The assassin film at 100% out of Toronto runs on the sword training Marvel paid for and never used
An original action thriller landing this month fancies a tilt at the assassin-movie crown — and, against the odds, might just earn it.
Action thrillers have been coming thick and fast lately, but every so often one actually earns the hype. Out of Toronto International Film Festival 2026, we have a new contender: Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. The title is a bit of a mouthful, yes, but you’ll want to remember it. This isn't just another knockoff with some moody bloke waving pistols about – it’s an assassin yarn with proper emotional weight and, weirdly enough, a surprising bit of Hollywood backstory tangled up in Marvel's ongoing Blade debacle.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother debuted at TIFF 2026 with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.0 on IMDb.
Plot, pedigree, and a Marvel twist
This one comes from Amazon MGM Studios and reunites two high-profile names in a roundabout way: Mahershala Ali and director Bassam Tariq. The pair were both originally locked in for that never-ending Marvel Blade reboot, then both eventually walked out of it – Ali with a body full of sword-training and not much else to show for it, Tariq out the door as well. Now, at least, they’ve channeled all that pent-up frustration (and, crucially, Ali's blade-handling skills) into something a lot more interesting: a 'religious killer' tale that sits somewhere between John Wick and, say, a tortured faith drama.
Ali stars as Latif, a devoutly religious hitman who, following the death of someone close, is plunged headlong into a desperate run across Houston. It’s all about balancing work (namely, offing people for a living), fatherhood, and a crumbling faith as the world closes in. To avoid spoilers, the story’s pitched as part revenge, part meditation on grief, with a fair bit of swordplay for good measure. Not exactly your usual assassin-for-hire outing, then.
Critical reaction – not just blood and bullets
Word out of Toronto is positively glowing. The early buzz at TIFF isn't just for the action – reviewers are banging on about how the film manages to combine proper tension, gritty fights, and much deeper themes than most action flicks ever bother with. The big pitch from The Jam Report:
Here's The Jam Report, flatly: 'Tariq and Ali have delivered an absolute banger. A bruising, beautiful piece of cinema that thrills the senses while leaving considerably more behind than a trail of bodies.'
Vulture's chiming in, highlighting Ali bringing his 'Blade-trained best' to a story about 'faith, grief, fatherhood, and stabbing people to death.' Not your average holy man plotline. Others – like The Verge – lean into the 'character study' angle, saying the fights themselves are sparse but they actually mean more when they do kick off.
- Mahershala Ali as Latif, an assassin facing grief, faith, and very persistent enemies
- Directed by Bassam Tariq (he of Mogul Mowgli fame, and one-time Blade helmer)
- Backed by Amazon MGM Studios
- World premiere at TIFF 2026, with public release on 25 September 2026
The bottom line: for anyone tired of the run-of-the-mill hitman template, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is being called Ali and Tariq 'at their best' – with critics agreeing the painful production history over at Marvel has, by some strange twist, actually paid off here.