Scarlett's Stuff

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 30: Mallory Kane - Gina Carano (“Haywire”)

This one is purely a cross-my-fingers-and-hope-it’s-good final entry to my list. A little look forward at the future of action heroines. The movie is from Steven Soderbergh and comes out in January 2012. The actress, Gina Carano, is an actual MMA fighter who Soderbergh saw cage fighting on tv. Here’s hoping her real-life ass-kicking abilities translate well to the big screen.

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 29: Selene - Kate Beckinsale (“Underworld” series)

Some of the entries on this list are believable, layered characters with nuanced performances. Some are all style. This leather-clad vampire who broods and shoots and jumps off buildings is the later. But there have definitely been more than a few action films that have made their mark on style alone. And Kate Beckinsale has rocked that style all the way to her own ongoing series of action-fantasy-horror films.

“I am a Death Dealer, sworn to destroy those known as the Lycans.”

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 28: Hanna - Saoirse Ronan (“Hanna”)

The character was trained from birth to basically be the lead in an action movie. Chase scenes, fight scenes, weapons, escapes. She’s a sixteen year old girl raised in the wilderness by her assassin father in order to seek vengeance for things she can’t even remember. Saoirse Ronan gives a chilling performance and delivers everything you’d expect from an action heroine.

“Adapt or die.”

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 27: Karen Sisco - Jennifer Lopez (“Out of Sight”)

Karen Sisco is a US Marshall who loves what she does and does it well. There’s humor, an incredibly sexy romance and all the shoot-em-up action of a twisty-turny heist movie. Throughout the film Karen is a formidable opponent and you’re never quite sure where her loyalty is going to lie in the end. She holds the fate of the movie (and several shotguns) in her hands.

“You wanted to tussle. We tussled.”

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 26: Trudy Chacon - Michelle Rodriguez (“Avatar”)

The fact that I chose the character of Trudy is not what’s important with this entry. This one isn’t really about the character… it’s about the actress. Michelle Rodriguez has made a career out of playing strong women who feel like realistic soldiers and cops and fighters. I remember realizing she was in Avatar and just smiling. When she came on screen I was so glad that there was a Michelle Rodriguez character in this movie. From her debut in Girlfight or her role in S.W.A.T., Battle: Los Angeles or Fast & the Furious, she’s become a one-woman brand when it comes to delivering a truly believable performance as an action heroine.

“I was hoping for some kind of tactical plan that didn’t involve martyrdom.”

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 25: Selina Kyle - Michelle Pfeiffer (“Batman Returns”)

The Catwoman of this movie might not be a faithful comic book adaptation but I didn’t know that when I first saw Batman Returns. She left an impression on me when I was a kid that made her just… the coolest. The backflips and whip cracks and fight scenes where she went toe-to-toe against Batman! She went from that quiet woman who didn’t know quite how to stand up for herself to a force to be reckoned with. And she stole the entire film.

“I am Catwoman. Hear me roar.”

30 Days of Action Heroines

Day 24: Ellen Ripley - Sigourney Weaver (“Alien”/”Aliens” series)

You have to have seen this one coming. Ripley, along with Sarah Connor, is one of the greatest action heroines of all time. Sigourney Weaver brings incredible strength and believability to a character that can stand up against one of the deadliest movie monsters of all time.

“This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off.”

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 23: Nikita - Anne Parillaud (“La Femme Nikita”)

Nikita has spawned movie remakes, television adaptations and remakes of adaptations. That’s not even counting the uncredited homages and blatant knockoffs. Nikita was no innocent tossed into a bad situation. She was troubled and a criminal and then she got one extra chance. And with that extra chance she had to work and train hard to earn her freedom and even when free, she wasn’t really. She became a trained assassin and a deadly action heroine who is almost a genre unto herself.

(after shooting out a paper target with a gun)
Professor: “You’ve used one of these before?”
Nikita: “Not on paper.”

30 DAYS OF ACTION HEROINES

Day 22: Lola - Franka Potente (“Run Lola Run” aka “Lola rennt”)

Every step of her run is filled with all of Lola’s energy and adrenaline and fear and hope and rage and drive. The film shows three paths that Lola might take and the results if she takes them. From the moment she drops the phone and takes off running, she is the action in this movie. It’s an exciting movie to watch and almost the entire thing rests on Franka’s performance.

As far as quotes go… nothing can top this: “Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrghhhhh!!!!!!!!”