MichelleMonaghan – Credits Rolling

It has been two years since Dan’s (Mark Wahlberg) family found out that he was a spy. Now that his days of espionage are over, all he wants is to spend a quiet Christmas together with his wife Jessica (Michelle Monaghan), his daughter Nina (Zoe Colletti), and his two sons Kyle (Van Crosby) and Max (Peter and Theodore Lindsey). When he learns that Nina has her own plans, they jet off to London. He doesn’t expect to run into someone from his past while he is there.

I remember having a fun time with the first Family Plan film. It wasn’t anything special, but the action was entertaining enough and I liked the family bonding aspect of it all. Although this is yet another sequel that nobody asked for, I was still curious to see what they were going to do.

A good spy story usually includes the characters traveling to exotic places. I loved how this time around the gang visited both London and Paris. Considering the fact that they are two of my favorite cities in the world, I got a kick out of recognizing the various places while also laughing at how unrealistic some of those logistics are – I’m sorry but you cannot walk from Brick Lane all the way to Somerset House. It would just take too long! Still both these places are beautiful to visit during the festive period so it was nice to take it all in.

The Morgan family, and those who portray them, reprise their roles as if no time has passed. When it comes to action, Wahlberg’s still got it. I did like how he leaned into a more comedic side of his role; the exchanges between him and Nina’s boyfriend Omar (Reda Elazouar) had me giggling. The rest are all good and have their own moment to shine.

A new addition to the cast this time around was Kit Harrington who portrayed Finn Clarke, Dan’s half brother. Intended to be the villain, the idea of his character was unfortunately better in theory than in reality. I understand why he felt slighted and why he went after Dan and his family, but the whole thing could have been avoided if they’d just had a conversation.

Overall, The Family Plan 2 was more enjoyable than I was expecting it to be. No, it wasn’t necessary by any means and I won’t be running to rewatch it anytime soon, but that’s okay. They are entertaining and they don’t take themselves seriously. I would not be opposed to more of them in the future.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

What would your reaction be if you found out your dad was actually a former government assassin who gave it all up for a chance of normalcy?

That is what happens in The Family Plan. Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg) has enjoyed his life in the suburbs with his wife Jess (Michelle Monaghan), daughter Nina (Zoe Colletti), son Kyle (Van Crosby) and baby Max (Iliana and Vienna Norris). When a picture shows up on social media, his cover is blown and he’s forced to take them on a road trip across the country to keep them safe.

With its almost two hour run time, the film provided enough thrills to keep me engaged throughout. The action started more or less right off the bat where we see that Wahlberg is still in top form. The best sequences were in the grocery store and the Enya car scene.

Having recently watched a film that focused heavily on a family reconnecting (Family Switch I’m looking at you), it was sometimes hard to differentiate between the two. The age demographic of the children and adults was similar and save for the whole body swapping thing, I could have very well been watching the same film twice. I appreciated the fact that this one at least had the action adventure storyline going for it and how the family did get in on said action.

While it isn’t anything to write home about, The Family Plan is a decent enough romp that people of all ages can find something to appreciate. It’s the type of film that’s perfect to pop on after a long week at work though I did find it dragging towards the end there. All that being said, there were a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming and it did more or less hold my attention so I guess that’s all that matters!

Rating: ♥️♥️.5