My Top 5 Female Action Characters

#5

Katniss Everdeen – The Hunger Games (Ross, 2012)

Introduced in Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games novel trilogy, Katniss Everdeen (portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence) is easily classed as an action heroine in the first installment. With her choice weapon of a bow and arrow she tactically fights her way to becoming a victor of the cruel Games.

In one scene, before entering the Arena, Katniss must show the Gamemakers what she is capable of to earn a score; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGVwn6xmCeI.

As she prepares herself to begin, a close up shot is employed of her hand moving across the bow, implying that she is familiar to that type of weapon, and she may also be trying to calm her nerves before starting. When she looks at the Gamemakers it is obvious that they are of higher class to her as they have expensive looking clothes on and glamorously-styled hair, compared to her simple braid and dull coloured training outfit. This is also shown as they are physically in a higher position to her. As they are talking amongst themselves, Katniss shouts her name to make them aware of her presence; as everything goes quiet it shows her as having slightly more power.

As she takes her stance there is high key lighting directed onto her, and paired with the silence it shows how she is under observation and how the focus is all on her. When she misses and decides to try again, as she goes into the stance she is half in high key lighting, suggesting that the focus is elsewhere. The soft music playing in the background could be representative of her focusing on herself rather than what’s going on around her. When Katniss hits the target in the exact center she looks up to find that no one was watching. Her facial expression suggests that she is annoyed by this, which changes to anger and determination when she quickly picks up another arrow and shoots the apple in the pig’s mouth. The fluidity and swiftness in which she did this shows how good she is with the weapon. Once she has got their attention, she mockingly bows and says thank you, empowering herself even further before walking out.

#4 

Lara Croft – Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (West, 2001)

In this film based off a popular video game, Angelina Jolie stars as famous ‘tomb raider’ Lara Croft, a rich, British woman who ventures to different ruins and temples around the world to collect ancient artifacts. She is a skilled fighter in hand-to-hand and weapon combat, which in itself makes her one of the most famous female action characters ever.

In one scene in the film, Lara Croft’s home is invaded and so she needs to defend it and herself from people trying to steal from her; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzjEYhUtRGc.

At the start of the scene she is shown arming herself with a big gun and talking to Bryce through a headset, which immediately puts her in a position of female empowerment, as usually the women are the ones ‘behind-the-scenes’ and not the ones fighting. She has her hair in her usual braid – for practicality rather than fashion – and is wearing pyjamas, showing that she was caught unawares. The fact that she was not expecting the robbery also makes her a strong female character as it shows that she is always prepared to fight. She easily kills a man and avoids being shot herself putting herself in a stronger position than the men that are there. The line “I just found my car keys” whilst being shot at suggests that she is completely calm despite the circumstances. As she turns the headlights of all her cars on, she is still in the shadows and lighted by the small red light of the keys. The colour red could symbolise danger and blood, however the fact that she is in the shadows could suggest that she is the dangerous one.

The use of a motorcycle portrays masculinity, and the fact that she can still successfully fire a gun whilst driving it shows her skill level to be above average.

#3

Irene Adler – Sherlock Holmes (Ritchie, 2009)

Although not a main character in this film, Irene Adler (portrayed by Rachel McAdams) still engages in her fair share of action in Ritchie’s take on the famous detective stories. Part of what makes her stint in action more memorable is the fact that she retains her femininity and uses it to her advantage, as shown at the end of her introductory scene, in which Sherlock Holmes is following her after she visited him; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZIwFS-j2y4.

She is wearing brightly coloured clothes which allow her to stand out, and her femininity is shown through the flowers arranged on her hat. She is stopped in the alleyway by a man, which would usually end badly for a woman in Victorian London; she is shown to be meticulously made up with a pale face and dark coloured lips, hinting at danger. Her acceptance of the bunch of flowers with a kind smile and high pitched soft tone gives her attacker a false sense of innocence, which is then contrasted when she is approached from behind and put in a position in which she is meant to be made to feel inferior. She then produces a small baton out of the sleeve of her dress and beats the man up before producing a knife on the other man. The fact that she has these weapons well hidden on her person again suggests a danger about her. The music changes to become more upbeat showing that this could be a regular thing (supported by Holmes’ line “That’s the Irene I knew”) and that she’s not in any real danger. She asserts her power by pushing the man against the wall and holding a knife at his throat as she takes his belongings. A close up shot is then employed to show the audience that even though she may look innocent and feminine (also shown by the fact that she keeps the flowers), she can still be a powerful adversary.

#2

Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) – Iron Man 2 (Favreau, 2010)

Although most well known as an action heroine through her role in The Avengers and more recently Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow was still just as badass in her introduction to the Marvel universe in Iron Man 2. She is dressed for battle in a skintight black catsuit, and although she is probably seen as a sex symbol among most of the male viewers, she still proves that she can fight like (perhaps better than) the rest of them in this scene in the second installment of the Iron Man series; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vTmPjleI8o.

The high key lighting of the corridors emphasises her black suit and red hair; this could reflect how when spiders are more dangerous, they have bright colours. Her use of the different gadgets shows how she’s intelligent with technology in the way that helps her fight. The pleonastic sound effects that accompany her various fighting moves are used to highlight her flexibility and swiftness, and to empasise her brutal methods of rendering these men unconscious. Also, the fact that all her opponents are men reflects female empowerment. The constant focus on her legs, whether wrapping around a man’s neck to pull him down or when she goes into a kneeling fighting stance, also reflects female empowerment and links to how she can be seen as a sex object; it shows how she can be dangerous with her feminine features.

One key moment in the scene is when she has just beaten all those men and as she starts to ‘strut’ away, she pepper-sprays an oncoming adversary. The use of the pepper spray is key because even though she has proved herself better than most men in her hand-to-hand combat, she uses the one weapon that most women have to protect themselves against men, therefore once again showing how femininity can be dangerous.

#1

Elizabeth Swann – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Verbinski, 2007)

A key character throughout the three films she was a part of, Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann will always be considered one of the best female action characters due to her extensive character development plot line. When first introduced in The Curse of the Black Pearl as the Governor’s daughter she has since dropped the dress and became a swashbuckling pirate alongside Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). The third and final installment in her storyline is key as she takes not one but two roles on that were meant for men; she becomes Captain of a ship with a crew of just men, then becomes the Pirate King, knocking gender roles out of focus.

One of her main storylines does however take on the usual female character aspects; her relationship with Will Turner. After its fair share of turbulence, the two finally get married in the most unusual of circumstances; in the middle of the final quintessential battle. However, it is the way Elizabeth is presented that is key in this scene; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvenEcIHw8E.

The outfit that Elizabeth is wearing would not have been deemed appropriate attire for a woman in that period of time, and she blends in well with her fellow male pirates whilst wearing colours that don’t particularly make her stand out, with the only indication showing that she is different being that her hair has been let down and is loose; which could be to show her femininity.

It is important that there is a mix between action and romance in this scene (also shown through the music switching from fast paced, action type to slow, sweet and romantic) as that is what Elizabeth’s character is representational of; it is also important to notice that whilst getting married, they are both fighting the villains, and it is not a case of Will defending Elizabeth. She fights as many opponents as Will does, showing them on equal terms, and this is solidified when saying their vows as they each ask the other. The happiness shown in her facial expression as they are getting married reflects how although she may be King and Captain, both very masculine roles, she still has the qualities of any female in tact, and shows that she can have the best of both worlds.