These heroines are smart, fierce, and criminally underrated. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for cinematic leading ladies that you shouldn’t sleep on.
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00:00You think I can't take him?
00:01Now you've probably scared the other ones away.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:07for cinematic leading ladies that you shouldn't sleep on.
00:10These heroines are smart, fierce, and criminally underrated.
00:14If you have the ability, then don't use a sword.
00:17It's not good to use a weapon to fight a friend.
00:24Number 10.
00:25Ruby Roundhouse.
00:26The Jumanji franchise.
00:28Ruby Roundhouse often gets lost in the ensemble of Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle.
00:33Strengths, karate, tai chi, aikido, dance fighting?
00:38Dance fighting?
00:38Is it even a thing?
00:40Weakness, venom.
00:43But don't be fooled.
00:44She is a badass.
00:45Shy and intelligent high school student, Martha Capley,
00:49transforms into Ruby after entering the world of Jumanji.
00:52Ruby in turn is a fearless and skilled warrior,
00:56shedding her shy exterior.
00:58Martha quickly embraces the change.
01:00I never tell anyone how I...
01:04I'm into you too, Spencer.
01:08You are?
01:08Yes.
01:09Yes!
01:09As a result, her character development is among the strongest in the film,
01:13growing in both confidence and leadership.
01:16Most importantly, Ruby is a master of martial arts and dance fighting,
01:20making her combat scenes among the most memorable in the franchise,
01:24thanks to Karen Gillan's athleticism and comedic timing.
01:27Ruby holds her own with The Rock, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black.
01:40Number 9.
01:41Cassie Thomas, Promising Young Woman.
01:44Writer and director Emerald Fennell made a huge splash with her feature debut,
01:49Promising Young Woman.
01:50Hey, I said what are you doing?
01:54In it, Carrie Mulligan stars as Cassie, a complex lead with dark motivations.
02:00Cassie is out for revenge against the man who assaulted her best friend Nina,
02:03and those who allowed it to go unpunished.
02:06That's a shame.
02:08I was hoping it'd feel differently by now.
02:10Sorry, but you're sick.
02:11I was hoping it'd feel different by now.
02:13Cunning and clever, she executes a complicated revenge plot with meticulous precision.
02:19While in deep emotional pain, Cassie masks her rage with a thin veneer of fragility.
02:24Her motivations make her incredibly compelling and relatable.
02:28You know what? Not interested, sweetheart.
02:30Nah, why don't you take crazy somewhere else?
02:31You're not even that hot.
02:35You're hardly dropping panties yourself, Paul.
02:38When was the last time you scored in daylight?
02:43Careful.
02:44No, you be careful.
02:46Her story is an unsettling but powerful commentary on assault,
02:50trauma, and the impact of attitudes towards women and consent.
02:54Number 8.
02:55Zoe Bell, Abernathy Ross, and Kim Mathis.
02:58Death Proof.
02:59The 2007 B-action film, Death Proof,
03:02is an often overlooked entry in Quentin Tarantino's filmography.
03:06No, she didn't.
03:07How do you know?
03:08I'm good that way.
03:12And you look a little too shade.
03:13What's too shade?
03:14Wounded slightly.
03:16It stars Kurt Russell as stuntman Mike McKay,
03:19who uses his modified car to murder women.
03:22Mike's bloody crusade comes to a crashing end
03:25when he goes after the wrong friends.
03:27The ladies of Death Proof include Tracy Toms,
03:30future Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson,
03:33and famed stuntwoman Zoe Bell.
03:35So let's hear it, ladies.
03:37Step romances.
03:38Who's getting it off?
03:39That would be Lee and Toolbox.
03:42Oh, Toolbox.
03:44Name sounds promising.
03:45Zoe does some incredible high-speed stunts of her own,
03:48barely hanging onto the hood of a fast-moving car.
03:51Ultimately, when they recover from Mike's attack,
03:53they go on the offensive,
03:55giving the killer a taste of his own medicine.
03:57Let's kill this bastard.
03:59While not the most well-rounded characters,
04:01the squad in Death Proof are undeniably tough as nails.
04:05Number 7.
04:06Lola.
04:07Run, Lola, Run.
04:08Run, Lola, Run is a quintessential 90s fever dream,
04:11and one of the most overlooked films of the decade.
04:21Franco Patenta stars as the titular red-haired Lola,
04:24a Berlin native whose boyfriend works for the mob.
04:27When he accidentally loses 100,000 Deutschmarks of his boss's money,
04:31he turns to Lola for help.
04:33She has only 20 minutes to find an alternative source of funds.
04:37The film follows Lola down three divergent paths,
04:40ultimately landing on the one where she's successful.
04:59It's a pulse-pounding examination of the butterfly effect
05:02and how small mistakes can ripple into the future.
05:05Despite her visceral fear,
05:06Lola's determination and resolve
05:08are evident through every permutation of events,
05:11even when she fails.
05:24Number 6.
05:25Sarah Ashburn and Shannon Mullins.
05:27The Heat.
05:28In The Heat,
05:28Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock
05:30are the best all-female buddy cop duo since Cagney and Lacey.
05:35Ashburn and Mullins are a refreshing take on a male-dominated genre.
05:49McCarthy's Mullins is a brash, dirty, and unapologetic Boston cop.
05:54She's forced to partner up with Bullock's Ashburn,
05:56an uptight, by-the-book FBI agent.
