Linda Hamilton
With women still fighting for their right for equal pay, there’s one thing they can be sure of: when it comes to being bad-ass, they’re equal all the way.
To celebrate the release of Dragonball Evolution on April 8th , a film containing two feisty females who show the boys one or two things about ‘feminism’ via the method of kicking some ass, we’ve put together a list of the 5 strongest, scariest, toughest women ever to fight their way across the screen.
5. Angelina Jolie in Wanted
Okay so pretty much every other movie Angelina has been in, she could be classed as pretty bad-ass. Even in Changeling, she still manages to come off as force to be reckoned with. But it’s her performance in Wanted, as highly-skilled assassin Fox, that truly cemented her status as a woman you wouldn’t wanna annoy. Even just a bit.
In fact, a TV ad for the film was recently pulled as Angelina was blamed for making guns and violence seem sexy. Even if you were her next target, chances are you wouldn’t put up much of a fight.
Most Bad-Ass Line: ‘I want you to curve the bullet’
Most Bad-Ass Moment: Leaning out of a fast car, with a gun, shooting the life out of her pursuer. At this point you’re not sure if you want her to kiss you or kill you.
4. Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns
Ignoring the foul-smelling odour that Halle Berry left on the screens in 2004, the definitive Catwoman has to be Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1992 sequel Batman Returns.
We already knew she was hot but no one could have guessed that she would look this good in a leather cat-suit. Purring and slinking around, this Catwoman cements her place as one of the sexiest female villains ever to grace the screen. Cue poorly conceived cat pun.
Most Bad-Ass Line: ‘I am Catwoman. Hear me roar.’
Most Bad-Ass Moment: Back-flipping into the middle of a Batman/Penguin tête-à-tête, Michelle gives out a ‘meow’ and a building behind her explodes. Both are suitably taken.
3. Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Playing mainly the victim in the first film, well up until the finale at least, Linda Hamilton finally showed us what she was made of in T2.
As the troubled Sarah Connor, she tried to warn everyone that they were coming but no one listened. By the end of the movie, after she had fought and shot her way to victory, they started to take notice.
Not many actresses could convince us that they could take on an android in a fight but Linda Hamilton was a force to be reckoned with.
Sadly, only a voiceover is what we can expect from her in the upcoming Terminator:Salvation. It’s probably for the best anyway; if she was back in person, then the battle would be over way too quickly.
Most Bad-Ass Line: ‘There's 215 bones in the human body. That's one.’
Most Bad-Ass Moment: Watching her, mistakenly put away for being crazy, it’s clear that Sarah Connor isn’t someone you should restrain. Finally snapping and stabbing her doctor in the knee, she quips next time she sees him, ‘Good Morning, Dr. Silberman. How's the knee?’
2. Uma Thurman in Kill Bill
It was a long time coming. All those years wasted, trying to figure out the truth about cats and dogs and being unfortunate enough to star in both The Avengers and Batman & Robin. Then finally in 2003, Uma unleashed her bad-ass side and we all thanked Tarantino a whole bunch.
As the multi-named heroine, done wrong by her assassin ex-colleagues, Uma spent two entire films getting her own back. Blood was shed. Bodies fell. Daryl Hannah lost an eye. In Kill Bill Parts 1 and 2, Uma Thurman fought her way to the top of Hollywood’s deadliest women.
Most Bad-Ass Line: ‘I am gonna ask you questions. And every time you don't give me answers, I'm gonna cut something off. And I promise you, they will be things you will miss. Give me your other arm!’
Most Bad-Ass Moment: Easy. Buried alive by Michael Madsen, it seemed that Uma was done with. But against all odds, she fought her way out of a coffin. Not something most of us could count as a talent.
1. Sigourney Weaver in Aliens
Ripley - the original bad-ass female and still one of the best. Spanning four films, over almost 20 years, Sigourney Weaver was probably the first woman to take control of an action film and kick some serious ass.
After the first instalment, she had created a strong screen presence but by the time Aliens arrived in 1986, it was tough to know who was scarier: the Aliens or Ripley herself. Rumours persist of a 5th movie and even at the age of 59, predominantly slumming it in TV movies, Weaver would still show those creatures who to truly fear.
Most Bad-Ass Line: ‘Get away from her, you bitch!’
Most Bad-Ass Moment: Taking on the alien queen, with a giant mechanical machine, Weaver manages to have you totally on her side but also kinda worried for what the hell she’s gonna bring down on that pesky alien. All this and an Oscar nomination in the process.
Dragonball Evolution is released 8th April
Tagged in Aliens