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Who said males had to have all the fun? Arnold isn't the strongest Terminator, there are female vigilantes, and does anyone really want to be a night guard wherever Sara Connor is being held? Didn't think so.

Keep in mind this isn't a "best movies with a strong female lead" list, so just because a woman on this list is #1 or 2 doesn't mean that movie is better than the movie that's #9 or 10 on this list, this is looking at the characters, and as always with a list like this, there are a lot of options and it's pretty freaking subjective. So in honor of all the strong Hollywood heroines, or villains, here are ten movie females who you do not want to cross…

#10 Miho, "Sin City," (2005). There are plenty of gun toting women from Old Town to choose from, but silent deadly Miho takes the cake. Never making a sound, but using a razor sharp katana and deadly shurikens with stunning accuracy, this girl is the epitome of the saying: "Watch out for the quiet ones."

#9 Mrs. Smith, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," (2005). This was a very fun movie, and while Mrs. Smith may not be as rash as her husband, she is an amazing female assassin who handles herself quite nicely in the huge shoot out at the end. Smart, sexy, and deadly, Angelina Jolie's character is all the more interesting and dangerous because of how easily she fits in as that nice quiet house wife next door, who for enough money would put a bullet in your head…

#8 Jen Yu, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," (2000). There are several very good martial artists in here who could probably put me in the hospital, but only Jen Yu was able to actually master the arts from the Wudang manual. First a mysterious thief, then proven as one of the best martial artists in all of China, Jen Yu was equal to any fighter, and far above her feared mentor. She is definitely one woman you would not want to mess with.

#7 Coffy, "Coffy," (1973). Pam Grier has long had a huge fan base as a gorgeous and incredibly strong woman who played strong characters. Coffy may be one of the best, a nurse by day who turns into a vigilante at night. After her sister becomes addicted to drugs, she does everything in her power to take out every single crook, mafia, and bad guy involved in organized crime in Los Angeles, and succeeds with style.

#6 Carrie White, "Carrie," (1976). Based on Stephen King's novel about a high school girl brutally traumatized by a fundamentalist mother and a less than understanding peers. She finally snaps after having pig's blood dumped on her at prom, and then everyone laughing at her finds out she has telekinesis and pyrokinesis. Oops.

#5 Aeon Flux, "Aeon Flux," (2005). There are several kick butt women in the science fiction genre, and I'm giving the nod to Aeon Flux over Trinity and Summer Glau. A major reason for this is hypothetically, unless you're really a bad guy, Trinity or Summer would be no threat to you. Aeon is more ambiguous. In addition, Trinity does kick butt in the Matrix, but it is the matrix, so it's really like kicking butt in an impressive computer game. I don't care if the Matrix is our reality, it's still kicking butt in a 3-D video game. Aeon Flux is an assassin, so she gets the nod. Let the hate mail begin…

#4 Selene, "Underworld," (2003). Yeah, I know, she's a vampire and so isn't hypocritical to disqualifying Trinity who is actually human? Probably, but how can I keep off a vampire badass who can handle werewolves like she can, as well as her fellow vampires? I can't. Kate Beckinsale kicks butt in this film, and there was no way to leave her off the list.

#3 The Bride, "Kill Bill," (2003). Actually there are tons of women who qualify as badass in this movie, but Uma Thurman as "The Bride" definitely takes the cake. It's great to see a revenge film starring a female, and the absolute obsessions that The Bride has with revenge is incredible, as are the fight scenes that follow. Out of a lot of women who kick butt, the Bride is as high as you can get without dealing with something stronger than humans.

#2 Ripley, "Alien," (1979). Ripley has to be one of the strongest women characters to ever appear in a movie. While facing a homicidal android and an alien threat that shredded through the crew, she goes all out and takes care of both of them, ending the film as the only survivor from one of the all time classics among both horror movies and science fiction movies.

#1 Sarah Connor, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," (1991). How can you not like Sarah Connor at the top of this list? Completely human, nothing special, but she trains herself into a physical specimen (every time I see that chin up scene I wonder if her punch would knock out my teeth), learns how to use firearms and electronics, and faces off against a terminator that is even more dangerous than the first that she barely managed to destroy. She's willing to do anything to save the future (see the attempted murder of the computer programmer in front of his family) which makes her even more dangerous. A fitting role model as the number one on this list.

Honorable Mentions: Summer Glau "Serenity," Eowyn "Lord of the Rings," Leelo "The 5th Element," Jordan O'Neill "G.I. Jane," Buffy Summers "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," Domino Harvey in "Domino."

Written by Shane M Dayton
June 2008