The Family Plan Movie Review: Too Many Bumps in This Mark Wahlberg Action-Road Trip Comedy! (LatestLY Exclusive)

The Family Plan Movie Review: In the Indian series The Family Man, Manoj Bajpayee portrays an intelligence officer who conceals his profession from his family. In the similarly rhyming The Family Plan, Mark Wahlberg takes on the role of a former government assassin hiding his past from his family. I'm not entirely sure why I'm drawing this parallel, but it's worth mentioning. The Family Plan feels like an attempt to blend elements of Mr and Mrs Smith and National Lampoon's Vacation (minus the raunchiness), hoping for something intriguing to emerge out of that blender. Unfortunately, the result is an unpalatable mishmash that you'd rather have gone down the drain than spend time trying to swallow while hoping not to choke on the chunks. The Family Plan Streaming Date and Time: Here's How To Watch Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan's Movie Online.

I believe I've deciphered Apple TV+'s strategy for their original movie content. If a film is genuinely good, they release it in theatres for a limited run. After that period, it becomes available for rentals, allowing them to earn more revenue before eventually adding it to their streaming service. A prime example is Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. On the other hand, if there's a lack of confidence in the film's quality, it goes straight to streaming, relying on a star-studded cast to attract viewers and maintain its presence on the charts. Ghosted is a case in point. Needless to say, The Family Plan exhibits all the red flags of the latter category, and it lives up to expectations in that regard.

The movie follows Dan Morgan (Wahlberg), a used car salesman, devoted to his family, including his wife Jessica (Michelle Monaghan), rebellious teenage daughter Nina (Zoe Colletti), gamer son (Van Crosby), and infant son, Max. Dan's blissful 18-year stint as a family man, avoiding altercations whenever possible, takes an abrupt turn when his past as an assassin catches up with him.

Watch the Trailer of The Family Man:

Things kick off when someone attacks Dan at a shopping mart while he's holding his baby. It could have been a cool scene, reminiscent of the plane fight scene in The Fate of the Furious where Shaw rescues Dom's baby while battling baddies. However, my thoughts were focused on why the baby isn't suffering from whiplash or crying when cans of tomatoes fall over them. This question wouldn't have arisen if the fight scene had been either ingenious or humorous or even better-edited.

Later, Dan takes his oblivious family on a road trip to Las Vegas to keep them out of harm's way. We get another action scene involves Dan's car being chased by bike-riding goons, and he tackles them while driving, while the rest of the car's occupants blissfully sleep with their headphones on. It's reminiscent of a similar car chase from Inception, but without any dream levels to handle, all we get is dullsville.

Here's where The Family Plan falls short—it struggles to distinguish itself. It's excessively derivative, reminding you of far superior films. The plot offers nothing new; you can easily predict its trajectory and conclusion. This wouldn't be a significant issue if the film broke free from its predictability with compelling scenes and moments. Unfortunately, the only scene that resonated with me was when Dan had a heart-to-heart conversation with Nina while she was driving. Otherwise, it's nothing but disappointment, and not even Mark Wahlberg's furrowed brow can salvage the day—except perhaps in indulging in snooze-worthy action scenes featuring forgettable villains played by Maggie Q and Ciaran Hinds. Priscilla Movie Review: Cailee Spaeny's Star-Making Turn Empowers Sofia Coppola's Middling Biopic of Priscilla Presley.

PS: For a family previously unaware of their patriarch's violent past, they seem surprisingly okay with violence, even participating in killing people. I'm not expecting anything on the level of A History of Violence, but a bit more than a little barfing wouldn't hurt. But then, I am expecting too much from a film where a villain is thrown down the building after a poopy diaper is shoved on his face!

Final Thoughts

The Family Plan is a film with no good plan to be a memorable action comedy. The predictable plot and absence of standout moments or good action scenes make it another forgettable addition to Apple TV+'s library.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2023 05:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).