Tonight marks the return of new episodes of the CW's "Nikita," which I've been dutifully watching mostly out of loyalty to the USA Network's "La Femme Nikita" (1997-2001). I've blogged before about "Nikita's" flaws, but I've come to believe that the lead actress, Maggie Q, is part of the problem. She's just not that believable as a kick-ass action star. She's so skinny that it's painful to watch the all too common scenes where she strolls around in a bikini. And her acting isn't bad in general, but it doesn't convey toughness.
This got me thinking about various actresses who've played tough heroines or villains in action movies or TV shows, and why some were good and others not so good.
Lucy Lawless: In real life, Lawless is kind of slender, but as Xena, she really looked like she was inflicting massive damage on the bad guys. Even better, when Xena was evil, Lawless was even better at depicting the mayhem and carnage in her wake. I'm not sure there's an actress who does a better job of snarling.
Angelina Jolie: I used to think that whole "carrying a vial of Billy Bob Thornton's blood on a necklace" thing was pretty weird, but that was a while ago. I haven't seen the Lara Croft movies, but seeing her in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and especially "Salt" has turned me into a believer in her fight scenes.
Summer Glau: Glau is petite, but in the movie "Serenity," she has a couple of amazing fight scenes -- basically her against dozens of much bigger opponents. She used to train ballet, and the fight choreographers tailored the fighting very effectively to her ballet skills.
Michelle Yeoh: I think she was the only Bond Woman who could plausibly have beaten up James Bond. Well, maybe Halle Berry too. Yeoh's been in a ton of Hong Kong movies, but this fight scene in the otherwise vastly overrated "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" explains her standing. The other actress, Ziyi Zhang probably belongs on the list too.
UPDATE (1/29): Steve Bainbridge weighs in, both in the comments here and at his own blog, with a video clip of his own.
In part because I am a massive fanboy of the franchise, o want to put in a plug for the two Sarah Connors, Lena Headey and Linda Hamilton. In Terminator 2, Linda Hamilton is seriously badass. And Lena Headey does a great job in the Fox series.
Posted by: Matthew Lewis | January 28, 2011 at 06:28 AM
Agreed, both LHs were great as Sarah Connor. I guess my post title conveyed a broader sense of action than what I was thinking, which was more of hand-to-hand action (or sword-type weapons).
Posted by: Tung Yin | January 28, 2011 at 07:26 AM
Sidney Bristow should probably also garner a mention.
Posted by: g | January 28, 2011 at 05:40 PM
Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker. Linda Hamilton in terminator 2 (not 1). But the best and greatest was Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2.
Posted by: Steve Bainbridge | January 29, 2011 at 01:55 PM
Jennifer Garner is a good selection, as would be Peta Wilson (Nikita in the USA Network version). I don't watch "Chuck" so can't really comment on Ms. Strahovski's screen fighting prowess. Linda Hamilton was pretty good in T2 (though possibly eclipsed on the acting front by Lena Headley) but I don't know if I'd put her up there with Lawless, Jolie, and others. I mean, she was good with a gun and I'm sure could beat me up, but in the movie, I seem to recall that she just beat up the creepy but obese orderly and the wimpy doctor.
Uma Thurman was quite good in "Kill Bill" but . . . I dunno. I mean, Scarlett Johannsen beat up a bunch of guys in "Iron Man 2" but I'm not rushing to put her on my list of best action actresses.
Posted by: Tung Yin | January 29, 2011 at 04:20 PM
First, Chuck is the best thing on TV and Sarah Walker is the baddest action heroine on TV. See, e.g., Chuck versus Phase Three. Second, The Bride could kick Xena or either Nikita's ass with one hand tied behind her back. Sidney Bristow would last about 10 seconds against Sarah Walker and about a nanosecond against The Bride. I'll concede that Mrs. Smith could probably take Sarah Walker, but not The Bride.
Posted by: Steve Bainbridge | January 29, 2011 at 10:24 PM
I'd like to put in a vote for Carrie Ann Moss as Trinity in The Matrix.
Just think about the opening scene where she kills the cops and then outruns the agents... her uber-competence is very sexy.
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