Spenser Confidential is too anaemic to be anything other than a paint-by-numbers bore offering nothing new and trying to skate by on Wahlberg's charisma alone.

You don't need to remember the '80s private-eye series Spenser for Hire to enjoy this witless, charmless Mark Wahlberg Netflix movie. All you need is a general lack of discernment.

An ending that teases the possibility of sequels, with Wahlberg's Spenser tackling more cases of police officers and emergency personnel who have been falsely accused of crimes, should elicit nothing but groans.

It’s disappointing to see Peter Berg slink away from what seemed like a solid career as an action-craftsman/director for hire. He can apply competence, he just doesn’t seem to want to.