Director: Niki Caro
Genre: Crime Thriller
Cast: Jennier Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Gael García Bernal, Omari Hardwick, Lucy Paez, Edie Falco
Duration: 118 minutes
Now streaming on Netflix
I was nervous about watching The Mother as I always feel when Jennifer Lopez stars in a movie that is not a rom-com. Nervous because her non-romcom movies have been a hit and miss. In the latest movie, Lopez plays the mother who is an arms dealer. After discovering that her latest arms clients, Lovell (Fiennes) and Alvarez (Bernal) are child traffickers, she becomes an FBI informant who goes into hiding. But this is not before a huge fight that ends with her giving birth prematurely, and assuming that at least one of her enemies died in the fight. Since there is a risk of her child being in danger, the mother gives up the child and takes on a life of seclusion. Twelve years later, the mother comes out of seclusion when the child, Zoe (Paez), is kidnapped.
The storyline is straight to the point – a child is in trouble and the mother jumps into action to rescue her. What makes it appealing is seeing how the mother navigates the hurdles thrown at her from Lovell and Alvarez. Then there is what the reunion between the mother and her daughter will be. These go as violently dramatic as expected. However, it is the stunts that get our attention. Depending on how you want your stunts served, you will find them either really cool or roll your eyes at the exaggeration in some places. On my part, some stunts just seemed like an excuse to show off JLO’s abs but hey, can’t blame them for maximising their star.
The Mother is an okay movie. There is enough dush dush to fuel your action-loving blood. However, they could have done more for Lopez’s character when it came to giving us a backstory and adding flesh to her character’s story.
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