Mark Wahlberg has displayed enough comic timing and action chops in previous work that it makes perfect sense that he would get one of those flicks that blend the world of espionage with suburban family tropes a la the excellent “True Lies” or even the underrated “Nobody.” There’s something about seeing an average family man become a highly-skilled assassin that appeals to viewers who wonder if they too could save their family if they were being hunted or have considered if the mysterious guy on their block might have a secret past. When done well, such as in the great James Cameron film, just out on 4K VOD by the way, it’s a fun little subgenre. “The Family Plan” is not when done well.
Dan is grappling with a variety of issues at home, all of them tailor-made to be corrected by his ensuing adventure. Jessica likes spending every wedding anniversary at the amusement park where they first fell in love but she nonetheless craves more travel and spontaneity, what with them enjoying tacos every Wednesday. Nina has transformed from an outspoken and crusading newspaper reporter into a brat who spouts social justice buzzwords learned from her college boyfriend, whom she wants to follow to school in Iowa, much to Jessica’s displeasure. Kyle, meanwhile, is an antisocial kid who, in defiance of his dad’s orders, plays video games under the alias Kyllboi, and has become an online sensation for his skills. And Max, well, he coos a lot!
Family Plan kicks into its preferred middling gear when Dan’s grocery shopping (with Max on his chest in a baby carrier) is interrupted by a silent, grimacing attacker whom he easily and violently dispatches. Everyone stares in awe at this combat display and yet, despite the film establishing that Dan is on a first-name basis with his myriad neighbors (whom he waves to as he drives down the street), word of this battle doesn’t get back to Jessica. Presumably, this is because she’s too busy at work or at her kickboxing class, where she meets Gwen (Maggie Q), a friendly travel executive who’s obviously a covert villain destined to reveal her true colors during the final act.
The film hits on various cut-and-dry beats adequately enough, but drags them out painfully over an overstretched 119-minute running time, filling that void with a shocking lack of jokes. The road trip section of the film is particularly bereft of forward momentum, as it delays Dan’s family from learning his secret for ages. When the inevitable finally happens, it proves oddly muted and anti-climatic. The third act almost entirely skips any real humor or laughs in favor of turning into a generic action film, which proves ill-conceived, considering how haphazardly thrown together and poorly edited the fight scenes on display are.
No one on-screen is to blame for the failure of “The Family Plan.” They’re all fine, but they’re swimming upstream against a script that doesn’t give them enough to do and a director who fails at blending an average family and uncommon action into one vision. The movie ends on a few beats that are shockingly violent, including gunfire in a crowded Vegas casino and a death involving a dirty diaper that will haunt my dreams. It’s another indication that no one really figured out what movie to make here—a family comedy, spy thriller, or some blend of the two. So they chose none of the above. 
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