Salt is a promising new action-spy movie starring Angelina Jolie that’s coming out this week. It seems that there are more and more action movies starring women. With the action heroine such a growing phenomenon, we asked: What are the main types of action heroines? And who has done them best?

The Sword Expert

You aren’t likely to see a woman with a sword at your nearest Starbucks. But you will in this subgenre. And it’s difficult not to be a fan, since the subgenre offers martial arts, beautiful women, non-stop action, and of course swords.

Kill Bill: Using a blessed sword handmade by Hattori Hanzo, The Bride begins her relentless assault on the people who attacked her on her wedding day.

Lady Snowblood: Set in Japan, the story of Yuki, a young woman out for revenge, was a key influence for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Azumi is a young orphan raised to be a deadly assassin. With Japan at war, Azumi is the only hope for disposing of the deadly warlords who are wreaking havoc on the country.

Red Sonja: After suffering at the hands of Queen Gedren, warrior Red Sonja seeks vengeance. On her journey, she is aided by the mysterious Kalidor.

Ichi: Is a blind woman who roams about town with her shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese guitar). She has exceptional sword skills with which she fights off yakuza and other villains.

The Spy

Who came first, Anna Chapman or Angelina Jolie? It seems that more and more female spies are surfacing, both in real life, on TV and at the movies. Two new female spy TV series will premiere this fall. Undercovers features yet another married couple of spies. And a contemporary version of Nikita stars Maggie Q as the rebellious spy. Helen Mirren will play a female spy/killer in Red, hitting our screens this October. So if you see a woman with something that looks like a gun in her pants, it doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a man, she very well might be a spy…

Salt: Angelina Jolie stars as a CIA operative who goes on the run after being wrongly accused of being a Russian assassin out to take down the U.S. president.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt play extremely skilled professional assassins who have managed to stay married for five years without ever realizing each other’s profession.

Nikita: A beautiful junkie condemned to death for the murder of a policeman is given a chance to live - as a secret political assassin controlled by the government.

Charlie’s Angels: Three talented young women work for the mysterious Charles Townsend: Natalie, Dylan and Alex. Together they go undercover to investigate a devious tycoon.

Alias: Jennifer Garner stars as Sydney Bristow, a 26 year-old graduate student working for a secret division of the CIA.

The Weird

Here’s a summary of the five action heroes we have under this category: A martial artist teenager suffering from autism, a woman who has a machine gun instead of a leg, a 16-year-old girl who slays vampires, an armor-wearing lesbian, and a female killer who lives with her grandmother. “Weird” might be an understatement here…

Planet Terror: Cherry is a go-go dancer whose night is interrupted by a vicious zombie attack that leaves her missing a leg. Her ex-boyfriend takes charge, fashioning her a new leg from a machine gun. Together they start killing zombies.

Chocolate: Zen is an autistic teen who has the power to perform incredible physical feats. All she has to do is see someone do something, and she can do the same incredible moves.

Buffy: Buffy is an ordinary 16-year-old girl who learns she’s not so ordinary: she is the Slayer, a single exceptional girl who must battle with vampires, demons, and other supernatural bad guys.

Xena: The unusual blend of swords and sorcery, underlying lesbianism, and campy comedy gave Xena a fanatical fan base.

Pistol Opera: Miyuki is a female assassin who lives with her grandmother. She embarks on a difficult and dangerous mission to kill a rival killer.

The Sexy

Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Jane Fonda and Lynda Carter are not only beautiful women but also action stars. The slight problem with these films is their credibility: Who would want to fight them?

Bitch Slap: Guns, hand-to-hand combat, scantily clad women and plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor populate this guilty-pleasure throwback to ‘60s and ’70s exploitation films.

Barbarella: Jane Fonda plays a sexy yet innocent space-age heroine in the year 40,000 A.D. who never gets herself into a situation that requires too much clothing.

Wonder Woman: This superhero vixen used a gold whip, a magic belt, bulletproof bracelets and a magical lasso in her attempts at making the world a better place.

Tomb Raider: Angelina Jolie stars as Lara Croft - a tough, sexy, heavily armed adventurer, in this action film based on the wildly popular video game series of the same name.

Bandidas: Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek play south-of-the-border Thelma and Louise. Fed up with being pushed around, the ladies take up bank-robbing and find a new lease on life.

The Embarrassing

These are all action movies that shouldn’t have been made. The first three movies below are all sequels, so maybe there is a pattern: an action movie that is a sequel and has a female lead is destined for failure. As for the other two: any movie with Pamela Anderson will probably suck, and also any movie that was made in the last ten years and has Sharon Stone in it will also be bad (secluding Broken Flowers).

Catwoman: Halle Berry plays a shy, reserved young woman, who a mysterious cat is responsible for both killing and bringing back to life with superpowers.

Barb Wire: Pamela Anderson Lee mounts the title role in this tale of a futuristic bar owner who accepts mercenary jobs on the side in the only non-dictator-controlled city in the nation.

Elektra: Elektra is a professional assassin with special skills. Although the movie had some impressive fight scenes, the main thing it made viewers do is yawn.

Resident Evil: Extinction: This third film of the series lacked plot or logic. It did have Alice (Milla Jovovich) trekking her way across the desolate landscape, fighting zombies and the Umbrella Corporation.

The Next Karate Kid: Hillary Swank took over Ralph Macchio’s role from the first three films. Let’s just say it’s a good thing she had the chance to make up for it with Million Dollar Baby and Boys Don’t Cry.

It’s interesting to see that none of these movies presenting strong females characters was directed by a woman. Maybe a hint at the male identity of the directors is the fact that most of the heroines don’t especially like wearing clothes…

Did I contribute anything to the understanding of movies in this post? No.
Did I contribute anything to the understanding of women in this post? No.
Did I contribute anything to the understanding of women in movies in this post? No.
Did I contribute anything to the understanding of women in action movies in this post? Even here the answer is still no.
Did I enjoy choosing the pictures for this post? Yes!!!

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