# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/61 "2009-12-23T03:01:03Z")
The original Gloria. Man, Gena Rowlins knows how to get pissed. The Long Kiss Goodnight and Aliens-- two of my favorite action movies because I love seeing the ladies kick ass. And, to go back even further than Gloria, does anyone remember Lady Kung Fu? She had wood balls at the end of her long braid and she would take guys eyes out by swinging her head. ---
**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 23, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/62 "2009-12-23T03:16:09Z")
In the TV Show **Relic Hunter** , Tia Carrera played a _college professor_ who would routinely beat the shit out of several thugs in each episode. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/63 "2009-12-23T03:21:55Z")
Batgirl! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFidlZdAQxg&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFidlZdAQxg&feature=related) The Batgirl 1967 pilot [is pretty funny, too.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVx9enFV3Gc&feature=related) ---
**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 23, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/64 "2009-12-23T03:23:09Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Speaking of being unclear on the concept, the OP asked about films in which a woman defeats multiple men in combat. “Showgirls” doesn’t qualify. Neither, in fact, do a number of your entries. Which is why I specifically introduced my list as a related genre. They’re all tough broad movies; the number of combatants is pure mechanics. And by the way, about half of the titles in this thread should be subject to the same kind of junior modding. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/65 "2009-12-23T04:07:16Z")
[La Femme Nikita](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100263/) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/66 "2009-12-23T07:38:47Z")
I’ve never actually seen it, but [Sister Street Fighter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073714/) sounds like it could fit the bill…TRM ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/67 "2009-12-23T12:24:03Z")
Geena Davis in _Cutthroat Island_. Michelle Yeoh in _Tomorrow Never Dies_. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/68 "2009-12-23T14:02:15Z")
The latest China-produced version of _Mulan_: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elruG28ga7w) Raging Phoenix: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSHl498BLTo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSHl498BLTo) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/69 "2009-12-23T15:03:40Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > [La Femme Nikita](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100263/) Not to mention the remake, \*\*Point of No Return \*\*with \*\*Bridget Fonda \*\*and the USA Networks TV series with **Peta Wilson**. Over 50 posts and no one mentioned \*\*Lucy Lawless \*_in **Xena** _? Or **Gina Torres** in **Firefly**? Or\*\* Jennifer Garner \*\*in **Alias**? \*One of my favorite Simpson quotes: Lisa: Wait a minute! Xena can’t fly! Lucy Lawless: I told you, I’m not Xena. I’m Lucy Lawless. ---
**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 23, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/70 "2009-12-23T16:42:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Over 50 posts and no one mentioned \*\*Lucy Lawless \*_in **Xena** _? Superpowers > [@](#): > > Or **Gina Torres** in **Firefly**? Trained soldier, uses guns almost exclusively > [@](#): > > Or\*\* Jennifer Garner \*\*in **Alias**? Trained martial artist/secret agent. Never gave a thrashing to multiple guys and had to struggle to beat men who were often just mooks. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/71 "2009-12-23T17:04:18Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > N > Over 50 posts and no one mentioned \*\*Lucy Lawless \*_in **Xena** _? > [/SIZE] Well Lucy isn’t frail and wispy. She’s solidly built. ---
**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 23, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/72 "2009-12-23T20:25:15Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Yeah I’ve heard his commentary, recorded and live. He doesn’t get the movie and his commentary is an immense disservice to it. Again, pretending the rape scene isn’t there instead of trying to understand it is borderline offensive. The rape isn’t entertaining enough, so skip it. Rape scenes should be entertaining, not brutal. Don’t want to hijack this thread further, but I’m pretty sure his argument wasn’t that it wasn’t entertaining enough, it was that the movie was so completely awful and devoid of realism or character development, it hadn’t even begun to ‘earn’ the right to portray something so awful in such a violent fashion. It was like splicing _Irréversible_ into _The Room_. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/73 "2009-12-23T20:26:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > 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. And of course if Ripley had had the smarts God gave a goose she would not have pissed off the alien queen like that, but left her with ovipositor and eggs intact and returned safely to the _Sulaco_, where she could have nuked the site from orbit. Or, you know, just waited for the fusion plant to blow of its own accord. :smack: ---
**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 23, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/74 "2009-12-23T20:31:04Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Don’t want to hijack this thread further, but I’m pretty sure his argument wasn’t that it wasn’t entertaining enough, it was that the movie was so completely awful and devoid of realism or character development, it hadn’t even begun to ‘earn’ the right to portray something so awful in such a violent fashion. It was like splicing _Irréversible_ into _The Room_. Yeah, no. He sells \*Showgirls \*as a camp hoot, and that scene is just a wet blanket tossed on his oblivious party. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/75 "2009-12-23T20:40:34Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > And of course if Ripley had had the smarts God gave a goose she would not have pissed off the alien queen like that, but left her with ovipositor and eggs intact and returned safely to the _Sulaco_, where she could have nuked the site from orbit. Or, you know, just waited for the fusion plant to blow of its own accord. :smack: I think the moment Ripley stumbled into the ovichamber, the next chain of events was a done deal. It seemed Ripley and the queen were working on an unspoken deal of “you let me have my kid, I’ll let you have yours” but neither one of them had any intention of holding up their end of the bargain. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/76 "2009-12-23T22:01:32Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I think the moment Ripley stumbled into the ovichamber, the next chain of events was a done deal. It seemed Ripley and the queen were working on an unspoken deal of “you let me have my kid, I’ll let you have yours” but neither one of them had any intention of holding up their end of the bargain. Classic [Prisoner’s Dilemma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma), really. The optimal result for both is if they each keep their end of the bargain, but the temptation for either to welsh on the deal is irresistible. Yet I suspect the Queen would have sat tight on her functioning ovipositor if Ripley had let it be. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/77 "2009-12-23T22:06:20Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > And of course if Ripley had had the smarts God gave a goose she would not have pissed off the alien queen like that, but left her with ovipositor and eggs intact and returned safely to the _Sulaco_, where she could have nuked the site from orbit. Or, you know, just waited for the fusion plant to blow of its own accord. :smack: Remember; she didn’t open fire until one of the eggs opened. Then she gave the Queen a _look_, and only then opened fire. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/78 "2009-12-23T22:11:23Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Well Lucy isn’t frail and wispy. She’s solidly built. She’s not “beat up ten armored warriors” built. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Quote: > Or Gina Torres in Firefly? > > Trained soldier, uses guns almost exclusively And the mooks these girls beat up are always untrained soldiers and spys? I suppose you are right though that she isn’t an “ass kicking chick” in the same sense as little River Tam beating the crap out of a bar full of goons. > [@Malacandra](#): > > Classic Prisoner’s Dilemma, really. The optimal result for both is if they each keep their end of the bargain, but the temptation for either to welsh on the deal is irresistible. Yet I suspect the Queen would have sat tight on her functioning ovipositor if Ripley had let it be. Not really. Since the reactor was going to blow or they were going to nuke the site from orbit, there is not optimal result for the queen that saves her eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/79 "2009-12-23T22:23:36Z")
Drew Barrymore beats up five muscleheads in [Charlie’s Angels](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXwOKFnEUtI). ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209/80 "2009-12-23T22:49:57Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The gals of\*\* Sin City\*\*. Can you give an example? I know the prostitutes of Basin City are the most militant feminists you’ll ever meet, happy to shoot and/or castrate any man who messes with them, but I was unaware any of them were preternaturally superior fighters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grrrl-power-movies-movies-where-a-woman-defeats-multiple-men-in-combat/522209.md?page=5)