# Grrrl Power movies - Movies where a woman defeats multiple men in combat **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209 "2009-12-22T16:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/21 "2009-12-22T18:57:16Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > I laughed in **The Matrix Reloaded** when all the Agent Smiths just piled on Neo at the same time. It’s just not something you’re used to seeing in the movies. I laughed at that scene for a different reason. Namely, that it was fakest scene I could ever recall seeing in a movie made after 1970. I’ll throw one in - **Lethal Weapon 3** , where Rene Russo kicks the crap out of four or five guys. ISTR it being fairly realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/22 "2009-12-22T19:05:12Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > While this is an annoying trope, few of the movies listed qualify. > > **Buffy the Vampire Slayer** can beat up hordes of demons because she has supernatural strength. > > The Bride in **Kill Bill** only takes on hordes of guys once and wins because she’s an expert martial artist and she spends the entire scene decapitating them with her sword. > > Sarah Conner in **Terminator 2** only beats up two rent-a-cops (one of whom is a woman) and a frail, old doctor. > > **Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon** had magic martial artists. > > Trinity kicked ass in **The Matrix** because she was exploiting the computer system. In the real world, she wasn’t beating up anyone. > > Milla Jovovich was a vampire in **Ultraviolet** , a genetically engineered supersoldier in **Resident Evil** and a god in **The Fifth Element**. > > River in **Serenity** is also a genetically engineered supersoldier. This is what I was thinking of some of the above posts too. I have no problem with a superhero (female or male) beating the snot out of a large group of people if the whole premise is that they have supernatural/superhuman abilities. So, the Bionic Woman? Fine. One of Charlie’s Angels, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/23 "2009-12-22T19:07:49Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#): > > The upcoming _Kick-Ass_ (April 2010), based on the Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. work, features Hit-Girl beating (and shooting) the bejeezus out of the fellows. Here’s a **NSFW – audio** [trailer on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0lwLB-xAVw&feature=player_embedded). That. Looks. AWESOME. “I’m just fuckin’ with you, daddy!” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/24 "2009-12-22T19:10:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Serenity has a particularly egregious example whereby the grrrl karate master beats up a whole bar just for the purpose of showing she’s a badass. It couldn’t have been more cliche if Steven Seagal had helped out. Totally overshadowed (and yet foreshadowing) the big, triumphant reveal at the end (I don’t think it needs spoiler tags, really). Condiering everything known about River, it was pretty realistic. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > My brother, **Cricetus** , who writes kids’ books (his second one should be hitting stores soon, by the way), once wrote a short story for his own amusement exploding this trope. Girl joins boys’ baseball team. Girl faces sexist razzing and skepticism fom the boys. Parents wonder if it’s a good idea to have a girl on the team. Girl works and trains hard to prove her mettle. The Big Game arrives. Girl steps up to bat with bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 9th. Girl’s team is trailing. It’s all on her. Girl pops it up. Her team loses. Boys complain about what a stupid idea it was to put a girl on the team. The end. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphi had a storyline like this, with Sweet Dee posing as a boy for football tryouts and stunning everyone with her kicking ability, then failing miserably after removing her boy costume and bragging. It was great. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Which is why it doesn’t bother me. If one is willing to put up with the common fictional trope of the lone fighter who can beat hordes, then it isn’t unreasonable to assume a woman with such an edge could beat up men. Fifteen men have a bigger advantage over one man than a man has over a woman, after all. Same here. It’s odd how some people’s minds work, where they can suspend disbelief to the ends of the earth, CGI, fake punching sounds, uneven matches and all… but not when their prejudices aren’t reinforced. I see it a lot in comic books. ‘Okay so she’s a mutant alien with telekinetic abilities and super strength, but she’s beating up those scary looking bad guys? Really? What if they hit her in the vagina (assuming she’s got one)?’ As others have pointed out, the whole ‘Baddies waiting in line to be dispensed of one by one’ is such a trope, any hero of either gender is going to have trouble doing it believably (unless it’s for comic effect). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/25 "2009-12-22T19:13:43Z")
This is possibly my favorite genre of movie, if I were forced to pick one. There’s LOTS and lots of great “tough broad” movies or, as I’ve seen them described, “flamethrower feminism.” _**Showgirls Thriller: They Call Her One Eye I Spit on Your Grave Coffy Lady Snowblood Ms. 45 Red Sonja Alien Faster Pussycat! Kill Kill! She Devils On Wheels Lady Terminator Deadly Weapons Switchblade Sisters Naked Kiss Audition Come Drink with Me**_ Any number of Joan of Arc movies Almost anything starring Meiko Kaji ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/26 "2009-12-22T19:21:20Z")
Jennifer Lopez in “Enough”. A classic for the ages ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/27 "2009-12-22T19:33:28Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > It’s kind of annoying because you just know she CAN’T get beaten up. It’s just “wrong” in the rules of movies. She has to win because if she gets beaten up because no one wants to see that. > > I kind of hate the whole, “the woman shows up and bests the guy at pool/fighting/darts/you name it” and shows that girls rule and boys drool. It’s like she HAS to win because she’s the woman and she represents all of womankind whereas the man is just a guy. Not the representation of all guys, just some dude. To me, there are two more or less distinct memes or tropes or whatever you want to call it. One is perfectly fair and fun to watch. The other is annoying. It comes down to how realistic the setting is supposed to be. If a show or movie is basically NCIS or above, that is the whole thing is kinda superhero-ish anyway, then there’s really no reason why Ziva shouldn’t be able to kick every man’s ass on the planet (except Gibbs of course, he’s Odin). Once you get to James Bond level silliness, it’s all fun. OTOH, if the setting is below NCIS, that is, trying to actually be realistic, then the grrrrl power thing is annoying. The little girl will almost always be smarter and more athletic than all the boys, and most of the adult men. That’s just silly pandering to some weird sensibility we have about girls’ and women’s ridiculously fragile and confusing self-esteems. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/28 "2009-12-22T19:44:06Z")
