THE MOTHER on Netflix is a new action thriller starring Jennifer Lopez in the title role. At just under two hours, it is a bit too long. However, this doesn’t ruin anything overall, so it’s still very much worth watching. Read our full The Mother movie review here!
THE MOTHER is a new Netflix action thriller with Jennifer Lopez being a solid action star in the title role. A good choice for a Friday night action flick where you want to be entertained but also want a decent storyline. The husband of Jennifer Lopez also has a movie coming out in theaters, so they share a premiere day. Jennifer Lopez wins this one. By a mile!
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There is one minor issue for this new action thriller and it’s the runtime. Had it been just 10 or 15 minutes shorter, the overall result would have been stronger. And yet, it’s still very much worth watching.
Continue reading our The Mother movie review below. Find it on Netflix from May 12, 2023.
Released just in time for Mother’s Day
Having The Mother come out on Netflix just two days before Mother’s Day of 2023 is obviously perfect timing. This movie is all about the role of the mother. All mothers, really. Jennifer Lopez may be playing the title role, but her biological daughter also has an adoptive mother. She’s the one the girl knows as Mom, and both have equal value.
As a deadly assassin with people out to kill her, The Mother (Jennifer Lopez) can’t give her daughter the life she deserves. To protect the girl, she gives her up for adoption, but also keeps an eye on the girl and asks the one FBI agent she trusts (Omari Hardwick) to keep her updated.
When a letter arrives at her hideout in Alaska 12 years later, the assassin needs to get back to work. The daughter has been found by the men wanting revenge, so she needs to protect her.
All about the mother
The men out to get both the daughter and mother are portrayed by Gael Garcia Bernal (Werewolf by Night) and Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale). They are classic bad guys – really bad guys – and deliver what they need to for their characters. But this movie is not about them and neither have much screen time.
The daughter, Zoe, is portrayed by Lucy Paez (Silencio) who has just the right combination of childish innocence and teenage sarcasm. Also, she notices so much more than the adults give her credit for. She is very much her mother’s daughter!
Part of the movie – as revealed by the trailer – features a sequence of the birth parent teaching her child to defend and protect herself. This is a classic element of many action movies and works really well here. It’s all about the mother, but also very much about that which makes her a parent; Her daughter.
It never gets cutesy or too soft, which gave it an air of The Long Kiss Goodnight that I liked. And while I much prefer The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) for many reasons – it really is an old favorite of mine – Jennifer Lopez worked really well in the title role of this new Netflix movie.
Watch The Mother on Netflix now!
The director of The Mother is Niki Caro, who has some amazing movies on her resume. She directed movies such as Whale Rider (2002) and North Country (2005), which both garnered Best Actress Oscar nominations. Also, she directed a segment of the 2001 horror anthology Dark Stories: Tales from Beyond the Grave, so she knows genre films as well.
The story comes from Misha Green, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) and Peter Craig (The Batman, The Unforgivable). Both are Oscar nomination screenwriters. Misha Green herself is also the creator of the awesome HBO series Lovecraft Country, and has a lot of interesting productions coming up!
Aside from the strong core cast, we also have a few familiar faces in very small roles. This should speak to the quality and respect of the filmmakers. These actors include Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Paul Raci (Oscar-nominated for Sound of Metal), and Jesse Garcia (Narcos: Mexico).
The Mother is out on Netflix from May 12, 2023 (Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 14, 2023).
Details
Director: Niki Caro
Screenwriters: Andrea Berloff, Peter Craig, Misha Green
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Gael García Bernal, Joseph Fiennes, Omari Hardwick, Paul Raci, Lucy Paez, Jesse Garcia, Yvonne Senat Jones, Michael Karl Richards, Olivia Lucas, Noah Crawford, Link Baker, Jay Cardinal Villeneuve
Plot
A military-trained assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter she’s never met from ruthless criminals gunning for revenge.
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