"The Mother" movie review: Jennifer Lopez rocks this taut actioner

The story of Niki Caro, an assassin who comes out of retirement to protect her kid from some bad guys, is the epitome of a cruel, lean combat machine.

Should one be unable to have Jodie Foster as a mother, JLo would succeed admirably. One would be set forever with Liam Neeson and his highly unique skill set. Following the success of the critically acclaimed Whale Rider and the stunning Mulan, Niki Caro takes on an action film role and gives a thrilling performance. Unlike that awful, horrific Shotgun Wedding, Jennifer Lopez is well-deserving of this film.  

Offical Tralier:

The Mother (English)

Director: Niki Caro

Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Omari Hardwick, Gael García Bernal, Paul Raci, Lucy Paez

Run time: 117 minutes

Storyline: An assassin will do what it takes to protect her daughter

Similar like Plane earlier in the year, The Mother jumps right into the action. The FBI is questioning a woman who has not been identified (Lopez). She informs them that although the agents reassure her of her safety, she knows otherwise and that two very dangerous guys, Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes) and Hector Álvarez (Gael García Bernal), are after her.

When the safe house is breached, her skepticism is validated. We become aware that she is heavily pregnant right before Lovell stabs her in the abdomen. She makes an improvised bomb (presumably she learned how to make explosives from a cleaning product bottle in the same class as Jason Bourne) and is hurried to safety.

Despite being persuaded to relinquish parental rights for the benefit of the child, she gives birth to a healthy girl. She accomplishes this after getting Agent Cruise (Omari Hardwick) to swear to watch out for her daughter, send her an annual photo of the girl, and notify her right away if the girl is in danger. She adds, "I want her to have the most stable, normal life there is."

For twelve years, everything goes smoothly for Zoe (Lucy Paez), but the Mother struggles to make ends meet in the bitter cold of Alaska. Then everything goes awry. The goons of Álvarez kidnap Zoe. Cruise and Off Mother travel to Havana to confront Álvarez, who resides in an odd estate like a church, complete with fragile taper candles and candles that are just waiting for something to light.

A brief flashback occurs as Mother explains to Cruise how she came to be associated with these two vile guys. Mother met Lovell, an ex-SAS member who provides "powerful people needing things that aren't on the menu," while she was training to become a sniper. Lovell locates the buyers while Álvarez is the one stealing the weaponry. When Mother discovers that the two are not just running guns, she brings them together and then sells them both out.

Both the tranquil times and the action-packed ones are plenty. Whether he's slicing through some clever parkour, sashaying in a figure-hugging sheath, hitting an impossible shot, or giving Zoe the truth about the food chain—“There is nothing you ever ate that didn't come from violence”— Lopez is at the top of his game.

Fiennes continues Bernal's famous heritage of portraying damaged and slightly insane villains, beat for beat. The wolf and her cubs are adorable, and Paul Raci, who plays Jons, does a good job of bringing Mother back to center. A pure joy, The Mother is a slender, vicious fighting machine of a film. Now bring the popcorn.