# Ass-kicking women in film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483 "2005-08-03T22:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/61 "2005-08-05T21:49:51Z")
Brigitte Nielsen in _Beverly Hills Cop II_. She would turn on the _femme fatale_ when it suited her purpose, but she was still the major muscle in the bad-guy gang. She also cut up rough some as [_Red Sonja_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089893/). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/62 "2005-08-05T21:58:05Z")
Oh, and Princess Fiona in _Shrek_. You don’t want to be an accordion-playing cleric with her around. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/63 "2005-08-05T22:34:01Z")
May I nominate Princess Kaurwaki, as played by Kareena Kapoor in 2001’s _Asoka_? For much of the movie she’s the singing-and-dancing love interest, but when she charges into battle wielding her Tiger-Claw, she kicks some major ass. ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/64 "2005-08-06T02:16:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Brigitte Nielsen in Beverly Hills Cop II. She would turn on the femme fatale when it suited her purpose, but she was still the major muscle in the bad-guy gang. I saw the last few seconds of that movie. That’s impressive that such a film as that one would have a female as the head villain. This reminds me of a question I wanted to ask in all this: **after seeing Kill Bill Volume 1, I wondered, is this the most feminine-driven action film ever?** It’s not the first film to have a woman as the main bad guy, or women as the main kickers of the bad guys asses (Charlies Angels 2 came out several months before, for instance, and had both), but consider that the two Kill Bill films had 1.) The ‘deadliest woman in the world’ as the lead, who kills scores of men- this is derived from kung fu films w/ the same premise, I know… 2.) The main bad guy was a woman, bad ass as imaginable- more so than the main bad woman in Beverly Hills 2? This woman fights Uma better than anyone in the series I think, and when she was little she killed the gang boss who had her father killed, and she became one of the top female assasins in the world… 3.) This woman had a girl who was amazingly deadly as her bodyguard, who fought 10 times better then the scores of men did… 4.) Uma also fought Vivica Fox’s character, who kicks ass, and her daughter is a strong figure b/c she could grow up to seek revenge on Uma- this is violent stuff for women, you see? 5.) The one-eyed woman who fights Uma is bad ass as hell 6.) All the supposedly ‘powerful’ men in the movie are killed by the women- Michael Madsen is rendered helpless, the gang boss by young Lui, the trainer kung-fu guy poisoned by one-eyed woman, Bill by Uma, all the crazy 88s… 7.) Oh, and let’s not forget the female translator/helper whatever woman who gets her arm chopped off- she’s a strong character, even if she can’t fight It just seems like the most female-lead action film ever, ahead of it’s time (wasn’t that partially the point?), but I certainly can’t know of all the action films ever made- do you know? ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/65 "2005-08-06T18:55:11Z")
free bump ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/66 "2005-08-06T19:26:26Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > It just seems like the most female-lead action film ever, ahead of it’s time (wasn’t that partially the point?), but I certainly can’t know of all the action films ever made- do you know? Ahead of its time? I am puzzled. If the long list of female action leads in this thread hasn’t proven to you that **Kill Bill** didn’t pioneer the notion of a tough, ass-kicking woman, what will convince you? ---
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/67 "2005-08-06T19:58:47Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > And let’s not forget the **X-Men and X-Men 2** women- Storm, Famke Jansenn, the girl who burns stuff, **the Asian Wolverine-like woman** , Rebecca-Romjin Stamos, and all the other hottie fighters. Kelly Hu. Yes I love her too. ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/68 "2005-08-07T00:33:24Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > Ahead of its time? I am puzzled. If the long list of female action leads in this thread hasn’t proven to you that Kill Bill didn’t pioneer the notion of a tough, ass-kicking woman, what will convince you? Hey now, I wasn’t saying Kill Bill pioneered ass-kicking women! What I said was, the Kill Bill films seem to take the trend of ass-kicking women that is so beloved, prevalent, and f-ing cool, and jump ahead of us to give us a tale where (reiterate) 1.) Lucy Lui, the _main foe_ in 1, is a woman, who kicks more ass than the scores of men who work for her 2.) Her _bodyguard_ is a _young girl_, who does the same 3.) Daryll Hannah is a major ass-kicker, as is 4.) Vivica Fox, and her 5.) Daughter could grow up to seek vengeance- this is like _men_ stuff, you dig? Like spaghetti westerns, that’s the point, but with gorgeous women replacing all the men. And that’s what makes it so amazing. 6.) Uma is the deadliest woman in the world, kicks everyone’s ass 7.) Even the assasin who comes after her at the end is a woman 8.) All the powerful men are killed by the women 9.) Lucy Lui’s translator is- yet another woman! Bill may be the one who instigated the whole thing, and Michael Madsen is bad-ass, but the women fill all these roles, they kick all the ass, they kill all these men, they have the power, they have the authority, they take revenge, they are the ninjas and the cowboys 😃 and the gang leaders and the right hand men 😃 and the bodyguards and the assasins… Do you get what I’m saying? This action film doesn’t just have women who kick ass going with the men to kick ass to fight other men baddies, it has women versus women with other women. It’s all women… ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/69 "2005-08-07T00:34:42Z")
