The Mother

The “tough guy” action subgenre has successfully taken numerous forms, but its female counterpart has had a harder time establishing itself, even as films like Wonder Woman, Salt, and Hanna have proven these stories have a dedicated audience. 

Now, Netflix is attempting to elevate this subgenre with The Mother, about the titular assassin (Jennifer Lopez) hidden in witness protection. Running from dangerous former colleagues played by Gael García Bernal and Joseph Fiennes, she’s forced to come out of hiding after being attacked by Fiennes’ Adrian and turns her attention to protecting the daughter (Lucy Paez) she left behind.

The Mother’s emergence leads to numerous chases and poorly edited action set-pieces of her fighting bad guys — repetitive sequences without any sense of surprise. One would hope that the action would make up for the film’s more lackluster dialogue, but it does not. Director Niki Caro (Whale Rider; Mulan) seems to have the intent to show audiences every punch but never lets her camera linger. We see moments of jabs, kicks, and stabs connecting, but each one is overtly similar to the last and none carry any emotional weight. Shaky editing also plays a role in the film's ridiculously bland execution.

Beyond these shoddily executed action scenes, The Mother suffers from a screenplay where every character is a composite of traits, never registering as even remotely real people. In turn, Lopez’s would-be badass is never a convincing threat, and though the actor sells the dialogue, she lacks the gravitas for the action sequences. 

Though she’s balanced action and drama well before, Caro struggles with that assignment here. Each revelation feels overly familiar and most character interactions are merely in the service of explaining who The Mother truly is. While these conversations are meant to confirm the toughness of Lopez’s assassin, each exchange is frustratingly repetitive and merely pads the already languid pace. 

The Mother’s only strength resides in its begrudging mother/daughter relationship. Taking breaks from being on the run, the two sit down and discuss their pasts, but just when we start to care about these characters, the film enters a third act that loses any sort of tension the film has tried to maintain, despite Lopez doing what she can to keep it afloat. In turn, the story's heart is in the right place but lacks the ability to make us care about the characters.

Grade: D. Rated R. Available to stream via Netflix

(Photo: Ana Carballosa/Netflix)