These ladies kick ass, steal the show, and provide incredible performances as superspies and superheroes. These are fifteen action films with fierce female leads.
Action films have for too long focused almost entirely on guys. Nonetheless, Hollywood is at last producing films that represent the existence of some really strong female characters. It’s debatable whether the success of these fantastic action movies with strong female leads is the product of genuine progress or the consequence of studio execs realizing how to capitalize on women.
These female performers, who range from superheroes to super spies, are fierce, bold, and provide amazing performances. And it seems that fans may anticipate more in the future if these movies are any indication.
Theo Kogod updated this on January 11th, 2021. At last, more women are starting to appear in action movies. Action films with female leads had a terrific year in 2020, despite Wonder Woman: 1804’s postponed release. Furthermore, some important masterpieces were left off of the previous iteration of this list. Many of them are science fiction novels or comic book movie adaptions, genres that have traditionally shown little regard for their female readers. These films show how much richer cinema is as a result of these fandoms eventually eclipsing the exclusivity of the past.
Prey’s Birds (2020)
Although there aren’t many superhero films in 2020, Birds of Prey is one of the few that is a box office success. In addition to including a female protagonist, this movie is based on the all-female DC Comics superhero team, so expect an epic action scene with a squad of superheroines (and antiheroines).
Returning to her role as Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie teamed up with Renee Montoya, Black Canary, Huntress, and the much-loved Cassandra Cain (in her first live-action performance). Easily one of the finest movies in the DCEU is this one.
2020’s The Old Guard
This Netflix original series centers on Andy, a woman who runs her own covert paramilitary force that uses their skills to try to improve the world. Andy is based on a comic book by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez.
The key to Andy’s success, however, is that she and her crew are both immortal. Andy demonstrates early on in the movie that she is the kind of woman who carries an ax to a gunfight, but the team’s identities are revealed as a result of this struggle.
(2016) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Fans’ opinions of the Disney Star Wars movies have been divided for a variety of reasons, but one positive thing the films have always attempted to do is highlight strong women.
Although Rey has been the main character in the Skywalker Saga’s last trilogy, Rogue One caught fans off guard by being the smash they didn’t realize they needed. In the crucial operation that gives Leia the Death Star blueprints, Jyn Erso leads a small group of Rebel spies against the Empire. Jyn doesn’t utilize the Force and doesn’t have a lightsaber, but she isn’t going to let that stop her.
Lola, run, run (1998)
This German action thriller is among the most sophisticated and elegant post-modern movies available. The primary narrative is on Lola, a young lady in a great reversal of the Damsel in Distress archetype, racing to save her lover who is in danger with enraged criminals.
Lola dashes across the city, slicing past individuals whose lives flicker on the screen. Without giving too much away, this film has stunning cinematography, sparks an interesting discussion on free choice vs destiny, and will have your pulse racing all the way until the very end.
1986’s Aliens
The sequel Aliens shifts the genre from horror to action, but Ridley Scott’s original Alien is still a great sci-fi horror thriller in which Ripley is a powerful woman in her own right.
This is a fantastic adaption because the terror of the unknown—a element that a sequel’s lacks when viewers are fully aware of the monster—was what made Alien so amazing. On a far-off space colony, Ripley engages in a fierce combat with many aliens while accompanied by a troop of troops.
2017’s Atomic Blonde
Berlin is the setting of Atomic Blonde, a post-punk spy thriller that takes place just before the wall fell. This is fundamentally a Bond film, but it’s so much better. To put it simply, this was the aim of the James Bond movies.
The main character, Lorraine, is a hardened MI6 operative who knows both the finer points of espionage and warfare. East Berlin is brought to life by the lighting, sound design, and little background elements, which embrace both the grim Stasi atrocities and the punk culture. But the story truly gets going because of Lorraine’s brilliance and sheer tenacity.
Underworld (2003)
This gothic action film gave the violent romances of the Anne Rice vampire genre a much-needed dose of adrenaline. The movie’s events take place during the last stages of a centuries-old conflict between lycanthropes and vampires. In an attempt to stop the battle, the Lycans have discovered a human whose genetic makeup enables him to be transformed into a vampire and a Lycan at the same time.
As a vampire named Selene attempts to save the human from the Lycans, she quickly finds herself engaged in combat with other members of her own kind. Fighting with firearms and swords, Selene personifies the toughness and style praised by the early 2000s third-wave goth subculture in a surreal thriller that has held up remarkably well over time.
