Winston Duke, who is 6’5”, and Mark Wahlberg, 5’8” at the premiere of their buddy detective movie Spenser Confidential. | Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Netflix
Spenser Confidential and Kingdom lead the action brigade from the streaming giant
Looking for a little action this March? Netflix delivers with both original content and movies currently available.
Spenser Confidential, starring Mark Wahlberg and Winston Duke, is an adaptation of an Ace Atkins novel. The original story had a boxing setting, which the film altered to MMA instead. Donald Cerrone also has a small role in the film. A Netflix original production, the murder mystery will be released on March 6th.
March 13th, the television show Kingdom will release its second season. The first Korean Netflix original, Kingdom is a historical period piece with a good bit of old fashioned martial arts and a lot of sword play — plus zombies! Based on a webcomic series, The Kingdom of the Gods, the live action version utilizes the same lush and eerie visuals as the source material. The one hour horror received great reviews and is back to scare its audience for another six episodes.
Already streaming is the second season of Altered Carbon, Netflix’s most expensive project to date. While reviews of the first season were mixed, the well choreographed fight scenes received universal praise, with Dichen Lachman’s all nude fight scene getting an awful lot of attention. The second season promises more of the same, as the futuristic thriller continues its adaptation of the 2002 novel of the same name by author Richard K. Morgan.
Finally, The Valhalla Murders is a thriller set in Iceland, about an Oslo detective who returns to his native country to track down a serial killer. Well reviewed and highlighted by the BBC as a worthwhile watch, The Valhalla Murders releases March 13.
In addition to the original content, there are quite a few tried and true favorites currently streaming. Black Panther (2018), Snowpiercer (2013), The Fighter (2010), Kill Bill (2003), The Matrix (1999), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and The Ip Man Trilogy.
There are several less famous action films worth your time as well, chief among them BuyBust (2018). A Filipino film set in a labyrinthine Manila neighborhood over the course of a single night, BuyBust follows a showdown between law enforcement and drug traffickers— only a mole within the police force has alerted the drug lord about the raid. Featuring wall-to-wall action and a suspicion-fueled plot that is as claustrophobic as the setting, BuyBust is worth checking out. Filipino-American former UFC fighter Brandon Vera stars in the film as well.