Girl Power!
Last weekend I went out with a group of friends and saw Hanna, a movie about a sixteen-year-old girl trained by her father to be a survivalist and assassin. Since seeing the movie, I have thought a lot about the main character, a young girl who is smart enough and tough enough to take care of herself.
I adore most all action movies – throw in a few choice explosions and I’m hooked – but I am particularly fond of those featuring a woman as the hero. Although there always seems to be at least one action flick playing at the movie theater, only occasionally do those films feature female action heroes. That number has gone up considerably in the last few decades (due, in large part, to the sweeping success of Sigourney Weaver in Aliens) and we now have a wide array of stunning women playing tough action roles.
Stay tuned for a list of television shows featuring female action heroes in my next post!
Kimberly’s Picks for Female Action Heroes in Movies:
- Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in Star Wars (1977)
- Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Aliens (1986)
- Anne Parillaud as Nikita in La Femme Nikita (1990)
- Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in The Matrix (1999)
- Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien & Zhang Ziyi as Jen Yu in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) & Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life (2003)
- Kate Beckinsale as Selene in Underworld (2003)
- Uma Thurman as The Bride in Kill Bill: Vols. 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004)
- Milla Jovovich as Alice in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
- Elastigirl in The Incredibles (2004)
- Summer Glau as River in Serenity (2005)
- Zoe Saldana as Neytiri in Avatar (2009)
- Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt in Salt (2010)
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Comments
I like this topic. And
I like this topic. And you've covered most of my favorites. But I have to add a new actress to the list: Helen Mirren in Red. Whenever anyone asked me why I wanted to see it, I replied, "It's Helen Mirren with a machine gun. Of course I want to see it!"
Excellent addition! I still
Excellent addition! I still haven't seen Red, but everyone I know who has always mentions Helen Mirren as their favorite character. And, naturally, any female character with a machine gun automatically gets a place on the Girl Power list!