Top 10 Underrated Female Movie Heroes
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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