When last we saw the Morgans of Buffalo, they had defeated a crime syndicate in “The Family Plan,” starring the well-matched Mark Wahlberg (Dan) and Michelle Monaghan (Jessica). Unbeknown to his dearest, Dan once worked as an assassin. Hardly incidentally, the criminal enterprise that hunted the happily ensconced suburban couple and their three kids was run by Dan’s father, who is dispatched early in “The Family Plan 2.”
Much like the Griswolds of National Lampoon fame — a family the Morgans do and, with their action chops, decidedly do not, resemble — they head to Europe. First stop on this Christmas trip: London, where Nina (Zoe Colletti) is in college and Dan’s security consultancy has landed a job showing a bank its vulnerabilities. Kit Harington portrays the man who contracted Dan but also has motives that cut closer to home.
Less-planned stop: Paris, where the tentacles of Dan’s father’s business draw the family in. As comfortable as Jessica and the kids have become with Dan’s past, there will be a slew of new revelations. And this time, Jessica, a former track star, harbors a secret: She has been offered a position at Ohio State.
The director Simon Cellan Jones and the writer David Coggeshall return for this better executed, equally goofball follow-up. A few original plot points have carried over: an ace gamer, Kyle (Van Crosby), has become a deft hacker. Others will come in handy: Nina’s new beau, Omar (Reda Elazouar), is a parkour aficionado.
Like the EMF pop song lyrics belted “Carpool Karaoke”-style early on, the situations this quintet, plus one game boyfriend, find themselves in are “unbelievable.” Their engaging chemistry, however, is not.
The Family Plan 2 Rated PG-13 for action/violence, language, some sexual material and brief drug material. Running time: 1 hours 46 minutes. Watch on Apple TV.
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