Chrome Doane Gregory/Netflix © 2023.

Jennifer Lopez’s new action movie, Mothernow it’s streaming, but should i give it a watch?

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms! Even if you’re a nameless trained assassin who abandoned his child at the insistence of the government! I’m sorry. Too specific?

Playing with the theme of the weekend, Netflix has released Mothera new action thriller stars Jennifer Lopez as a former special forces sniper who finds herself on the run from dangerous men from her past after reporting them to the FBI.

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Pregnant with a child conceived by one of these dangerous men, the character only known as Mother she is forced to give up her baby and go into hiding in the Alaskan wilderness. After 12 years, her mother returns to her daughter’s life when she is kidnapped by the top lieutenants of notorious arms smuggler and potential biological father Héctor Álvarez, played sickeningly by Gael García Bernal. (Old, And Your Mother Too).

In what feels like a Frankenstein creation of a script out of various rewrite attempts, The Mother’s biggest weakness is on the page; particularly, the central character’s backstory and the thin, incredibly boring clichés for the villains.

As we are thrust into the world of Mother, we as the public want to join the fight to protect her and her son from the heinous criminals of her past. However, approximately 40 minutes into the film, The Mother explains how she came to know Héctor Álvarez and another possible father of hers son Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes).

She met Lovell in Afghanistan, as he was a former SAS agent training his sniper unit. He attempted to recruit her to sell weapons and «off menu» items to any of the wealthy and powerful men in the region. She found her offer attractive to her because she thought the best thing she could do after service was to be the best cashier at a retail store. So, even though she was the best sniper in her unit with nearly 50 confirmed kills, she figured she had no compelling options other than to run guns (or worse!) to anyone with money. Eventually, she does some brokerage on her own while she rounds up Alvarez’s large quantity of contraband weapons at Lovell to cash out and retire. Mother A conscience only grows when she stumbles across a box of children being trafficked as part of the deal struck by her two lovers and business partners.

IS THIS THE CHARACTER YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR STORY ABOUT?

While the daughter is innocent, the Mother is a morally bankrupt, opportunistic killer who decided she had a line she would not cross while pregnant with a baby that came from one of TWO opportunistic, morally bankrupt men. This is a tall order for an audience in a redemption story that only chooses to focus on the potential for a reunification with her daughter and not on whether she deserves it.

lucy paez jennifer lopez the mother

Lucy Paez as Zoe, Jennifer Lopez as The Mother in The Mother. Chrome Eric Milner/Netflix © 2023

While the script and the main character’s motivations and moral compass are highly suspect, I find it hard to blame lead actress Jennifer Lopez for the film’s lack of success. Known for an incredible work ethic, Lopez seemed to put her full potential into this project despite not really starring in something with as many action scenarios in her previous work. She is believable in her character’s skill set and does some of her best work in the film alongside Lucy Paez as her daughter Zoe hers, where they slowly bond over various survival training sessions. I wouldn’t be surprised if this could be one of Lopez’s many action movies in the next 5 years, as she always stays in impressive shape and seems to have the tools to handle the most intense workload.

Force star Omari Hardwick, Emmy winner The sopranos star Edie Falco and recent Oscar nominee Paul Raci (metal sound) did their best with minimal screen time and weak dialogue, but unfortunately, movies with the best cast can be scuttled by a wayward script.
The only performances I can’t seem to understand are the two villains played by Gael Garcia Bernal and Joseph Fiennes, who ranged from sad to dull, as their characters didn’t have much to work with before the cameras rolled.

Director Niki Caro, who started her career incredibly well with the 2002 critical success whale rider and 2005 north countryIt seemed like he was also struggling to keep this story going despite his best efforts. Some of the fight choreography was rough and some of the editing seemed rushed, but there are several moments in the film, especially in the Alaskan scenes, where he does a solid job of connecting acting with beautiful backdrops and well-staged animal work.

jennifer lopez netflix movie the mother 2023

The Mother – Picture: Netflix

Overall, The Mother would be a complete disaster if the talent in front of the camera and behind it didn’t put in enough effort to pull off something barely visible. Lopez will survive this and should look for more action vehicles in the future, but the writers may need to do some soul-searching after this one.


Look Mother If you like

  • bruised
  • the old guard
  • Awake

Netflix’s The Mother MVP

Jennifer Lopez as The Mother.

Despite not getting much help from the script, Lopez seemed to tackle this project head on and put a lot of effort into its future action film. Like Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, and many other award-level talented actresses before her, Lopez seems to have the technical and physical gifts for action scenes to go along with her dramatic chops that can shine on the right project (IE, Selena, the hustler, out of sight).

Therefore, the next Netflix original movie Atlas it is now on the top of our radar.


PLAY, PAUSE OR STOP?

PAUSE.

While I STRONGLY rated a «Stop» on this one, I think there are enough positive takeaways that work in the face of some sometimes brutal writing. J-Lo fans have been through worse, and they still linger.

You enjoyed Mother on netflix? Let us know in the comments.