The Six Shooter: Women of Action
Welcome back to The Six Shooter peeps! It dawned on me the other day that I apparently really dig strong female characters in action films. A strong woman grasps my attention. And there are plenty of them in action movies. Long before there were movies driven by multiple agendas in the film industry awesome female characters lined the silver screen.
In this installment of The Six Shooter, I’m going to list some of those female characters that stick out to me. This will be a pre-millennium list so SPOILER ALERT, Charlize Theron will not be on this list. Ok lets do this…
3. Ellen Ripley (Alien, 1979)
So I bought an Alien 3 pack probably about 5 years ago and never watched it. Fast forward to about 3 weeks ago and I listen to Action Features (a podcast I frequently listen to) and they did an episode on the Alien franchise and thus the idea for this Six Shooter was born. After watching the first 3 films I realized I really like Ripley, odd thing is I cant tell you why. Maybe its just that idea of a regular person being put in an extra ordinary situation and finding a way to make it that won me over. I’m not sure really but if i was facing off against a crew of Xenomorphs I’d call Ripley, right after I finished talking to some Predators.
2. Leeloo (The Fifth Element, 1997)
The Fifth Element is one of my favorite movies! And how could it not be? It is sci-fi. It is in the future. It has Bruce Willis. That right there is enough to win me over. But one of the big reasons it is among my faves is Leeloo. Leeloo is described as a supreme being and is pretty much flawless in every way. An innocent character in a lot of ways almost childlike at first. But as the film moves she picks up more and more… a lot good (shout out to the Bruce) some very bad. Leeloo is not only strong because of her mind and the fact that she is basically a living weapon but even more so because she shows us that there are always things worth fighting for.
1. Sarah Connor (Terminator 2, 1991)
You may be wondering why I didn’t go with the first Terminator. Well I could have but lets be honest, Sarah Connor is a victim just trying to survive in the original. Given her situation I wouldn’t expect anything else. But by T2, Sarah is hardcore and ready to throw down! She learned her lesson the first time around and she wasn’t about to let it happen again. Sarah Connor is an iconic character so much so that the she even got some TV time. Her take charge get junk done mentality is one of the reasons she tops my list.
Honorable Mentions
- Pam Grier: She started playing strong women back in the 1970’s.
- Cynthia Rothrock: It would be awful if I didn’t mention Cynthia Rothrock, a former undefeated middleweight kickboxing champion for 5 years. She is still making movies but I personally think her best stuff was in the mid-80’s to early 90’s.
- The Survivors: Last but not least a special shout out to all the women who have survived the likes of Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger.
Alright that is all I got for this edition of The Six Shooter. Leave some comments and feel free to shoot your opinions my way. Thanks for reading.
