What could have easily been a straightforward action-revenge thriller turns into a surprisingly emotional character study about grief, family, faith, and finding your way back to the people you love.
Several months ago, Marvel announced that it would no longer be moving forward with Bassam Tariq’s adaptation of Blade, starring Mahershala Ali in the lead role. Naturally, the cancellation was met with plenty of outrage, especially considering the film had been stuck in development hell since 2019. I was very much looking forward to the film myself. Not only was Ali seemingly the perfect choice to play Blade, but the movie was also promised to be Marvel’s first R-rated film. Unfortunately, whether due to studio incompetence, creative differences, or some combination of the two, the project was ultimately cancelled, leaving many to wonder where Ali and Tariq would go next. Thankfully, they decided to put all that training to good use with their latest collaboration, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. After watching it, I can confidently say that Kevin Feige deserves to be catapulted directly into the sun for cancelling Blade.
Latif (Mahershala Ali, Moonlight) is a devoutly religious hitman who struggles to find balance between work, faith and fatherhood. When his wife suddenly passes away, he embarks on a desperate journey across Houston, Texas, to protect his children, confronting the forces closing in around him and the beliefs threatening to unravel him.
On paper, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother seems like a straightforward action revenge drama about a man trying to protect his family from those who wish to do him harm. And to give the film credit, it does follow that basic narrative structure. We see him kill and defend himself against the people coming after him, leading to fight sequences that are spectacular from top to bottom. The action pieces are gritty and intense hand-to-hand combat, and Ali clearly showed that all of the training he did for Blade went to good use. However, there is more to this film than meets the eye.
At its heart, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is a character study about a man on the verge of unravelling. After the death of his wife, Latif has been struggling to find his footing. He was barely home to begin with, so he feels almost like a stranger to his own children. His cooking isn’t the same as their mother’s. His parenting is harsher than their mother’s. And he struggles with many of the basic household chores. On top of all this, his work as a hitman continuously comes knocking on his door, asking him to return to work, despite the fact that he is already struggling just to keep his home and family in working order. And worst of all, he is struggling with his faith, continuously asking God, "Why did you take my wife?" Needless to say, Latif is a mess. But the worst part is that he is doing everything he can to hide it from almost everyone around him.
Over the course of the film’s two-hour runtime, we follow Latif as he slowly finds himself again while navigating his grief. At the same time, he must protect his family as they fight their way out of Houston. All of this is told through the lens of an action thriller, which makes the film’s emotional story even more compelling. The action never feels like it is simply there for the sake of spectacle, but instead works alongside Latif’s journey throughout the film. This combination of an action thriller and a character study makes for a captivating watch. It is unlike anything else I’ve seen this year.
The film is led by Mahershala Ali, who commands the screen with the presence of a superstar while capturing the subtlety of a man slowly unravelling. His commitment to performing his own stunts, as well as the years of training he put in preparing for Blade, pays off perfectly in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. He is intense, gentle, and absolutely brilliant. Meanwhile, John Cho hams it up as the insane Pastor Kwan, who makes for an interesting foil to Latif and brings a completely different energy whenever he is on screen.
Ultimately, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is a film that surprised me in almost every way. What could have easily been a straightforward action-revenge thriller turns into a surprisingly emotional character study about grief, family, faith, and finding your way back to the people you love. Mahershala Ali completely carries the film and proves once again why he was such perfect casting for Blade.
After watching this film, I can’t help but feel even more disappointed that we will never get to see what Ali and Bassam Tariq could have done with that character. If this is what they were able to create together after Blade fell apart, then Marvel may have accidentally cancelled something truly special. Kevin Feige, I hope you know what you have done.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother had its world premiere at TIFF on September 12th and will premiere at Beyond Fest on September 23rd.
Photo: TIFF
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