The Mother Reviews Are Here, And Critics Are Saying The Same Thing About Jennifer Lopez’s Netflix Action Movie
Just in time for Mother's Day.
Jennifer Lopez hit the big screen with two movies last year — the adorable rom-com Marry Me and then the romantic action flick Shotgun Wedding. This year it appears she’s leaving the romance to her personal life, with her new Netflix movie The Mother bringing straight action. JLo plays the titular character, a former assassin who comes out of retirement to protect her estranged daughter. The reviews are in, so let’s see if this is one you’ll be firing up with a bag of microwave popcorn for this Mother’s Day weekend.
Along with Jennifer Lopez, the cast of The Mother includes Lucy Paez in her first major role as daughter Zoe, and Joseph Fiennes and Gael Garcia Bernal as ex-boyfriends/arms dealers. The Hustlers actress was looking great in the first looks for the female-driven action movie, and the trailer promises we’ll get to see JLo kicking plenty of ass. Let’s get to the critics, starting with CinemaBlend’s review of The Mother. Our own Mike Reyes rates the movie just 2 stars out of 5, saying Lopez proves herself as an action lead, but the film never figures out how to mesh that with the emotional premise. He continues:
Courtney Howard of AV Club grades The Mother a C+, agreeing with the above review that Jennifer Lopez delivers with both her powerful punches and empowering emotions, but the film overall doesn’t examine, augment or challenge the genre’s familiar formulas. The review states:
Nadia Dalimonte of Next Best Picture rates the movie 6 out of 10, saying that while JLo brings a refreshing perspective on female perseverance, the film around her is flawed, with a screenplay that rushes storylines and action sequences that are edited so heavily they’re hard to follow. The critic says:
Owen Gleiberman of Variety calls The Mother “action filmmaking made basic,” but he seems to fall in line with the other critics when it comes to the leading actress, who Gleiberman says deserves better. In terms of JLo, he continues:
Peter Travers of GMA Culture says Jennifer Lopez (and all of the mothers out there) deserve better, given this movie’s dopey dialogue and nonsensical plot. The critic points out that watching JLo kick ass is absolutely the main draw, saying:
The critics overall seem disappointed in The Mother, but it sounds like Jennifer Lopez’s performance might make this worth watching anyway. The movie is available now for those with a Netflix subscription, so feel free to check it out for yourself! You can also take a look at our 2023 Movie Release Schedule to see what’s coming to theaters soon.
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Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.