Viewers praise Jennifer Lopez for The Mother performance as film celebrates biggest Netflix opening weekend

Fans have praised Jennifer Lopez for her performance in new thriller The Mother, as the film topped Netflix's most-watched charts during its opening weekend.

JLo stars as an unnamed military-trained assassin who comes out of hiding in order to protect her daughter Zoe. She had to give up her child years ago while on the run from dangerous men.

The action-packed thriller sees Jennifer push her physical limits, as she does countless pull-ups in arctic temperatures, before lugging a dead elk behind her like it weighs nothing. Directed by New Zealander Niki Caro, the film runs at just under two hours long.

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This week, Netflix crunched the data and revealed The Mother topped the charts as the number one opening weekend for a Netflix film in 2023, with 83.71 million hours viewed. The film, which was released ahead of Mother's Day in the US on Friday, May 12, became the most-viewed in 84 countries.

The Mother beat the debuts of both the Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston-led sequel Murder Mystery 2 and the hit film Glass Onion, according to Collider.

Viewers flocked to social media to share their awe as JLo marked her action film return. She previously featured in a string of high-impact blockbusters including 2002's Enough and 2022's Shotgun Wedding.

@Charelle17 tweeted: "If @JLo doesn't win all the awards for The Mother I'm giving up award shows completely" while @Bachie36371436 said: "The Mother of all Jennifer Lopez’ movies. Outstanding performance along with Lucy Paez. Oscar nomination for sure."

@BellaJLO echoed: "There need to be many awards for this film!! @JLo you are the true definition of an action hero… on, & off-screen!" as @SHtruthseeker