The Mother: Just another Netflix budget action thriller starring Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is well established as one of the most popular pop singers since the 2000s, but not many people know about her success as an actress. 

She has been acting since 1991, and she can act in any range of genres, from romantic to crime dramas. 

Recently, Netflix recruited her to act as the female protagonist in The Mother, which is also her first lead role in an action film. Can she translate her acting success in rom-com wedding dramas to this femme fatale role?

Lopez, as an unnamed protagonist, works for the FBI as an undercover agent. She has a penchant for dangerously combining her personal life and work, as she was in relationships with notorious arms dealers and even pregnant with a child of one of her lovers. 

This daredevil lifestyle doesn't go unpunished, as one of her former lovers attacked her during her interrogation by the FBI and severely injured her.

The agent was caught with her misdeeds, and now she must pay the hefty price: letting go of her newborn or continuously running with her child from the criminals for the rest of their lives. 

She chooses to ensure a safe future for her child, unaffected by her tumultuous past, so she puts her girl into witness protection and exiles herself to Alaska. Cruise, her handler and close friend at the FBI, promises to keep her updated about her daughter every year.

After twelve years, the worst fear of the female agent comes true. Her enemies came to know about her teenage daughter Zoe and now plan to kidnap her to exact revenge, so Cruise informs the mother of the danger. 

No mother leaves her children when they are in danger, so she says goodbye to her retirement, gears up with weapons, and embarks on a guns-blazing rescue mission to save Zoe. 

Her past lovers also aid her on the mission; will she be able to ensure Zoe's safety? The Mother is almost two hours long, but it has the answer in the most action-packed way.

This film is the first in the action genre for New Zealand director Niki Caro. Caro's first action film and J Lo's first lead action role— how successful is it? 

Lopez delivers well as the femme fatale protagonist, but she seems emotionally detached from her estranged daughter. She gives her some tough love to teach her how to survive her enemies, but maybe that's her combat training.

Like most other Netflix action films, The Mother also lacks any meaningful plot. But that's okay, as it was supposed to be a B-grade action film anyway, and as long as Jennifer Lopez is good in her role, the fans won't mind seeing her in action regardless of the story. 

So, a prominent cast leads the film on a mission to protect children at any cost, which is a great trope for action films, and Netflix may get away with this formula for a few more years.

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