Review: The Mother
A New Film From Director Niki Caro
THE PLOT
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.
QUICK REVIEW
If you’re one of the few who have been subscribed to this newsletter since last year, you’ll have noticed I no longer catch up with every single streaming film that comes out every weekend. Part of this is because I need the time to work on a bigger project that I will announce soon; and the other being that I wanted to take it a little easy this year and only cover the really major stuff - specifically almost just theatrical.
But I will take some time for *some* of these straight-to-streaming movies. I did watch and review Ghosted just a few weeks back. And with a new film in The Mother from Niki Caro who has given us some past well-reviewed films, starring a major star like Jennifer Lopez alongside Paul Raci who we haven’t seen enough of on our screens, and on top of all that its an action flick? I’m willing to give something like that a try on Netflix.
First let me get some positives out of the way. Jennifer Lopez really tries her best with the material that she is given. Second, Paul Raci also shines when he’s onscreen. Third, there is an action scene or two that plays well. Fourth, its under two hours.
Unfortunately after that we have a blandly directed movie from a filmmaker that has given us much better, cinematography that leaves much to be desired, a boring and incredibly predictable script that nonetheless manages to end with some plot holes, and characters that I felt nothing for including one of the most boring villains in film this year. This felt like any other cheaply, mediocre Netflix action film we’ve gotten before; and its a shame given some of the potential this could have had on paper.
For all the jabs Ghosted got as a predictable by-the-numbers movie, this is even more so if you ask me. At the very least that film got some chuckles from me. I found The Mother in comparison to be painfully boring and completely forgettable. Just barely above truly horrific “so bad, it might be good” types that get into the D-tier for me. Its one of the best examples of a C- movie - in the same vein of too many of these straight-to-streamer action films that show up on Netflix.
INTIAL GRADING