So, **are there any other films that top Kill Bill 1/2 in this respect?** ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/70 "2005-08-07T00:38:20Z")
And another thing I wanted to ask was: **what actresses would you like to see in ass-kicking roles in the future?** My list: 1.) Katie Holmes (that would be _awesome_) 2.) Alysson Hannigan (not that she didn’t kick ass on Buffy, but imagine her _as_ Buffy 3.) Anne Hathaway (so she kicked ass in Ella Enchanted, right? Not enough!) ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/71 "2005-08-07T00:44:10Z")
Ok, I’m starting to think that in addition to ass-kicking, there’s some leg-pulling going on here. Katie Holmes? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![malzen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@malzen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malzen)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/72 "2005-08-07T00:50:33Z")
Most of you have stuck to movies, but Jessica Alba’s **Max** in the James Cameron TV series **Dark Angel** was a serious ass-kicking female. Cameron often stars powerful female characters (see his muscular wife in T2), something David Foster Wallace pointed out in his essay [F/X Porn](http://www.smallbytes.net/~bobkat/waterstone.html) , available at that link. ---
**Author:** ![malzen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@malzen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malzen)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/73 "2005-08-07T01:07:17Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > And another thing I wanted to ask was: **what actresses would you like to see in ass-kicking roles in the future?** My list: > > 2.) Alysson Hannigan (not that she didn’t kick ass on Buffy, but imagine her _as_ Buffy There was a couple Buffy episodes where Hannigan played an evil vampire version of Willow (basically, a femme fatale). She was actually pretty good at it. As for actresses I’d like to see in ass-kicking roles, I don’t think cute little dolls like Katie Holmes would cut it, especially since she doesn’t have the talent to pull it off. That girl was the only awful thing about **Batman Beyond** (and otherwise great movie). How’s this for a list? 1. **Amy Acker**. She played “Fred” in the series **Angel**. In the final few episodes her character became possessed by an ass-kicking demon. She played it quite well - I was impressed. Acker has disappeared since **Angel** was canceled (like **Dark Angel** was - why does this keep happening to the few shows I like?). I’d love to see her land a role as some ass-kicking woman in a movie. 2. **Jolie**. In a real role, not some half-assed, oversexed spinoff of a freaking video game. Something with substance, like the original Terminator or the first two Alien movies. She has the attitude and talent to pull it off. 3. **Selma Hayek**. She always seems to have supporting roles that are more about her hips & tits than her punch. **Frita** was the closest she came to a strident woman role. Put her in something with pop, and give her a bazooka, damn it. ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/74 "2005-08-07T04:11:11Z")
Apparently, from what I’ve learned on IMDB, Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls, in case you didn’t know) in Sin City doesn’t kick ass, she’s a whore?! :eek: I’d love to see her kick ass in a movie too. I’m sorry, pinkfreud, I really am. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/75 "2005-08-08T00:21:38Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > Ok, I’m starting to think that in addition to ass-kicking, there’s some leg-pulling going on here. Katie Holmes? And hey, if Jennifer Love Hewitt can kick some ass in [The Tuxedo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290095/), why can’t Katie? 😃 Or Alexis Bledel… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/76 "2005-08-08T01:22:45Z")
> [@Sengkelat](#): > > I second (or third, I guess) Pvt. Vasquez from Aliens. She was awesome. Another vote. She rocked. First thing I thought of when I saw this thread. (It was wierd to see that actress playing an Irish mom in _Titanic_. She was the one reading a bedtime story to the kids as the ship sank. I was waiting for her to start greasing the 1st-class passengers. “Let’s rooock!”) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/77 "2005-08-08T01:31:24Z")
For those who like girls, guns _and_ hot cars…[Arcee](http://planetcybertron.com/wallpaper-g1_1024x768-3.jpg). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/78 "2005-08-08T01:35:39Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > Apparently, from what I’ve learned on IMDB, Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls, in case you didn’t know) in Sin City doesn’t kick ass, she’s a whore?! :eek: > > I’d love to see her kick ass in a movie too. I’m sorry, pinkfreud, I really am. 😃 Well, you can be as sorry as you want, but Alexis Bledel is never gonna kick **my** ass. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/79 "2005-08-08T02:54:43Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > And, of course, Princess Nausicaa… Uhh… really? Fairly independant-minded, I suppose, but in no way ass-kicking. Are we talking about the same person? Is there another Nausicaa? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483/80 "2005-08-09T00:44:04Z")
Oh, well if television counts, there’s Donna Douglas and Irene Ryan, as Ellie May and Granny Clampett from _The Beverly Hillbillies_. They kcked Jethro’s ass from here to next Sunday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ass-kicking-women-in-film/315483.md?page=5)