Vacation Friends 2 (2023) review

The two couples from the first movie, Marcus (Lil Rel Howery) with Emily (Yvonne Orji) and Ron (John Cena) with Kyla (Meredith Hagner), along with Maurillio (Carlos Santos) as the babysitter (and looking for love), go on yet another vacation together, this time to the Caribbean (but actually Oahu) where Marcus has a secret plan to convince Yeon (Ronny Chieng), the Vice President of a Korean hotel chain, to open a location in his native Chicago, but the trip gets majorly disrupted by Kyla's father (and ex-convict) Reese (Steve Buscemi).  The same complaints about the 2021 release apply here, and it's odd how, despite being a "comedy," the action sequences are where it springs to life, like when they're shot at by Cuban authorities, nearly drown in an intermodal container and get into a car chase (the throwaway cryptocurrency joke is ... fine, I guess).  I've praised Cena's versatility in the past, so I'll use this opportunity to celebrate the admirable Mr. Buscemi, who pops up in the least expected places (remember him in 30 Rock?).  Three cheers to Nucky!