Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Mother.
Most of the world was introduced to a young Jennifer Lopez from her roles in 1997's Money Train, where she starred as Officer Grace Santiago, a transit officer in the big-budgeted film opposite Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes. Here we are 26 years later and the multi-faceted performer is still kicking ass in movies like The Mother on Netflix, directed by Niki Caro. The new film about a mother tasked with trying to protect her daughter from some very bad people has shot to the top of the streamer's top 10 movies list. It features Lopez taking no prisoners in a "Mama Bear" role, where she is forced to protect her young daughter from an enemy from her past. That enemy is still looking to settle the score after the Mother (Lopez) infiltrated a human trafficking operation and thwarted a massive arms deal.
The Mother Is Forced To Give Up Her Daughter
After becoming pregnant and delivering a little girl, "The Mother" is forced by military higher-ups (including a great cameo by Edie Falco) to give up custody of the child for her safety, as The Mother's former lover and ally Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes) will never stop trying to settle the score with her. As a result, The Mother waives her parental rights, realizing that it is in the best interest of her daughter Zoe (Lucy Paez), and moves to a remote Alaskan cabin where she will spend the next 12 years away from her child. She only receives a photo of her daughter each year on her birthday and the promise of a call if Zoe is ever in danger of being discovered by Adrian and arms dealer Hector Alvarez (Gael García Bernal). When she finally receives a call that Zoe is in danger, it's time for the Mother to get back into action.
The Mother's Past Comes Back To Haunt Her
To lure The Mother out of hiding, Zoe is kidnapped by a vengeful Alvarez more than a dozen years after she betrayed him. Naturally, the mama bear in Lopez starts to shine as she realizes that it's time for the specially trained sharpshooting former Marine operative to come out swinging to protect Zoe. Now, the game is afoot between Adrian, Hector, and The Mother. Upon finding out that Zoe is being held at Alvarez's palatial estate in Havana, Cuba, The Mother heads there to rescue her daughter and uses her considerable skills to both rescue her daughter and kill Alvarez. So now the game has been cut down to just two players — The Mother and Adrian. The Mother takes Zoe back to her remote Alaskan home and exposes her sheltered daughter to the cruel reality of living off the land. It's a lifestyle she will have to learn to adapt to and illustrates the lengths the Mother's pursuers will go to in order to get her back.
After teaching Zoe how to shoot a rifle and watching her become a natural with the weapon, The Mother begins the difficult process of trying to connect with the impetuous and sometimes naive 12-year-old. She teaches her how to become a survivalist and does her best to prepare the angry pre-teen, who understandably has abandonment issues. Their time together is cut short, however, as it isn't very long until Adrian comes calling to finish the job. After realizing the best way to protect Zoe is to lure Adrian away from her, The Mother again leaves Zoe, this time under the care of her longtime and trusted associate, Jons (Paul Raci). Zoe is upset at being left again but comes across a letter that The Mother has written to her, and she realizes that she has always loved her and only stayed away from her to keep her safe. Upon learning this, Zoe returns to the cabin to help The Mother ward off Adrian, who is coming with several men to get his retribution.
'The Mother's Final Showdown
When Adrian arrives upon the snowy Alaskan area surrounding The Mother's cabin, she and Zoe team up to take out several of Adrian's men. In one of the most moving moments of the film, The Mother admits that the time she has gotten to spend with her daughter has been "the best two months of my life" before instructing Zoe to run as she takes a more tactical position closer to Adrian. But she is quickly accosted by her former lover. The two engage in hand-to-hand combat and The Mother slashes Adrian across the face with her small blade. Meanwhile, Zoe is trying to get a good shot at Adrian, who grabs The Mother and dares Zoe to "take the shot," knowing that it could kill both her mother and Adrian. She shoots and sends them both reeling down a snowy incline. The Mother is knocked out and Adrian makes off with Zoe.
The Mama Bear Roars
As Adrian is driving away with Zoe, The Mother takes several more shots at him from a distance after painfully knocking her separated shoulder back into position. She thinks she has missed and sobs over the thought of losing Zoe to an enemy yet again, but the jeep slowly comes to a stop, and it becomes apparent that she has hit Adrian with a headshot, killing him instantly. Zoe runs from the car back into the waiting arms of her exhausted, but relieved mother. At the end of the film, The Mother decides that now that Adrian is dead, it is time to return her daughter to her adoptive foster parents. Zoe runs back into her foster mom's arms and The Mother drives away.
She stays close to Zoe, however, and in the final scene, Zoe is seen safely skating in a nearby park like a normal teenager. But the Mother is watching through a set of binoculars. Zoe looks up at a specific window of a high-rise apartment and pretends to shoot the Mother with an air rifle. The Mother covers her heart and softly says, "You got me." as in "You have my heart." The two exchange a warm moment together, knowing that they can safely be a part of each other's lives moving forward.