05:59Despite being as compatible as oil and water,
06:02their unlikely partnership is exactly what's needed to break the case wide open.
06:16They also help each other grow individually
06:18and overcome the sexism of their colleagues.
06:21Their foul-mouthed banter, violent antics, and believable camaraderie
06:25stand out among the pantheon of cinematic heroines.
06:32Okey-dokey.
06:37Number 5.
06:38Mallory Cain.
06:39Haywire.
06:40Long before her controversial opinions got her kicked out of the Star Wars universe,
06:52Gina Carano's first starring role was in Steven Soderbergh's Haywire.
06:56She played Mallory Cain,
06:58a highly trained operative seeking revenge after being betrayed.
07:02The film showcases Cain's extraordinary physical prowess and combat skills,
07:06utilizing Gina Carano's real-life MMA expertise.
07:11Despite her stoic exterior, Mallory is a fairly well-rounded character,
07:28showing moments of vulnerability and a deep well of pathos.
07:32Despite being out on her own, Mallory never really reads as an underdog.
07:41She's a one-man army, taking bloody revenge one goon at a time.
07:47Number 4.
07:48Samantha Cain.
07:49Charlie Baltimore.
07:50The Long Kiss Goodnight.
07:52This action thriller had the misfortune of being released
07:54after one of the biggest blockbuster summers of the decade.
08:05The movie was lost in the shuffle,
08:07with movies like Independence Day, Twister, and Jerry Maguire.
08:11It represents Gina Davis at the peak of her badassery.
08:14She stars as Samantha Cain, an average small-town wife
08:18who's forgotten her past as an international assassin.
08:21She hires Mitch, Samuel L. Jackson at his most relatable,
08:38to help dig up clues.
08:40As Samantha's former identity, Charlie, begins to surface,
08:43Davis transforms from warm and bubbly to cold and terrifying.
08:51Let me go now, and I'll leave you the use of your legs.
08:56She's confident, vicious, and utterly deadly,
09:00dominating in the best action flick you've likely never seen.
09:03Number 3.
09:04Alice.
09:05The Resident Evil Franchise.
09:07Between 2002 and 2016, Mila Jovovich starred in six Resident Evil films as Alice,
09:14a deadly covert operative.
09:16In the first film, Alice suffers from amnesia.
09:19Report now.
09:23I want you to report, soldier.
09:26I know what you're talking about.
09:27Sir, the house's primary defenses have been activated.
09:31She's probably still suffering the side effects.
09:33As the film progresses, her physical skills begin to manifest.
09:37Over the course of the series, her abilities dip into the superhuman
09:41thanks to experiments conducted by the evil Umbrella Corporation.
09:45What do you think you're doing?
09:46He's wounded.
09:47The infection's spreading.
09:49I'm fine.
09:52You should take care of him now.
09:54It'll be more difficult later.
09:57You know that.
09:58Alice is a killing machine, taking on bigger,
10:01nastier zombies and monsters with each subsequent film.
10:05The franchise has never been particularly well regarded by either audiences or critics.
10:10As a result, Alice is seldom shown the respect she deserves
10:13as a one-woman zombie-slaying army.
10:26Number Two
10:27Lorraine Broughton
10:28Atomic Blonde
10:29After the success of John Wick, co-director David Leitch left the franchise,
10:34molding his gun-fu aesthetic to a 1980s spy thriller.
10:38What did you say?
10:41I didn't say anything.
10:43Sorry.
10:43Did you say something, Lorraine?
10:44Did you hear me say something?
10:45I thought you said something.
10:46Atomic Blonde stars Charlize Theron as Lorraine,
10:50a triple agent navigating the dangerous streets of East Berlin
10:53right before the fall of the wall.
10:55In addition to fighting in some of the best combat scenes ever shot,
10:59Lorraine must navigate the murky waters of the 1980s spy world.
11:04She doesn't know who she can trust,
11:06and the audience is never quite sure if we can trust her either.
11:09Theron is magnificent, navigating hand-to-hand combat effortlessly.
11:14While understandably compared to John Wick,
11:17Atomic Blonde really does put its own unique stamp on the genre.
11:20Everything else ready?
11:22Yes.
11:22Everything you requested.
11:24I'm ready.
11:24I'm ready.
11:25I'm ready.
11:26I'm ready.
11:27I'm ready.
11:28I'm ready.
11:28I'm ready.
11:29I'm ready.
11:30I'm ready.
11:31I'm ready.
11:32I'm ready.
11:32I'm ready.
11:34I'm ready.
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11:51Number 1. Yu Xiu Lian – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
11:55Yu Xiu Lian deserves more praise than she's ever received. At first blush,
12:00she appears to mainly be a warrior of unparalleled grace and skill.
12:16However, as the film develops, we understand that behind her serene,
12:20honor-bound exterior, Yu Xiu Lian is a woman of deep feeling. While clearly in love with
12:25male lead Li Mu Bai, she prioritizes her loyalty to her deceased fiancé. In battle,
12:31her confidence, strength, and skill give her enemies pause in every confrontation.
12:37Yu Xiu Lian's story is a testament to the power of resilience,
12:57and the importance of staying true to one's principles,
13:00making her one of the most underrated heroines in movie history.
13:08Is there a female lead who didn't get the flowers she's due from this list?
13:13Let us know in the comments.
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