The Mother

mooney240

May 19, 2023

6/10

**The Mother is an average straight-to-stream action thriller that does a decent job but won’t last too long in your memory or heart.** The Mother is a generic assassin turned parent protecting/avenging their child from a mob of drug runners/arms dealers. While in the vein of films like Taken or Peppermint, The Mother makes a critical error the other films didn’t - a 2-hour runtime. Its bigger budget made this movie feel slightly more polished, but stretching its meager story 30 minutes longer than many in this subgenre took its toll. The pacing dragged along between the action sequences, sometimes leaving the movie feeling too long and tedious. The production quality of the action set pieces was decent, but the action itself was fairly basic. Jennifer Lopez is fun as the intense and withdrawn mother assassin and undoubtedly is the best part of the movie. The Mother is nowhere near an awful film, and reviews that say otherwise probably set their expectations too high. It's a run-of-the-mill action streamer that gets the job done, blows some stuff up, shoots some bad guys, and despite being forgettable, didn’t feel like a total waste of time.

In spite of the rather, by now, predictable and formulaic story, woke-ness and a dash of US exceptionalism (for those paying attention) The Mother does have something to offer the viewer. The first thing, is surprisingly engaging acting, from Jennifer Lopez. I'd always associated her with music, although I was aware of her forays into acting, over the years. Lopez hands in an above average performance as a assassin, with mothering instincts. Lopez's chemistry with Lucy Paez, who plays her her daughter, really binds this film together and elevates it, beyond its otherwise pedestrian credentials. Action wise, there's a lot on offer too but its also rather forgettable. Ultimately, its the performances of the lead cast, that make this film, a modest success.