It would be ridiculous to comment on the realism of this movie. In real life private detectives seldom get involved in exciting cases. The genre exists because we all love the idea of the knight errant who operates with a strict code of honor. Enjoying this movie requires suspension of disbelief. That done, it is quite good. Mantegna is the personification of Spenser. He speaks his wise cracks as if he were improvising them. So what if the plot is over the top? The movie is as much fun as the books and that should be all that matters.
