In observance of the recent Mother's Day holiday, Netflix released the action thriller The Mother starring Jennifer Lopez (Marry Me, 2022) looking fierce and taking names, baby! The Mother follows in the footsteps of past Netflix releases The Grey Man from July of 2022 with Ryan Gosling (First Man, 2018) or Lou from September 2022 with Allison Janney (Bad Education, 2019) in that it's not very interesting, fresh, or exciting.
Jennifer Lopez plays an ex-military sniper who gives up her infant daughter to live in the forest alone away from the dangerous men she betrayed in the name of justice. But when this daughter is kidnapped years later, her stoic mother comes out of hiding to rescue the daughter and kill the bad guys. I don't mean this as a burn or an insult, but I don't consider Jennifer Lopez an actress. She's more a movie star. And just like a movie star, she looks flawless in this movie. In fact, it is her physical beauty that's so distracting in this performance.
As the leading role, she hikes through the cold Canadian wilderness, beats up bad guys, faces down a snarling wolf, drives motorcycles, and even crashes one on the streets of Havana. Through all this stuff, her face shows absolutely zero blemishes or beads of sweat....making her look gorgeous. Only at the end of the film do you see four spots of blood carefully placed on her face after a finale fist fight in the snow. Watching this performance made me think the following thoughts: "Oh my gosh; Jennifer Lopez's face looks beautiful!" "Oh my gosh; Jennifer Lopez's face is so symmetrical!" "Oh my gosh; Jennifer Lopez's glamorous hair is falling in a totally perfect way!" and "Oh my gosh; Jennifer Lopez's face isn't very expressive."
I love watching a fun action film. But at least try to make it different.
