Last week, I reviewed “Man of the House.” This week, my editor assigned me to review “The Pacifier,” a similar movie focusing on a man of action who is forced to assimilate into a mundane setting to complete an objective.

Thankfully, “The Pacifier” is superior to “Man of the House,” improving upon virtually every flaw inherent in “Man of the House,” but still lacking enough humor to sustain itself.

Disney’s “The Pacifier” tells the story of Shane Wolf (Vin Diesel), a grizzled Navy SEAL who abides by a strict code of conduct. Wolf lets his guard down for one moment, allowing freed scientist Howard Plummer to stop and call his family, and the mission is botched by an ambush. Only Wolf survives the fire-fight.

When Howard’s wife Julie is called in to unlock her late husband’s extensive security measures, Wolf is called in to protect the Plummer family. Wolf’s second objective is to search the house for remnants of Howard’s enigmatic defense project “Ghost,” but the mischievous Plummer family keep him rather occupied.

The pacing is fast, and the setup for the film works well, too. Unlike “Man of the House,” “The Pacifier” works with its plot instead of fighting against it. Granted, the plot of “The Pacifier” isn’t extremely sophisticated, but the screenwriters work with the material, adding more than a few twists and turns to the movie.

Of course, Wolf must contend with a cast of shady suburban characters, who may or may not be potential terrorists. While the movie’s villains aren’t that surprising – the usual suspects include a Serbian maid, a vice principal wound too tight and a Navy-trained principal – all of them serve to keep the audience guessing.

Diesel is, as usual, rather stolid in the role of Wolf. It is a bit refreshing to see Diesel in a role where he isn’t in control of the situation. Still, his presence neither adds nor takes away from the overall experience of the movie.

Similarly, Diesel’s co-stars are only able to gain the audience’s sympathy for their characters. With the exception of the 12-year-old Morgan York, they are unable to effectively interact with Diesel. This results in an adequate balance that neither excites nor detracts the audience’s attention.

Distributed by Disney, it is clear the filmmakers occasionally struggle to keep the material under PG – especially when Wolf and a team of SEALs neutralize a boat full of terrorists. The filmmakers compensate with jet skis that explode for no apparent reason. While Diesel doesn’t possess the charisma or even facial expressions needed to match Arnold in “Kindergarten Cop,” the movie is well-paced and generally well-written.

While “The Pacifier” isn’t a must-see movie, it’s a decent rental that doubles as a good feature to take the kids to.