Total Chick Flicks

One of my not-so guilty pleasures is watching female-fronted action films. I will watch almost anything if it has a lady kicking ass. Unfortunately, Hollywood isn’t always on the same boat as demonstrated by the anemic number of female-fronted action franchises. It started in 1979 with “Alien.” And in the almost 30 years since we’ve had just a handful of others. Compare that to the almost infinite number of shitty dude action franchises in those 30 years and, well, Feminist Hulk smash!

Interestingly, two of those sprung up very close together in the early 2000s with “Resident Evil” (started 2002) and “Underworld” (started 2003). Both featured strong, powerful female leads kicking ass and taking names. Sure, these franchises aren’t “Lord of the Rings.” They’re not going to win a boatload of Oscars. But they were both fun and stylish in their own way. Also Kate Beckinsale and Milla Jovovich in lots of leather helped. So, yeah, I watched the hell out of them – many times repeatedly.

So it seems only fitting that both would be back for a new installment at almost the same time early next year. Heck, even their trailers dropped at the same day earlier this month. This means for us ladies hungry to watch other ladies kicking ass will have a smorgasbord to start the New Year. Hey, in this feast-or-famine world of female franchises, you have to enjoy the good times. And I fully intend to.