Action movies test their protagonists both physically and mentally, and there are just as many great action movies with female leads as there are with male leads. One of the long-standing perceptions of the action genre is that it is primarily geared towards and is anchored by men. While a look back on the testosterone-fueled ’80s action era could certainly lead one to that perception, the reality is that women have always been major players in action and martial arts films as both heroes and villains. Some of the best action movies ever made have had female leads, many of whom, in turn, are long-standing legends of the action genre.

In more recent years, the perception around action films has changed in a variety of ways. One of the more noticeable shifts has been a greater degree of recognition given to female-led action movies as well as their overall presence on the action movie landscape. Here are ten great action movies headlined by female leads.

1) The Villainess

2017’s South Korean action hit The Villainess follows retired assassin Sook-hee (Kim Ok-bin) as she fights to defend her new life as well as her daughter from her old associates who have tracked her down, including her father’s killer.

The Villainess is full of fantastic action, but its one-shot fight sequences and chases that bookend the film are the real featured attraction and make it a real standout as a female-led actioner — and an influential one to boot, with the one-shot motorcycle chase of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum a clear homage to the excellent motorcycle oner in The Villainess.

2) Skylin3s

The gradual rise of the Skyline franchise as the popular alien invasion-martial arts hybrid it has become hit a very confident stride in 2020’s Skylin3s. Set 15 years after the initial alien invasion seen in Skyline and Beyond Skyline, Skylin3s follows Rose Corley (Lindsay Morgan) as she leads a mission to the alien planet of Cobalt 1 to stop a newly unleashed virus from turning the alien-human hybrids back on Earth (dubbed “pilots”) back into extraterrestrial killers.

Liam O’Donnell’s direction of the Skyline franchise has always made it a blast, with Skylin3s also properly establishing Rose as the franchise’s Ripley after her set-up as such in the preceding two movies. The Skyline franchise is great fun for action and sci-fi fans alike, with Skylin3s in particular being a real highlight as a female-led action movie.

3) Prey

The Predator franchise introduced its first main female protagonist in 2022’s Prey, which centers on Comanche warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) battling a Yautja enemy in 1719. Prey was just the reinvigoration that the Predator franchise had long needed, introducing the most vicious alien hunter yet in the Feral Predator, while Midthunder perfectly carries the movie as a determined and capable warrior.

The Predator franchise under Prey director Dan Trachtenberg has been on fire ever since with Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands, with its resurgence kicking off with the excellent female-led action-horror-sci-fi hit of Prey.

4) Chocolate

Jeeja Yanin jumped to martial arts movie stardom with her 2008 debut Chocolate, with Yanin portraying Zen, an autistic girl who becomes a self-taught fighting machine watching Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee movies on TV. Her fighting skills become paramount when Zen must battle underworld gangsters while trying to save her dying mother.

Jeeja Yanin’s real-life Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai skills made her a captivating first-time action movie lead in Chocolate, while she has a surprisingly strong screen presence and acting chops in her first role. With a Jackie Chan-worthy final showdown, Chocolate is a Thai martial arts hit that packs a serious punch.

5) Alita: Battle Angel

Like many James Cameron passion projects, Alita: Battle Angel took years to realize, to the point where Cameron handed off directorial reins to Robert Rodriguez with Cameron acting as producer and co-writer.

Based on the popular manga series, Alita: Battle Angel takes place in the dystopian future of 2563, with amnesiac cyborg Alita (Rosa Salazar) being revived by Doc Ido (Christoph Waltz) and becoming a Hunter-Warrior and Motorball champion in the futuristic landscape of Iron City. Salazar’s captivating performance as Alita and the movie’s Avatar-worthy effects create both a heroine and a world that countless fans continue to yearn to revisit (Cameron and Rodriguez reportedly eager to get Alita 2 off the ground), and the movie’s action sequences blend real world martial arts with performance capture in the greatest big-screen hybrid of the two yet. Alongside being a great female-led sci-fi action movie, Alita: Battle Angel is by far the best live-action anime and manga ever realized.