Wonder Woman (2017–)
When this film debuted, it garnered a lot of attention because of its remarkable action sequence in the trenches, its powerful performances, and the fact that it was one of the few superhero films starring and directed by women. Years before Disney executives at Marvel thought the world was ready for a female lead superhero movie, DC beat Marvel to the punch by casting Diana of Themyscira in her own film. To this day, it’s still the finest DCEU film.
Comic book readers already know how amazing Wonder Woman is, and older TV show viewers from the 1970s have been waiting for a contemporary film to give this legendary heroine the focus she deserves. The viewers weren’t let down.
1995’s Tank Girl
Based on the same-titled comic book by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, this cult favorite really does a very decent job of honoring the original work. The film’s unashamed feminist ideas and strong-willed, sharp-tongued heroine have won it over many admirers.
Tank Girl is one of those films that is self-aware enough to be enjoyable even if not many would call it a good film. It’s also a sheer joy to see Rebecca, the heroine, defeat every challenge put forward against her.
The Kill Bill (2003)
With Kill Bill vol. 1 and 2, director Quentin Tarantino took his craft in a new direction. Although the storyline revolves on a simple tale of revenge, there is a lot of subtlety to the story, with references to Umberto Eco’s essay on Superman’s nature, anime, and a black-and-white sword duel.
It also has some of Hollywood’s finest sword combat scenes. With a katana akin to that of the mythical sword-saints of Japanese history, Uma Thurman’s heroine douses her foes in the blood spray of their vanquished foes. The yakuza leader O-Ren Ishii, the homicidal schoolgirl Gogo Yubari, and the one-eyed assassin Elle Driver are among the other notable powerful women in this two-part movie.
Captain Marvel (2019)
The most formidable superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Carol Danvers, the current Captain Marvel, who achieved incredible feats in the film of the same name. Author Kelly Sue DeConnick rewrote Carol’s origin story a few years before to the movie’s premiere, giving her the ability to utilize time travel to empower and rescue herself.
When Carol destroyed the Kree and refused to allow anybody to attempt to restrict or control her, the movie’s final act culminated in an explosion of cosmic power. She was so powerful, in fact, that the Russo brothers had to cut her out of Avengers: Endgame in order to prevent her from handling everything by herself.
Tomb Raider with Lara Croft (2001)
Once upon a time, this action thriller from the early 2000s was regarded as one of the few excellent video game adaptations. In the movie, Angelina Jolie performed her own stunts as the archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft.
Although the film did not age well—in fact, it had some issues when it first came out—it was a fantastic depiction of what video game movies should aspire to be. By today’s standards, the 2018 remake picture is superior, but Angelina Jolie should be credited for setting the precedent.
The 2004 film Catwoman
Following the release of the first X-Men movie and the first Spider-Man picture directed by Sam Raimi, Hollywood was inundated with a plethora of mediocre superhero flicks that attempted to cash in on the popularity of the genre. While some of these films attempted to stray too far from the comics, the majority of them fell short because they did not honor the original work.
Certainly, Catwoman, which starred Halle Berry as Patience Phillips, a.k.a. the title character Catwoman (who is not the same as DC’s Selina Kyle), was an odd break from the books. Four Golden Raspberry Awards were given to it, including the Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay categories. Nevertheless, at a period when many superhero movies were terrible imitations, this one had the audacity to try something new and star Halle Berry.
1995’s Ghost in the Shell
Although the live-action version of this film has generated controversy due to its whitewashing and actress Scarlett Johansson’s insensitive comments on the subject matter, the original Ghost in the Shell remains one of the greatest anime films ever created.
Major Kusanagi, the primary character, is a cyborg woman who battles terrorism with her post-human form. While this cyberpunk thriller delves into many psychological and philosophical concepts about the nature of consciousness, what really shines is the Major’s fierce combat style.
Hanna (2011)
Hanna’s main character, a girl reared in Finland by her father, a former CIA agent who taught her fighting, espionage, and assassination skills at a young age. To put it briefly, Hanna’s father turned her into a tool. They tell the CIA what they are doing when they both decide she is ready.
After being taken prisoner, Hanna manages to escape right away, demonstrating her superior strength to her captors. In addition to presenting one of the fiercest ladies in cinema, this intricate picture subverts many of the clichés of the espionage genre. Since then, Amazon Prime has adapted this for television.
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