The Mother

5/10/20231h 55m

Premiere Release (US)

~ Vengeance is a mother! ~

Overview:

A deadly female assassin comes out of hiding to protect the daughter that she gave up years before, while on the run from dangerous men.

Director:

Niki Caro

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

female assassin
woman director
mother and daughter

Cast

Jennifer Lopez

~ as ~

Mother

Lucy Paez

~ as ~

Zoe

Omari Hardwick

~ as ~

Cruise

Joseph Fiennes

~ as ~

Adrian

Gael García Bernal

~ as ~

Hector

Paul Raci

~ as ~

Jons

Jesse García

~ as ~

Tarantula

Yvonne Senat Jones

~ as ~

Sonya

Edie Falco

~ as ~

SAIC Eleanor Williams

Michael Karl Richards

~ as ~

Zoe's Adopted Dad

View full cast & crew

Reviews (4)

MS
Manuel São Bento
Written 2 year(s) ago
3
MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/mini-reviews-2023-edition

"The Mother is an instantly forgettable Netflix film about a spy mother who must protect her estranged daughter because "bad people from the past". Jennifer Lopez is good, Lucy Paez is GREAT, but none save it from its bland, generic story. Expected more from Niki Caro."

Rating: D+
v
vylmen
Written 2 year(s) ago
3
Ironically, these tale about a mother and daughter, fails because the male characters have no depth. The villain is evil sure, but also extremely stupid and escaping from her first attempt to kill him in a very unbelievable and unexplained way.

The romantic tension between Cruise and the mother also doesn't work and the age old friendship with Jons is also not given any backstory. I'm enclined to blame the casting here. Well, the story was lacking and oddly edited as well, but it may be because there wasn't much to work with. Either way, it's clear this is supposed to be about a mother/daughter relationship, but also be an action move and the director / writers / actors couldn't make it work. 3/10, 2 points cause I've seen worse, not because I can find something positive in it.
The Movie Mob
Written 2 year(s) ago
6
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.
M
MovieGuys
Written 2 year(s) ago
6
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.