The Mother Movie Review: Jennifer Lopez's Badassery Doesn't Fire Up This Unremarkable Action-Thriller (LatestLY Exclusive)

The Mother Movie Review: Call it a strange coincide but paparazzi's favourite couple, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, are clashing at the OTT arena with both their films arriving on the same day. Ben Affleck's directorial AIR and JLo's action-drama The Mother are vastly different from each other, both in terms of their genres and reception. While AIR is winning over the critics from Prime Video, The Mother, errr... I hope it gives good ratings to Netflix. The Mother Review: Jennifer Lopez's Actioner Receives Mixed Reactions From Critics, Say the Film 'Doesn't Pack a Punch'.

Jennifer Lopez is the protagonist of The Mother who has no name, and for the convenience of this review, I am borrowing the title to refer to her. So The Mother is a former army vet, skilled in many ways of warfare and who was once part of a crime network, but then crosses two crime-lords, Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes) and Hector Álvarez (Gael García Bernal). They are naturally baying for her blood. She is also pregnant, and the father could be one of her two nemesis.

After a near-fatal attack during her deposing to FBI that leaves her injured, The Mother gives birth to a baby girl but has to give her up for foster care for her safety's sake. The Mother takes refuge in Alaska, living off on the deer she hunts. After 12 years of that solitary life, The Mother has to be brought back to action by her FBI friend (Omari Hardwick) when she realises her pre-teen daughter Zoe (Lucy Paez) is in potential danger.

Watch the Trailer of The Mother:

When it comes to her acting career, Jennifer Lopez is having quite the time these days having earned the critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination with Hustlers. Her Marry Me, despite the kitschy plotline, was a runaway hit on Peacock, while Shotgun Wedding was equally popular. The Mother gets her into action-mode with the basic intention to give her the same scope that Taken did with Liam Neeson, you know, having a former vet with specific skill sets bashing up villains to save the daughter.

The trouble is Liam Neeson has himself acted in countless clones of his career-rejuvenating film, including two forgettable sequels of Taken, that the trope has lost all the charm. Unless, there is a refreshing take involved, or at least, it is entertaining enough to forget the bland storyline, the formula isn't enough to save the film. The Mother Premiere: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez Share a Romantic Kiss on the Film's Red Carpet in LA.

The Mother, unfortunately, has neither of the traits. The action sequences are very generic, despite the many shootouts and a snowmobile chase-fight in Alaska in the climax. The premise has an interesting subtext of villains being betrayed by the woman they once cared for and the daughter being one of theirs potentially. But we cinephiles have seen that context being handled masterfully once upon a time by the great Tarantino in his Kill Bill saga, which isn't the case here. Instead, in The Mother, we have two just about okay two halves, where the first half has The Mother on a rescue mode, and the second half has her try to bond with her angsty daughter while hiding from the villains.

What works for both halves is just Jennifer Lopez, who atleast gets to show off her action chops in the first half, and the acting chops in the second half but also bringing down the pacing in the process. The rest of the cast meanders around her, with Joseph Fiennes trying to look scary, but failing hard, as a scarred main antagonist. Gael García Bernal, well, I am not sure, why exactly he is in the movie. His character bows out even before he manages to register any sort of menace to the tale.

Final Thoughts

The Mother is directed by Niki Caro, who previously made the acclaimed Whale Rider and the underrated legal drama North Country. She also made the live-action remake of Mulan, a film that I was no fan of, the absence of Mushi not being the only reason. The Mother doesn't fare better, but where it suffers more is that it is more forgettable than Mulan, which at least will be kept alive in conversations of why Disney is ruining its animated classics with money-grabbing remakes. The Mother, alas, is not even JLo's best action film this decade; Shotgun Wedding could beat it blindfolded with its sexy, fun vibe and that's still no great shakes either. The Mother is streaming on Netflix.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 12, 2023 10:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).