Played By
Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu

Appeared In
Charlie’s Angels (2000), Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

Smoking hot even when kicking your ass, these three super agents made espionage sizzle on the screen, while also giving the blokes a run for their money in the action stakes. A fight scene against Crispin Glover’s The Thin Man is an example the series’ campy action value: slick, sexy, with plenty of martial arts wirework.     

Played By
Angelina Jolie

Appeared In
Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)

The object of many a gamers affections (exactly which “joy stick” they played with is best left unanswered), Lara Croft made the leap to the big screen through the guise of the eternally luscious Angelina Jolie. Yet eye candy aside, this adventuring archaeologist also excels in kicking ass while on the hunt for histories most coveted treasures, Jolie attracting wagging tongues while breaking bones.  

Played By
Geena Davis

Appeared In
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Granted, Thelma & Louise proved that the bookish Geena Davis had a wild side within her. Yet it would be her turn in The Long Kiss Goodnight that would see her go batshit crazy as amnesic assassin Charly Baltimore. Action hero status was placed upon her and with good reason, Davis excelling in the art of knife play and taking a hit better than her male counterparts. Almost erased the memory of the previous years’ Cutthroat Island. Almost.  

Played By
Michelle Pfeiffer

Appeared In
Batman Returns (1992)

Many pundits turn to Jack Nicholson’s Joker as the best villain in the first wave of Batman movies. Yet spare a thought for Michelle Pfieffer’s turns as the baddest kitty to wear black leather, Catwoman. Part feminist avenger, part seductive anti-hero, Catwoman brought fire and passion to Batman’s gloomy world and had viewers transfixed on every crack of her whip and word spoken from her sharp tongue. Make no mistake, when this Catwoman roared we wanted more. Halle Berry tried to repeat the same success, yet it just didn’t click.

Played By
Carrie Anne-Moss

Appeared In
The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Clad in tight black leather, Trinity had the boys giving the double take before flooring them with a roundhouse kick to their slack jawed heads. A loyal disciple to Morpheus’ (Lawrence Fishburne) belief in “The One” (Keanu Reeves), Trinity would find herself falling in love with the deadpan saviour. Yet puppy love or not, Trinity will have your ass for breakfast.

Played By: Anne Parillaud

Appeared In: La Femme Nikita (1990)

Has anyone else been able to make a cocktail dress seem so dangerous? In the annals of on screen assassins, Nikita remains unchallenged in merging sexy cool with trigger happy deadly. The creation of prolific French filmmaker Luc Besson, La Femme Nikita laid the groundwork which many action heroines tread upon, (Angelina Jolie wouldn’t have an action career if not for it). A Hollywood remake and TV adaptation tried to emulate its success, yet could not match it.

Played By
Linda Hamilton

Appeared In
The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

Nothing like a killer cyborg from the future baying for your blood to make you harder than a block of granite, and nuttier than s shit house rat. Yet that is exactly the character transformation which Sarah Connor went through between the first two Terminator movies, and what a beast she became in Judgement Day, Linda Hamilton turning in a commanding and credible performance as a mother at war with the future.

Played By
Michelle Yeoh & Zhang Ziyi

Appeared In
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Considering the sum of their parts in Crouching Tiger’s epic story, it was hard to separate Yun Shen Lien & Jen Yu from one another. Indeed, they proved to be the ying & yang of the Wu-Xiu hit, with Yun Shen Lien wise & noble, and Jen Yu impatient and cocky. When their swords finally clash it proved to be a fight sequence of such legendary proportions that Jet Li & Jackie Chan would have stumbled over themselves in admiration.

Played By
Uma Thurman

Appeared In
Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003), Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

Quentin Tarantino’s “roaring rampage of revenge” saw his muse Uma Thurman slicing and dicing across the globe as The Bride. With yellow leather bike suit worn as a homage to Bruce Lee’s Game of Death, Thurman is every bit the martial arts superstar in her quest to kill Bill (David Carradine), with much bloodshed in the process. Her destruction of an 88 man strong army a feature in any action junkies highlight reel.

Played By
Sigourney Weaver

Appeared In
Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Think these girls are tough? They didn’t have to take on a colossal, acid spewing monster whose lone purpose is to destroy everything in its wake. Yet that is exactly what Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley did, not once but four times. It was her exploits in Aliens, however, which made Ripley the kick ass heroine she was destined to be, facing off against the extraterrestrial monster and telling that bitch to shove her acid tongue up her arse. Pure guts, all glory.