Lara Croft II, Elektra, Catwoman, Aeon Flux and Resident Evil were all dismal at the box office.
The Underworld movies did ok, but mostly only with Underworld fans probably same for the original Lara Croft
Bloodrayne hasn’t even been released and it looks like a living joke
And Milla Jovovich has some new cliche ridden futuristic action flick called UltraViolet.
Really only Kill Bill is the only film in that genre (unless you want to also count Trinity’s contribution to The Matrix) that can be described as a good film.
So the questions are:
How many more bad movies about ass-kicking chicks will they continue to make?
Why didn’t they just take the best elements from each movie and just make one good one?
How many actresses are left in Hollywood who can believeably play an ass kicking chick?
I dunno, but I don’t think they’re great for the image of woman. I think the “empowerment” thing they’re trying to convey is backfiring. I always thought one of the strong points of being a woman was that they didn’t have to kick the shit out of anyone to be powerful. We’ve had that over our male counterparts historically. We were superior in that respect and have since kinda been sucked into believing in braun over brain.
I’m sure that’s not what you were looking for here, but it’s been bugging me for a while. Sorry for the hijack.
Jennifer Garner’s done okay for herself playing Sydney Bristow.
For a long time in movies, women were always rescued by men. First they would simply scream in a corner while the man fights for “his woman.” Then they started fighting back, but they still needed the man to rescue them in the end. Then the women started doing the ass kicking herself. I prefer the latter, myself, though I also like it when a female character is strong (mentally/emotionally) without being an uber bad ass.
I don’t mind women being rescued by men, sometimes, but I hate those women in movies who stand in the corner and scream and don’t make any attempt to take care of herself. I’m screaming at the screen, “For god’s sake, woman, do something for yourself!”
I think the biggest mistake those movies do is implant in people’s minds the idea that a woman (or a man, for that matter) could actually fight half a dozen men and walk away from it.
I guess the studio execs figured if we enjoy watching some dude kick the crap out of 20 badguys, we’d love it even more if it was a super-hot girl doing the ass whupin’.
All the movies mentioned in the first line of your OP didn’t do poorly because they featured an ass kicking sexy woman, the did poorly because they sucked. (Confession: haven’t see them all, but feel confident saying they sucked nonetheless.) And from what I’ve heard Bloodrayne would have be completely redone before it would rise to the level of sucking. Underworld was mediocre and did OK. Kill Bill was very good, and did well.
Make a good ass-kicking hottie flick, and it will do well. I’d love to see a live action version of Ghost in the Shell SAC, though I shudder to think what Hollywood would do to it. “Perhaps you should switch from video games to anime, Mr. Boll.”
Until everybody’s convinced there’s no more money in it, they’ll keep making them. And even then, I doubt they’ll quit forever. So my answer is “some large number.” They’ve been making movies like this for decades, after all.
I haven’t seen Serenity but from what I understand it mainly only appealed to Firefly fans. Besides, I wouldn’t call it a ass-kicking chick movie, more of a movie with an ass-kicking chick in it (like The Matrix).
Doesn’t count. Ripley did not wear a tight leather outfit and roundhouse kick Aliens in the face like Chuck Norris.
Did Resident Evil do so bad at the box office? They did make a sequil and I think they’re working on another. I don’t know if you want to add Charlie’s Angels in here somewhere…
I think it’s still plenty popular on TV, though, isn’t it? I haven’t had cable in a while. IIRC, the original formula was “Female empowerment for the women, T & A for the men. Plus action.”
Hell, if TV counts, then Buffy’s the most successful example and probably a big reason for the genre’s proliferation.
Honestly, I don’t care about the gender of the protagonist, but a strong asskicking feminist is still enough of a novelty to be interesting. The movie still has to be good, overall.
1) How many more bad movies about ass-kicking chicks will they continue to make?
Thirty years from now, once the well is dry and the genre has long surpassed exhaustion, there will be seven more.
2) Why didn’t they just take the best elements from each movie and just make one good one?
Because there aren’t enough “best elements” yet to make a good one.
3) How many actresses are left in Hollywood who can believeably play an ass kicking chick?
This one is tough. All those actresses are probably background characters in other films/TV shows.
What I never understood is all the acrobatics used in “ass-kicking chick” movies. Well, I know why it’s there, I just see it as unnecessary. Ass-Kicking Dude would just pull a gun. I guess I’m just sick of all the lame kung-fu, especially non-Kryptonians being able to fly because they studied martial arts.
I agree with Kalhoun. How about a movie where a male hero uses his wits?
They’ve been making movies like this for decades, after all.