6) Furie

Vietnamese pop star Veronica Ngo also holds the distinction of being one of her homeland’s premier martial arts movie stars, Ngo bringing her leading lady and action movie talents to 2019’s Furie in spades.

Ngo portrays Hai Phuong, a former gangster in Ho Chi Minh City, now focused on raising her young daughter, with Hai Phuong forced to re-enter the Vietnamese underworld when her daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers. Furie moves a mile a minute with fantastic fight sequences left and right, including a powerhouse finale aboard a speeding train. Western action fans who mainly know Veronica Ngo from The Old Guard franchise should definitely give Furie a look to see an outstanding showcase of her talents and a generally excellent female-led martial arts action film.

7) The Princess

Furie director Le Van Kiet and Veronica Ngo reunited for 2022’s medieval actioner The Princess, led by Joey King as the titular Princess betrothed to a suitor from another kingdom, the ruthless prince Julius (Dominic West).

After abandoning Julius at the altar, the Princess finds herself imprisoned in a castle tower and forced to fight the invading kingdom’s forces to save her family. The Princess splendidly utilizes The Raid template in a medieval tower setting, as Joey King’s Princess is a warrior trained under Ngo’s Linh and fighting her way from the top of the tower to the ground level in epic, action-packed fashion. Both King and Ngo carry The Princess with tremendous power and style, making the streaming hit a must-see female-centric action movie.

8) Everything Everywhere All at Once

Michelle Yeoh has long been a martial arts movie legend in both Hong Kong and Hollywood, and 2022’s Oscar-winning sleeper hit Everything Everywhere All at Once is easily in her top five.

Yeoh portrays Evelyn Wang, a laundromat owner getting her taxes done with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) before finding herself pulled into a mission for the literal fate of the multiverse by one of Waymond’s alternate selves from a parallel reality. Everything Everywhere All at Once just fires on all cylinders as a martial arts film, a sci-fi epic, a goofy and often surprisingly raunchy comedy, and a heartfelt family story of Evelyn reconciling with the divorce-contemplating Waymond and her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Former child star Ke Huy Quan made an electrifying return to show business with Everything Everywhere All at Once, while Michelle Yeoh’s performance and the movie’s wild Hong Kong-style action scenes make it another outstanding female-led action movie.

9) Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga sadly didn’t find much success at the box office, but like its 2015 predecessor, Mad Max: Fury Road, it drew very deserved acclaim as a landmark action movie.

Set years before Fury Road, Furiosa focuses upon the origins of the eponymous Imperator and warrior of the post-apocalyptic wasteland (Anya Taylor-Joy, taking over from Charlize Theron in Fury Road) and seeks revenge upon the ruthless leader of the Biker Horde Demetus (Chris Hemsworth) for the death of her mother Mary Jabrassa (Charlee Fraser). Under Mad Max auteur George Miller, Furiosa keeps the automotive action sequences and stunts every bit as exhilarating and death-defying as those of Fury Road, while Anya Taylor-Joy fleshes out the up-and-coming Furiosa as a less scarred but still vengeful warrior. Despite its box office misfortune, the age of streaming is likely to be kind to an action masterpiece like Furiosa in the coming years.

10) From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

The first big-screen John Wick spinoff, From The World of John Wick: Ballerina is proof positive that the John Wick universe is the most consistent producer of action movie nirvana on the modern landscape.

Set between the third and fourth John Wick movies, Ballerina focuses on Ruska Roma warrior Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who embarks on a mission to avenge her father’s murder by a mysterious cult, risking a major rift in the Ruska Roma’s long-standing peace with the cult in the process. Ballerina is pure John Wick glory of non-stop martial arts fights, gun-fu battles, and incredible stunt work, and the first of the franchise to bring a flamethrower into the equation with expectedly scorching results. Ana de Armas brings both strength and innocence to her portrayal of Eve, while Keanu Reeves makes an effective supporting turn in his limited but wholly impactful return as the Baba Yaga. Ballerina builds out another corner of the John Wick universe for more possibilities in the future, and is fully the equal of its four predecessors as an unforgettable action movie dynamo.

What are your favorite female-led action movies? Let us know in the comments below!