Plot: Mike is happy living a simple life as a construction worker in his native New Jersey – until his long-lost high school sweetheart, Roxanne, shows up with more on her mind than romance. Knowing he’s the right man for the job, she recruits Mike on a dangerous intelligence mission in Europe that thrusts them back together into a world of spies and high-speed car chases, with sparks flying along the way.

Review: Spy franchises work when the main characters are augmented like Jason Bourne or elite veterans like James Bond and Ethan Hunt. When starting a new franchise, it is tricky to balance it and make it believable that an average nobody can quickly become a hero. The Union represents Mark Wahlberg’s second attempt in three years to play a seemingly average guy who has hidden skills that make him a vital resource to save the world. In 2021’s Infinite,...