5 Most Badass Action Movies Heroines

In light of my last post about the 5 Female TV Characters I wish young girls still had, I thought it would be cool to write a post about the best action movies with female leads.

You might be wondering the relevance of such a post, and to that question I have a simple answer: the media's portrayal of women will affect the daily lives of the women that come 10 or 20 years after us. In order to encourage more strong characters like these, I'd like to celebrate the ones we have. Here are my picks for best action heroines (in recent years).

1. Colombiana

Cataleya is an assassin on a mission to avenge the death of her parents who were killed in front of her when she was child. Her uncle taught her to be a killer (only if she did well in school, of course) and she grew up to be one of America's Most Wanted. Besides her sly ways of escape, the only other thing stopping the police from finding her is that they didn't think it was possible for a woman to be committing such crimes.

2. Resident Evil

Alice is a zombie slayer trying to figure out who she is in a world that is slowly disintegrating. After the Umbrella Company leaks a chemical that turns humans into flesh eating zombies, Alice has to fight for her life while trying to stop the Umbrella Company. Alice has been slaying zombies for five movies.

3. The Brave One

Radio host Erica Bain and her boyfriend were brutally attacked as they were walking their dog in a park one night. After her boyfriend dies from his injuries, Erica decides that she will always be ready to defend herself from then on. She buys a gun and after feeling the rush of not feeling like a victim anymore, she becomes determined to avenge her boyfriend's death. Erica finds herself in a bind when her revenge seeking goes too far. She is also a character who police take longer to find because they can't believe that a woman would commit the crimes that she did.

4. Salt

Evelyn Salt is an assassin, taken in as an orphan. She lives her life as a normal career woman, even engaging in a fake marriage in order to keep her cover. As she tries to escape the life of a killer, Salt finds herself trying to fend off her past and fight for a better future. A master of disguise, Salt keeps you guessing most of the film. Angelina Jolie is known for these kinds of roles, and again she doesn't disappoint.

5. Kill Bill

"The Bride" was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, and decides to leave her life as a killer after becoming pregnant. But when Bill (the leader of the squad and father of her baby) tracks her down and kills her new fiance and child, "The Bride" decides it is time to Kill Bill.

What other movies should be on this list? Let your voice be heard in the comments section.