Superhero and Action Movies That Actually Feature Powerful Women

There’s massive room for improvement when it comes to seeing women in superhero films that aren’t relegated to being the love interest. Who can forget SNL’s painfully accurate spoof of what just might happen if Marvel ever DID come out with a Black Widow movie (I love you, Scarlett Johansson, I love you so, so much)? But there have been moments - beautiful, brief, glimpses - into what the world could look like if superhero movies would live up to the promise of the likes of Mystique, Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow. Here, you’ll find Film Fish’s list of the ten best superhero and action movies featuring powerful women. When you’re done glorying in the rad femme-ness of it all, head on over to Film Fish’s site for binge-worthy movie lists curated by film buffs instead of some random algorithm. In other words, NO, Netflix, I do NOT want to watch Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws just because my kid sneaked onto my account ONCE and screwed up what you erroneously think my tastes are.

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

My absolute favorite part of Avengers 2: Age of Ultron was Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, aka The Black Widow. She’s an essential part of other films too, like Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it’s not until Ultron rears his ugly head that she gets SO REAL. Of course she keeps kicking butt, riding motorcycles off moving planes, and keeping Hulk calm and a part of the team, but what I love about her here is the emotional scene where she talks to Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner about her forced sterilization as the traumatic end to her early training as a spy. She’s tough, AND she can talk about her feelings. Awesome. Scarlet Witch, portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen, is also hecka cool and I love her similar complexity as a character, even in this early stage of her development.

X-Men: First Class

In X-Men: First Class we have J-Law, rocking Mystique like no one ever has before. Thankfully this film started down the right track with her and shows her complexity as a character, making her a bigger part of the action. I love how essential her role is to helping us understand Magneto and why he makes some of the choices he does; their chemistry is so solid, not just as a couple but as used and abused mutants who aren’t going to trust the humans ever again.

Catwoman

I am NOT saying that Catwoman was a great movie. (No one is saying that.) And I’m also not saying that Halle Berry was amazing here or anything. But the creation of Patience Phillips as a character here deserves some props. Catwoman as portrayed in this film is actually, for the first time, a powerful superhero (or anti-hero, if you prefer), with agility, speed, and the ability to sense things others can’t , which definitely takes the character in the right direction. While her transformation mainly went from meek wallflower to leather-bedecked eye candy, there’s potential here that could have been so, so much more - and maybe someday it will.

Tomb Raider

While perhaps it isn’t the highest compliment to Angelina Jolie to say that she played a great video game heroine, she certainly made for an absurdly fun Lara Croft. Was she a hottie for the ogling or something more? She was, unquestionably, the protagonist of this film, and she takes her role very seriously. It’s good to watch because it offers up a suggestion for how female action heroes (and superheroes) can play on the big screen without a man to rescue them - and maybe next time the costume designers can help us keep our eyes up a little higher.

X-Men: The Last Stand

Famke Janssen plays a berserk Dr. Jean Grey in this final installment of the original X-Men film trilogy (she’s also seen in X-Men, X2: X-Men United and X-Men: Days of Future Past). She’s a deeply sympathetic character for all powerful women; as we learn in this film, her powers of telepathy and telekinesis, seemingly otherwise unlimited, were involuntarily constrained by Professor Xavier, presumably for her own protection. Hopefully even more of her incredible power will come out in X-Men: Apocalypse when Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) has a turn with the role.

The Hunger Games

Tell me Katniss Everdeen isn’t a superhero to my face. Also, why am I not surprised to see Jennifer Lawrence here again? That girl. While her powers technically fall within the limits of what mortals can accomplish, she somehow manages NOT to die in a “game” in which everyone like her does, then does it again...then rallies an entire nation to overthrow the government. ‘Nuff said. Unfortunately the love triangle does get in the way a bit. The next time someone asks you whether you’re Team Gale or Team Peeta, just tell ‘em you’re Team Katniss (I know I am).

Batman Returns

Michelle Pfeiffer for best Catwoman - that’s my vote, and I’m not ashamed to say it. Pfeiffer was more of a human Catwoman than a superhero like Halle Berry’s interpretation, but she did have nine lives (which would be pretty great). She was the first to take Catwoman a step away from her villainous beginnings to become more of an anti-hero with conflicted inner turmoil (her love for Bruce Wayne is a bit meh, but this was definitely a start).

Terminator 2

While she isn’t the main action hero of the first Terminator film, Sarah Connor is a major character in the sequel. She’s tough, she’s spirited, she’s the main human hero, and she really carries the movie forward. This isn’t a damsel in distress - it’s a strong woman who knows how to hold a gun and smoke a cigarette at the same time (not saying that’s a good idea, but it does look awfully Tom Cruise bad boy cool).

X-Men: Days of Future Past

While I’m a big fan of Jennifer Lawrence’s interpretation of Mystique, I also loved Rebecca Romijn’s take on the character. She was a bit simplistic, but I still loved her best. That being said, a major draw in all of the X-Men films for me is Storm - her powers are amazing, she’s always on the good guys’ side despite her incredible abilities to control the weather, and she even steps in as the leader when Professor X gets disintegrated in X-Men: The Last Stand. She’s a super cool, powerful mutant leader from the beginning of the series, and I personally wouldn’t mind seeing a standalone film about her (instead of another one about Wolverine, as much as I love Hugh Jackman and his portrayal of the character).

Salt

This movie just gives me chills thinking about it. Salt is amazing because the film was written for a male star - and then they cast Angelina Jolie. And it WORKED, because as it turns out, when you write for an action hero, you don’t need to add hot pink high heels, a distracting love triangle, and pretty hair to make it work. It made close to three times its budget worldwide and it was compelling to a fault. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time because I just didn’t know WHAT to believe.

For even more take-charge women in cinema, check out these lists of badass female leads and women who make for some crazy unique superheroes.