The female hero.

In most movies, the hero of the story is usually a man, and when it is a woman, it is often one that runs around in tight and/or skimpy clothes and lacks the attitude, so is not very believeable as being the only person able to stop whatever the threat might be.

So this thread is dedicated to the female hero, which is likely one of the most difficult roles to write for since to do it properly, she should not be too manly but not too feminine either. Its a delicate balance.
Let me start with a few well known examples.

Uma Thurman as the Bride in Kill Bill is a good example of a female (anti)hero if you ask me. Strong, determined, yet she can still be vurnerable and feminine.

Lucy Lawless as Xena is performing quite well despite the outfit and lesbian undertone later in the series and the low budget. There is strenght and personality, she pulled it off quite well against all odds, its just a shame she was not backed up by good writers and costume designers.

Halle Berry is terrible as both Storm in X-men and as Catwoman. Completely unbelieveable and a poor portrayal of characters with a lot of potential, characters that are supposed to have a strong personality.

Discuss.

Ripley from the Alien series instantly spring to mind as a good example.
She was well-written in Alien and Aliens(3 and 4 it just took a nose-dive).

Originally Posted by TB666

Ripley from the Alien series instantly spring to mind as a good example.
She was well-written in Alien and Aliens(3 and 4 it just took a nose-dive).

Well she is consider the first true female action heroine. three and four sucked because she demanded to be involved in the production and made constant script changes. In fact three was supposed to be a monastery, but they had to change it right in the middle of set production delaying the film a long time.

that is what happens when you let actors take too much control.


As for other heroines... well Milla Jovovich was great in Fifth Element as well as Joan of Arc.

Angelina Jolie was pretty decent in Salt (usually her acting is subpar IMHO...see tomb raider as example)

I agree that Jolie did very well in Salt and on that note I'd like to add that a good female hero doesn't necessarily have to be unattractive or less than good looking. Do note that casting directors pick male heroes on looks just as much.

I think so far for me the most believable female hero in film was Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in T2. Milla Jovovich does well within the cliché'd settings she has to work with, aswell.

Originally Posted by The Dude

I agree that Jolie did very well in Salt and on that note I'd like to add that a good female hero doesn't necessarily have to be unattractive or less than good looking. Do note that casting directors pick male heroes on looks just as much.

I think so far for me the most believable female hero in film was Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in T2. Milla Jovovich does well within the cliché'd settings she has to work with, aswell.

damn your right I forgot about Sarah connor. Definitely the best tough chick female heroine in my book.

My favourite heroine is Mathilde from a very long engagement. It is an excellent movie and the way Audrey Tautou play her is just pure awesomeness. It's not an action heroine but she is definatly a strong fighter.

But in general I think that women suffer from the fact that there are very few effective archetypical role models for action heroines. You have Jeanne d'Arc but otherwise you have to go for alternative characters like Trinity in Matrix or any female villain played by Tilda Swinton (Gabriel in Constantine and the white witch in the chronicles of Narnia).

From comic book side characters like Bat Woman, Wonder Woman have generally appeared as strong female characters...probably BEST was Jenny Sparks from Ellis's Stormwatch, pretty much a match for Ripely who along side Sarah Conners probably are the best female heroes in past 25 years.

any movie Milla Jovovich stars in

Jane Eyre ><

Originally Posted by Carloginias

Jane Eyre ><

Good call. I'd also suggest all those heroines of Jane Austen. True, they aren't action heroes, but they are well-rounded and realistic characters. Most of them are likable, with the exception of Emma, who becomes more likable at the end of the story.


Personally I like to see heroines who are neither unrealistic avatars of male phantasies, nor murdering psychos or otherwise disgusting characters. Unfortunately many writers seem to have difficulties with this. Something I really hate is when they take a skinny woman who is obviously and visibly untrained, and declare her a superb fighter that regularly trashes all sorts of opponents for no reason (especially male ones). Usually this absurdly unrealistic trait is coupled by an extremely unstable nature. Making for a thoroughly disgusting character in a film or other work of fiction.

Originally Posted by Jaketh

any movie Milla Jovovich stars in

Not the Resident Evil series for sure. She was good in Joan of Arc, I have to admit.

Originally Posted by paradamed

Not the Resident Evil series for sure. She was good in Joan of Arc, I have to admit.

Oh yes, even the Resident Evil movies. Especially the Resident Evil movies. This is about heroines. Not necessarily whether the movie is the best on the market or not.

Atia, from HBO's "Rome" was very, very, good...more of the anti-hero, though....

Domino
GI Jane
Fun characters.

Definatly some other great examples. Sarah Connor and Ripley definatly. Although in Aliens the many marines including a woman kind of outshine her on the heroic part though.

I am not sure about Jean of Arc being a rolemodel though, it is believed she did not actually fight and was mostly there to inspire the troops. Through history there never where much female warriors, but I am guessing some might have been part of mercenary groups or criminal groups since they wouldnt be allowed to join the army. The mindset was very different back then of course, but I am thinking that through history far more women have fought in battles than has been confirmed through documentations.

There are also plenty of games and even movies where there are as many female soldiers as male soldiers in historic settings, but I feel that this is just downplaying the role of female warriors in a desperate attempt to not appear sexist.
If female warriors are hardly accepted, they would need to prove themselves, and the very few that would be around would stand out more. I really like that about Mount and Blade, although there they may still be a bit too accepting since many accept it without any proof of ability.

Definitely some great examples of the "Action-type" Heroine, though, for me, women dressed in fetishist suits, beating and humiliating their (mostly) men opponents, is not my preferred heroine type. I prefer the underhanded, ruthless, y type of heroine who makes others get their hands dirty for her...

Buffy?

Maybe River Tam from Firefly - even though she was insane...

Nikita from Nikita, one of the first female anti-heroes I've seen in any film.

Scully?

Ripley is also obvious.

Matilda in Leon is a good heroine.