The Thai movie _Chocolate_ features a young girl beating the crap out of several groups of men. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/29 "2009-12-22T19:45:19Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > OTOH, if the setting is below NCIS, that is, trying to actually be realistic, then the grrrrl power thing is annoying. The little girl will almost always be smarter and more athletic than all the boys, and most of the adult men. That’s just silly pandering to some weird sensibility we have about girls’ and women’s ridiculously fragile and confusing self-esteems. Yeah. It’s like she can’t be a normal human being who sometimes fucks up but sometimes is awesome. Which in turn makes you think that it’s like…women are so frail that if they DON’T succeed, it’s more hurtful. And plus it’s like, men can fuck up and it’s funny or wacky, but a woman is held to this superhuman standard. Obviously with exceptions, but it’s just kind of painful to watch. It’s like a whole David and Goliath thing–if the man wins, it’s just sad. But it kind of pisses me off that the woman is inherently seen as weaker which is why she “has” to win. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/30 "2009-12-22T19:47:14Z")
Hey it is magnitudes less stupid than the Home-alone Three Ninjas shit where 60 pound kids beat the crap out of groups of men. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/31 "2009-12-22T20:15:57Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > _ **Showgirls** _ Who kicked who’s ass in that movie? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/32 "2009-12-22T20:16:55Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Who kicked who’s ass in that movie? I was curious about that, too. I don’t remember a lot of ass kicking. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/33 "2009-12-22T20:25:48Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I was curious about that, too. I don’t remember a lot of ass kicking. There was some stairs-down-pushing, though. And I think I remember some ass _licking_, so maybe that’s a typo. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/34 "2009-12-22T20:32:12Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Who kicked who’s ass in that movie? Jessie from Saved By the Bell kicked the crap about the bad guy at the end. I think he was the bad guy, I wasn’t actually paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/35 "2009-12-22T20:34:42Z")
What about when Ripley went into mother bear mode in Aliens? The colonel marines got cut in half when they went into the nest. Something like 150 aliens are supposedly running around. But Ripley goes into the hive by herself and comes out alive. She only had to kill like 10 of 'em somehow. Then the moviemakers have to make her get all emotional and waste all the grenades and bullets on the eggs and the ovipositor instead of, y’know, shooting the queen alien in the face. No other way to write around that? > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Sarah Conner in **Terminator 2** only beats up two rent-a-cops (one of whom is a woman) and a frail, old doctor. She also took a fair bit of injury through the films. She got shrapnel in the leg in the first. In the second she got sliced down the back with the T-1000 sword-arm, shot in the thigh, and skewered through the shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/36 "2009-12-22T20:37:12Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > She also took a fair bit of injury through the films. She got shrapnel in the leg in the first. In the second she got sliced down the back with the T-1000 sword-arm, shot in the thigh, and skewered through the shoulder. Which has nothing to do with how many guys she didn’t beat up and more to do with the fact that she was looney tunes (at least initially). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/37 "2009-12-22T20:42:59Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Who kicked who’s ass in that movie? It’s a classic rape revenge movie; she toplessly kicks a rapist near to death with her high-heeled boots just before leaving for LA to devour the entire male population. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/38 "2009-12-22T20:46:06Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I’ll throw one in - **Lethal Weapon 3** , where Rene Russo kicks the crap out of four or five guys. ISTR it being fairly realistic. ISTR her being heavily pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/39 "2009-12-22T20:46:09Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > What about when Ripley went into mother bear mode in Aliens? The colonel marines got cut in half when they went into the nest. Something like 150 aliens are supposedly running around. But Ripley goes into the hive by herself and comes out alive. She only had to kill like 10 of 'em somehow. It’s about 100 when they first enter the nest. The director’s cut includes a shot of a signpost outside the colony that gives its exact population at around 120, and you have to figure that not every colonist got implanted. Some would have died fighting off the aliens. The marines get wiped out, but they do manage to kill some aliens. They also kill a bunch when Ripley breaks them out. In the director’s cut, there’s an additional scene before that where two sets of automatic sentry guns annihilate dozens and dozens of the creatures before their ammo runs out. And even more are killed when the aliens break into the control center and they have to retreat to the drop ship pick up zone. By the time Ripley goes into the nest to rescue Newt, it’s very likely that there’s only a dozen or so aliens left on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/40 "2009-12-22T20:55:38Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > ISTR her being heavily pregnant. What I meant was she was a cop; not supernatural, a god, a genetically engineered supersoldier, a computer simulation, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209.md?page=3)