Recently a person by the name of Jennifer Lawrence claimed that before her there weren’t any women in action movies! Let’s prove her wrong, shall we? Hello and welcome to my new movie post.
“Woman is at once the delight and the terror of man.” - Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Since time immemorial women warriors have captivated the imagination of men. Way back to Ancient Greece Pallas Athena was helping heroes like Achilles and Odysseus. The Romans had Minerva and Diana, the Huntress.
From the beginning of cinema, during the silent era, more women were starring in action movies than men. Wonderful actresses like Mary Fuller, Helen Holmes and Ruth Roland were performing action stunts way back before any of us were born.
In 1953, Doris Day starred as a tough rider and shooter in Calamity Jane. In 1974, Pam Grier was already kicking bad guy’s asses to pursue her revenge in Foxy Brown. Later, in 1977, Carrie Fisher played the first badass princess in Star Wars: A New Hope.
So now, in this 21st century, a stupid person said that before her there weren’t any women in action movies.
This is the person in question:
Jennifer “Box Office Poison” Lawrence (via: google.com)
Let’s prove this person wrong, shall we?
Here are ten badass kick-ass female warriors who are also very beautiful and lady-like.
Let’s begin:
10 Trinity
from The Matrix (1999)
Trinity, played by Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix (1999) (via: google.com) (Via: google.com)
A tough, thin and somewhat beautiful hacker who has managed to escape The Matrix and joined a group of rebels, Trinity is also a badass woman trained in martial arts. Played on the big screen by Canadian Carrie-Anne Moss for the first time in 1999, Trinity also becomes involved romantically with a man named Neo, who is referred to as the chosen one, and will fight on his side in very difficult situations. Moss reprised the role of Trinity three more times with two movies in 2003 and one more in 2021 respectively. The Matrix (1999) was a huge success around the globe, set a new era in science-fiction and spawned numerous imitations that didn’t quite surpass this classic. And the warrior Trinity continues to be a fan favorite around the world.
The Matrix trailer:
The Matrix (1999) Official Trailer #1 - Sci-Fi Action Movie
9 Mallory Kane
from Haywire (2011)
Gina Carano and Michael Fassbender in Haywire (2011) (Via: Collider.com)
A tough black-op agent is suddenly betrayed by her government. Using all of her martial arts and gun fighting skills she will set to uncover what happened and punish the ones who betrayed her. Hot and tough, Gina Carano really delivered the part in her first role as a protagonist. You will see her fighting like very few females on the screen have ever fought; her MMA experience really came on handy on this one. Unfortunately and although the movie has an impressive cast (Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas) and was helmed by a monster like Steven Soderbergh, it wasn’t a success at the box office. It flew under the radar for years until it was rediscovered again. You will always find it on lists of most underrated action movies ever. So, watch it as soon as you can.
Check trailer here:
Haywire Official Movie Trailer [HD]
8 Maggie Hayward (Nina)
From Point of No Return (1993)
Bridget Fonda as Maggie Hayward in Point of No Return (1993) (via: warnerbros.com)
The Hollywood version of La Femme Nikita (1990) may not be as good as the original but still delivers a good amount of action. An addict woman is convicted of murder and sentenced to die, but is given a second chance by a government agency. She is trained in martial arts, computers, guns and how to dress and behave like a lady. She is sent to missions around the world and prove herself to be a valuable asset for the agency, all of that while she starts a relationship with a new boyfriend. But when a mission goes wrong and a cleaning agent is sent to eliminate her, she will have to use all of her skills to keep herself alive. One of my favorite action movies of the 1990s when I was a teenager, this movie still kicks ass as it did thirty years ago. The beautiful Bridget Fonda was great in the role. Don’t skip this one.
Trailer:
Point of No Return - Trailer #1
7 Samantha Caine (Charly)
from The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Geena Davis as Samantha Caine in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) (Via: Collider.com)
A quiet elementary school teacher suffering from amnesia suddenly decides to recover her true identity. Her enquiries lead her to discover she was a secret agent working as an assassin. But things get complicated when she discover a dark conspiracy, and when this occurs she most use of her skills to stay alive because now the same government she once worked for is trying to get rid of her. The beautiful Academy Award winner Geena Davis played this role perfectly; too bad she didn’t get more quality movies like this one. The Long Kiss Goodnight is one of the most underrated action films of the 1990s and one of the most underrated movies of all times. Check it out whenever you can.
Trailer:
Long Kiss Goodnight Trailer
6 Lorraine Broughton
from Atomic Blonde (2017)
Charlize Theron as MI6 field agent Lorraine Broughton (via: collider.com)
At the height of the Cold War, a rebellious MI6 agent is sent to East Berlin to find a list of double agents that is being smuggled into the West on the eve of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. She encounters numerous dangers, gets involved with a French female spy and manages to beat a bunch of tough goons just to rescue as scientific in one of the most intense fights ever put on the big screen. If you’re not a fan of Charlize Theron, well, at least you have to admit that the woman played a great part on this one. Based on a comic book, Atomic Blonde is one of the best spy movies of recent years. You’ll be surprised at how good this movie is.
