Spenser Confidential | 2020 | R | – 5.7.10

Why is “Spenser Confidential” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, language throughout and sexual content.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a sex scene with thrusting but no nudity, and several scenes of women wearing cleavage revealing outfits; a murder scene with a man being killed by a machete (off-screen), a murky murder scene with a woman being beaten to death, two dead bodies found with bloody wounds visible, many fight scenes ending with bloody wounds, several arguments, discussions of police corruption and drug trafficking; and over 110 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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After serving a 5-year sentence for attacking his police captain, a Boston cop (Mark Wahlberg) tries to uncover a conspiracy of widespread corruption that involves many police officers, politicians and ruthless drug dealers. Also with Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Michael Gaston, Bokeem Woodbine and Marc Maron. Directed by Peter Berg. A couple of lines of dialogue are spoken in Spanish without translation. [Running Time: 1:51]

Spenser Confidential SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A man stands at a urinal in a men’s room as a woman enters the room and locks the door behind her; they argue briefly, flirt, and he lifts her onto a sink where she lifts her skirt, he thrusts (no nudity is visible), they moan and she pounds on a mirror, breaking it (people in the café attached to the bathroom hear them yelling and moaning).
► A man says that he has a girl and that he will let her lick him all over when he gets home (he is talking about his dog). A woman asks a man if he was sexually violated when he was held by other men.
► A shirtless man is shown and we see his bare chest, abdomen and back. A woman wears low-cut tops and dresses that reveal deep cleavage in several scenes. Women in a gym wear sports bras and tight-fitting gym togs that reveal cleavage, bare abdomens and backs.

Spenser Confidential VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – A man driving a car is T-boned by another car and we see him with bloody cuts on his face as he reaches for his gun, when several men carrying machetes approach his car, the gun discharges, the man is dragged out of his car and we hear a crunch as a machete is slammed down, off-screen, killing him. A surveillance video is shown of a woman being attacked in a parking lot by several men that punch and kick her repeatedly (we understand that she was killed and this scene is repeated, interspersed with a man being beaten). A woman’s dead and bloody body is found in the trunk of a car and we see blood pooled on the ground under the car.
► A man chases another man and they shoot at each other: they put down their guns and fight with several punches and kicks landing, and one man straddles the other man on the floor and punches him in the face repeatedly leaving him with a bloody face. A man punches a man and he falls unconscious, he shoves another man through a wall, punches another man and another man drops his machete and runs away. A man seated at a table in a prison library is surrounded by several other men in a threatening manner, until the seated man slams the table into one of the men, punches and throws another man into shelves, he is punched and kicked by another man that he throws onto a desk and kicks the man in the crotch a few times; after the fight is over we see that the first man had been stabbed in the side with a makeshift knife and there is blood on his shirt. Several men threaten another man in a men’s room where one man punches the man in the face twice (we see blood on his lip), he is slammed against a wall by others and punched, he is thrown over the stall door and lands on the floor where he is dragged by the feet and punched and kicked, and thrown out of the bar onto the sidewalk. Many men with machetes enter a restaurant and attack a man; he fights with them stabbing one man in the leg with the orders’ pin (we see blood on his leg), he punches and kicks other men and a car speeds through the window throwing men to the ground (we see some bloody wounds). Two men argue as one forces his way into the other’s house; they yell at each other and one man throws the other down a flight of stairs, straddles him and punches him in the face repeatedly (we see a lot of blood on the man’s face) as the beaten man’s wife jumps on the attacker’s back trying to pull him off (we see this scene repeated a couple of times).
► A woman opens a car door and finds a man in the driver’s seat with a large bloody wound on his head and blood splatter on the window; the woman screams and collapses on the street (she is nearly struck by a passing car). A cat is shown nailed to the door of a woman’s house (we see the bloody cat). We see a pool of blood on the ground at a crime scene where a man was murdered. A woman is seen with a lot of blood on her face and it is implied that she was beaten by her husband. A man is shown with bloody knuckles and cuts and bruises on his face in several scenes throughout the movie. A man is shown with a bruised eye presumably after having been punched by another man.
► A truck cab speeds through several cars and people, throwing them all over (we see people with some bloody wounds); gunfire is exchanged between several of the people. A man throws a sledgehammer into the windshield of a van driving on a highway; the van swerves off the road, other cars screech to avoid it and we see the passengers in the van with bloody faces as two men pull them out and punch them.
► A man grabs another man by the head and forces his face into a footbath, holding him under the water until he answers questions. A man on foot chases a car and jumps over a fence, where he is attacked by a large dog and seems to have been bitten several times (we do not see blood or wounds so it’s not clear) and tackled and we see tears and holes in his clothing later. Two men spar in a ring and punches and kicks land; one man throws the other man to the mat a couple of times and one man pins the other against the metal fencing surrounding the area, and then punches him in the face repeatedly before being pulled out of the ring. A woman on a balcony yells at a man on the street as she throws a television set and other electronics over the balcony and to the ground below shattering them. Protestors are shown shouting and holding placards and a man threatens one woman.
► A woman yells at a police officer, demanding the truth about the death of her husband. We hear that a man was sentenced to prison and we see him as he is released after serving his term. A reference is made to a man, that he “blew his brains out.” A man tells another man, “They will cut your head off.” A man threatens to kill another man. There are several discussions and arguments about police cover-ups and fraud. We hear a man pleading guilty to charges after he assaulted his superior. We hear about a church fire that killed two firefighters and we see a fire chief being arrested for his involvement. A man opens a bathroom door and sees another man brushing his teeth inside; he seems upset and the man inside closes the door angrily. We hear news reports of execution style murder and an apparent suicide. A woman leads a class about the responsibility of truck drivers to stay alert and talks about the consequences of not doing so. A woman tells a man that drugs were found in her home and we see a man open a vent in a wall where he finds stacks of drugs and money. We hear about a woman being harassed and threatened. A woman collapses into a man’s arms when he tells her that her daughter was found dead. A man tells another man that he imagines the man’s head rolling down the sidewalk. We see two funerals with one having a formal police gun salute fired in the air. A man threatens to gag another man. A man tells another man that he has to go to the bathroom.
► A man stabs all four tires of a car and carves a picture into the paint; the owner of the car yells when he sees the damage. A man stands at a urinal in a men’s room (we see neither urine nor nudity).

Spenser Confidential LANGUAGE 10

 – About 116 F-words and its derivatives (one mouthed, two not fully enunciated), 2 sexual references, 46 scatological terms, 10 anatomical terms, 13 mild obscenities, name-calling (bookworm, jailbird, Aryan Nation, Shawshank, Serpico morality, bad guy, bastards, monster, big monster, big mouth, degenerates, mentally challenged, ex-con, gorillas, strange person, loud mouth, old school, above the law cop, crooked, dirty, dumbest, stupid, mutt, snitch, amigo, filthy, stinking, Batman, Robin, Big Boy, fake news, altar boy, Frodo), exclamations (shut-up, oh no, shame on you, shut your mouth, mind your step, wake up), 25 religious exclamations (e.g. I Swear To God, Oh My God, God, Jesus Christ, Jesus, Lord, Oh God, Thank God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Spenser Confidential SUBSTANCE USE

 – We see many containers in a truck loaded with cocaine and other drugs (fentanyl and oxy), and there are references to drug trafficking and gang activity. People drink wine and beer in a restaurant.

Spenser Confidential DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Drug trafficking, murder, police, cover-ups, greed, drug cartels, gang activity, finding the truth, estrangement.

Spenser Confidential MESSAGE

 – Some people are truly righteous and will stop at nothing to bring bad people to justice.