy is Wahlberg’s first original film for the streaming platform, and reunites him with director and regular collaborator Peter Berg.

Wahlberg plays a disgraced detective in the film, who partners with his former boxing coach (Alan Arkin) and a heavyweight champion (Winston Duke) to solve a mystery involving corrupt cops and gangland crime.

Critics, however, have been largely unimpressed by the film. For IndieWire, David Ehrlich described the film as an “ultra-disposable self-parody” that “courses with Big Overcompensation Energy”.

He added: “The result is a junky, paint-by-numbers crime saga that stacks up to The Town like Cats does to Singin’ in the Rain.”

Frank Scheck, for the Hollywood Reporter, condemned Wahlberg and Berg for “going through the motions”, writing: “Spenser Confidential seems to be aiming for a buddy-film, action-comedy vibe, but the problems are that there’s virtually no chemistry between Wahlberg and Duke, the gags are lame at best, and the action is strictly pro forma.”

“Spenser Confidential is a bad movie about bad cops featuring bad Boston accents,” wrote the Boston Globe’s Matthew Gilbert.

“Sometimes it tries to be a Dirty Harry movie or to ape the dark feel of Gone Baby Gone,” wrote ABC News critic Mark Kennedy. “Other times it tries to be a buddy comedy but with few actual laughs, unless you consider the line ‘Did you just kick me, bro?’ funny.”

Others, however, were slightly more complimentary towards the film. In Variety, Peter DeBruge described the film as “a more entertaining watch than The Irishman”, while Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times suggested that a possible sequel “wouldn’t be a half bad idea”.

Comedian, actor and podcaster Marc Maron and rapper Post Malone also star in the film, which marks the fifth Wahlberg vehicle in a row that Berg has directed. Spenser Confidential follows Lone Survivor (2013), Deepwater Horizon (2016), Patriots Day (2016) and Mile 22 (2018).

The film dropped on Netflix today (6 March).