Escapade en famille

Part action, part comedy, here comes a Mark Wahlberg movie that is both typical for this actor, but also something you likely saw (or close to) in the past. That said, its 2023 and almost everything has been done already, so the real question is this. Is it well done this time? Is it fun? And the answer is yes.

The movie take a bit of inspiration in True Lies but put its own spin on family road trip comedy with some "We are the Millers" vibe, while injecting some decent action sequences in there.

Having a runtime of 2 hours make sure the movie put enough emphasis on the familly relations and developing its characters, wich can be a definite plus, but at the same time i felt the movie dragged a tiny bit in the first half. Maybe 10-15 minutes could had been cut. But it didn't detract from my enjoyment.

Mark Wahlberg is definately in pretty solid shape still, wich make his character completely credible, but he ain't no martial artist so seeing him go toe to toe with Lateef Crowder (a Copeira expert) did showcase some of his shortcoming. That said, that scene was meant as a mix of comedy and action and not to be taken too seriously so for most peoples who are not martial arts afficionados, it should not be a problem. The rest of the action including gun scenes were well done.

Michelle Monaghan is also pretty solid in her role as the mom of the familly. Charming and charismatic. The kids also got to have enough screen time and developement that they felt usefull and interesting in the story. Every character pretty much as its own arc.

Overall its a movie that i taught was pretty enjoyable on a first watch. It is a mix between comedy and action but at the same time since it never fully commit to either side, you can't say its a super funny comedy or a big action movie. It is a bit of everything and it makes for a good story tough.

Ultimately not every movie is meant to be watch multiple times and considering Apple TV+ has a pretty limited selection of mainstream original movies (Ghosted being one of the few great ones), it is a welcome addition that both casual viewers and cinephile should enjoy.

This was a cute movie, where Marky Mark (also producer here) is in a physical shape that is truly exceptional, and married to a beautiful wife with only a very civilized age gap. There's product placement, but not too much. There's staggering violence, but it's all squeaky clean so it can be a Xmas movie. All the supporting cast is ethnic just the right amount. The family is flush with tremendous cash, which helps plot advancement as well as beautiful cinematography / scenes.

It was very enjoyable, assuming enough suspension of disbelief. The whole thing is obviously very predictable, but it's executed nicely. Everybody but the teenage daughter is world-class level at something, so while it's promoting family values, it is, for a change, not promoting mediocrity.

I watched this while cycling indoors, was perfect to get me through my winter workout.

So there was some money left and no ideas. How easy is it just to remake a high scoring film but without the large budget. This is so copied from True Lies, even the main character has the same job and there is also the evil Asian woman. The ending with a show out against the baddies in an empty building, same. Between the first and last act there is the road trip ala National Lampoon's Vacation and it feels as boring as the real trip possibly would be. A few scenes are inserted to show how the kids and parents are growing to eachother. The film is trying to copy the light hearted touch of True Lies but fails. Is it a bad film? No surprisingly it is entertaining enough to sit along, mainly due to the main characters Mark Wahlberg and the amazing Michelle Monaghan. It's an actrice I don't see much, but she does a great job and it feels there is chemistry between both persons. And Mark Wahlberg never changes and I still love this guy for his commitment.

Mark Wahlberg plays Mark Wahlberg, as usual. Michelle Monaghan is absolutely wonderful. Strangely enough neither of these two shows up in IMDB:s "Top Cast" list.

The little kid is entertaining.

The rest of the cast I do not remember much about, so they did apparently not add too much to it all.

The first half of the movie is fun but the second half is quite boring with stupid "action" that contains absolutely no blood whatsoever. It is strange how you can get a pole through your upper torso and not bleed at all. It is an ultra processed and clean version of "Nobody", albeit with some humour.

OK if you want to be entertained for a couple of hours but not more. Ah yes, did I mention it has Michelle Monaghan in it? ;)

Reading the negative audience reviews here, it's as if many of the people decided to watch The Family Plan without any idea about what they might get with a Mark Wahlberg, family-oriented action-comedy. This ain't Oppenheimer, folks. My wife and I had zero expectations when we tuned in and this movie more than surpassed the low bar we had set. It was cute, funny, and mildly action-oriented, with better than expected acting and a few moments that were actually pretty funny and heart-warming. If you're looking for a potential Oscar nominee, you're looking in the wrong place. But, if you want to pass a few hours and walk away with a smile on your face (like the adorable baby in this movie), you really won't go wrong with The Family Plan.