Trailer:
Atomic Blonde Trailer #1 (2017) | Movieclips Trailers
5 Alice Abernathy
from Resident Evil (2002)
Milla Jovovich as Alice in Resident Evil (2002) (via: movieweb.com)
Although none of the six movies of the Resident Evil franchise is good, Milla Jovovich just kills it in the role of Alice Abernathy. The daughter of a murdered business man suffering from amnesia, Alice grows and hones her skills to stop the evil Umbrella Corporation in a post-apocalyptic world. She’s trained in martial arts, knows how to fire weapons and even flies airplanes. If you want to watch just one of these movies, I recommend you the fourth part of 2010, Resident Evil: Afterlife, it is the most acceptable of the whole franchise.
Resident Evil (2002) trailer:
Resident Evil (2002) Official Trailer 1 - Milla Jovovich Movie
4 Lara Croft
from Tomb Raider (2018)
Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft (via: gameshedge.com)
A character that has three decades now in pop culture was inspired by Indiana Jones, Tank Girl and James Bond and debuted on a video game in 1996. But it was in 2001 when we first saw her on the big screen played by Angelina Jolie. Then, in 2018, Swedish Oscar winner Alicia Vikander took the role and proved to be the best version of the badass character. Unfortunately, the movie, although enjoyable, wasn’t exactly good (no movie based on video game is) and didn’t perform well at the box office. Alicia lifted weights, trained in boxing, climbing and swimming and really delivered the part. Just watch this one for the action and the fun and don’t take it too seriously.
Trailer:
TOMB RAIDER - Official Trailer #1
3 Sarah Connor
from The Terminator (1984)
Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) (via: screenrant.com)
When we first meet her in The Terminator (1984) she’s just a naïve young girl working as a waitress and suddenly she meets a man from the future who comes to save her from a cyborg who won’t stop at anything just to eliminate her. In the second part of 1991 she’s now an organized, tough and relentless woman expert in weapons and fighting who will give everything she has to protect her only son now from another, way more advanced, lethal cyborg. Linda Hamilton was great in both of these movies directed by insufferable James Cameron and you can skip the horrible Terminator: Dark Fate of 2019, the movie that killed the whole franchise.
Trailer:
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers
2 The Bride
from Kill Bill (2003)
Uma Thurman as The Bride in Kill Bill (2003) (via: screenrant.com)
Beatrix "the Bride" Kiddo, who also has the codename of Black Mamba, was perfectly played by Uma Thurman in the two parts of Kill Bill. Director Quentin Tarantino had the idea of The Bride way back, in 1994, he talked Uma about it and she even made some suggestions. Uma trained intensively for the part; martial arts, sword fighting and even a little of the Japanese language was required from her. In the course of two movies a beautiful bride is left in a coma on her wedding day by her former boss and lover. After she wakes up, years later, she plans her revenge, the killing of the five people involved in the massacre of her wedding. She defeats and entire gang called the Crazy 88, wins a gun fight with a knife, chops head and limps, survives being buried alive, gouges the only eye left of a colleague and finally kills Bill. This beautiful blonde warrior has been named the best character created by Quentin Tarantino and is ranked as the 23rd of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" of all time by Empire magazine. If you haven’t seen any of the Kill Bill movies I don’t know what you are doing with your life.
Trailer:
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) Official Trailer
1 Ellen Ripley
from Alien (1979)
Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Aliens (1986) (via: collider.com)
In 1979 movie history was made when we were introduced to the first and, so far, the best female heroine of all times: Ellen Ripley. Sigourney Weaver just nailed and received lots of praised for a role originally written for a man. After a strange creature starts killing every member of the crew of the Nostromo ship, warrant officer Ellen Ripley must face the beast with everything she’s got in order to kill it and thus be able to survive. Sigourney Weaver reprised the role in three more movies in 1986, 1992 and 1997. She received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 1986 for playing this character in Aliens (1986). Although there have been attempts to revive the franchise like the horrible AVP movies, Prometheus (2012) and a fiasco called Alien: Covenant (2017) (worst movie of Ridley Scott’s entire career) none of those movies have been able to reach the heights of the first two Alien movies, and none of them have a character that can match Ripley.
Elllen Ripley broke stereotypes and gender roles to prove herself to be force to be reckon with and is one of the best character ever created in cinematic history.
Watch the trailer for Alien (1979) here, it has been named the best trailer of all times:
Alien Trailer HD (Original 1979 Ridley Scott Film) Sigourney Weaver
Bonus Female Warrior:
Cynthia Rothrock in any of her movies
Cynthia in Martial Law (1991) (via: frompage2screen.com)
Born in Delaware in 1957, this beautiful blonde won martial arts tournaments in the early 1980s before starring in her first movie in 1985 and since then she hasn’t stopped kicking asses whatsoever. She was one of the first westerners who obtained major success in the Hong Kong movie industry and was more famous there than in the US. At the height of the VHS era, during the late 80s and early 90s, you could find action movies with her in any video club; she was also a regular on cable TV. Rothrock has made more than 60 movies altogether and at age 65 she’s still training in martial arts and looking great.
Righting Wrongs (1986) and Martial Law (1991) are considered her best movies, but the movie from her I recommend you to watch is 1992’s Rage And Honor, the movie in which I discovered her. Check trailer below:
Rage And Honor Trailer 1992
Any of these beautiful badass characters can kick Katniss Everdeen’s ass whenever they want.
So, what do you think of today’s list? Which one of this amazing women warriors is your favorite? Did I forget tour favorite female warrior? If so, let us know in the comment section.
Now check 5 cool dystopian movies of the 21st century I recommend you to watch:
@thereadingman/5-cool-dystopian-movies-of
(Image at the beginning via screenrant.com)
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Orlando Caine.