David Farnor | On 16, Dec 2023

Director: Simon Cellan Jones
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, Zoe Colletti, Van Crosby, Ciaran Hinds
Certificate: 12

From The Other Guys to The Fighter, Mark Wahlberg has become one of Hollywood’s reliable everymans, at his best using that earnestness to elevate action thrills or ground a deceptive comic streak. The Family Plan, Apple TV+’s blockbuster for the Christmas holidays, gives him an inevitable but no less enjoyable opportunity to both things at once.

Wahlberg stars as Dan Morgan, a husband and father of three who lives a simple existence as a used car salesman. But his dull name is concealing a hidden past, because Dan used to be Sean, an elite assassin – and his domestic life is how he keeps off-grid after quitting the work. When enemies from his past, led by the sinister McCaffrey (Ciaran Hinds), track him down, he takes his wife, Jessica (Michelle Monaghan), and their kids on an impromptu road trip to Las Vegas, where an old contact can get them new passports.

What ensues is a series of set pieces that Dan has to navigate without letting his family know what’s going on. Needless to say, plausibility goes out the door almost immediately, with a car chase and shootout that takes place with the family all nodding off in the car with headphones on – while the 10-month-old baby giggles at the violence unfolding. And with a runtime of two hours that threatens to drag on, the mainstream mix of action and comedy can begin to feel familiar. Nonetheless, director Simon Cellan Jones choreographs some inventive thrills amid the formulaic elements, from a supermarket punch-up with hair-raising stakes to an unexpectedly brutal knife throw in a hotel room.

But the film’s real strength is David Coggeshall’s script, which emerges as a surprisingly nuanced exploration of how partners know their other half as they are now, not necessarily how they were in the past – from Dan’s hidden career to Jessica’s bolder, louder university days and missed athletics career. And as the couple find out more about who each other is, and share their fears and frustrations around that, there’s an unexpectedly charming heart to their relationship.

Of course, that wouldn’t work without the cast being game, and it’s a fun ensemble to watch together, from the amusing Zoe Colletti as daughter Nina, who discovers her mum can be cool and that following a boy isn’t a good idea, to the endeaaring Van Crosby as son Kyle, whose pro-level knack for shoot-em-up games gives him self-confidence but also makes him a useful emergency sidekick to his dad. Anchoring the whole thing, Monaghan and Wahlberg have enough sparks to convince, and that keeps you hooked right up to the finale.

Add to Watchlist