Jennifer Lopez Scores a Big Hit on Netflix, and That’s Worrying

Jennifer Lopez is the face of the highest grossing Netflix movie of the moment. Little problem: Mother it has been completely criticized by both the press and the general public. But is that really a problem for Netflix?

Netflix distinguished itself about eight years ago with its data-driven decisions. This wasn’t dusty old Hollywood, but a tech party that knew exactly what new content to create based on viewing behavior. In 2023, such claims point to Netflix’s main problem rather than a unique way of working that the streaming service can be proud of.

Movies written by AI

recently became ghost, a new action movie on Apple TV+ starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, already compared to ChatGPT. A plot that seems to have been devised by a not too creative AI, a formulaic and faded copy of what it punctuates. The result? A soulless film that was swept away by critics and the general public.

Now Netflix can’t escape that comparison for the umpteenth time. Since last week you can on that streaming service. Mother stream, a brutal action movie by Niki Caro (The Zookeeper’s Wife) starring none other than Jennifer Lopez as a sort of John Wick. She plays a mother who rescues her twelve-year-old daughter from the hands of the bad boys must save

The mother is sunk

The critics are not kind. The Guardian lists the Netflix original a stardescribing the film as “ChatGPT-style cinematography, a lifeless, formulaic thriller abject, though ChatGPT could have at least made the muddled story better and clearer.” Oh!

It does not stop there: “It is a script that seems to have been rewritten many times, although it needs a little more rewrite could have used.” Not even Joseph Fiennes, as the film’s villain, can save the film: “The script falters and everyone underperforms, especially Fiennes, who understandably seems bored and annoyed.” One more time, Oh.

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Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Mother has a lousy rating 45 percent, though that score isn’t too bad considering how damning some of the reviews are. But even movie critics who give the Netflix Original a pass, don’t go higher than a six. “Okay”, “cliché”, “entertaining with the right expectations”, that kind of work. The no-nonsense action flick also gets a moderate 69 percent from audiences. On IMDb, Lopez and company. stitch in one 5.5. A narrow enough. For now.

And those dates? Mother is exemplary of the ugly reality of this type of project. The action movie is currently the best-watched movie on Netflix globally, so the much better AKA action movie (you can read more about it here) has been dethroned, also in the Netherlands. Mother it’s a worldwide hit and will undoubtedly generate much better ratings and even crush smaller award-winning films.

The ugly reality of Netflix

AND, Mother It’s a safe, uninspired action movie that feels like it was written by artificial intelligence, but what if that piece of information Netflix has flaunted for years tells the streaming service exactly what the general public wants? The Netflix ratings speak for themselves.

But still, but still: John Wick proves that you can deliver this kind of entertainment to the general public and make a solid movie. Mother now it brings the company a hit, but in the long run Netflix only confirms its already lackluster reputation as a producer of movies in an increasingly fragmented market. In the meantime, no doubt plans are already being made for it. the mother 2…