4. Prometheus (2012) - Elizabeth Gives "Birth"
I think we can all agree that
Prometheus was a divisive film that offered more questions that it ever got around to answering, but there were some pretty solid moments scattered throughout, the whole thing looked stunning and while it could be overloaded with the 'philosophical allusions that never got referenced/followed up', there was a good story at its heart. Best of all might have been the central performances of Michael Fassbender's David, a narcissistic android with a disdain for his human bosses and Noomi Rapace's wonderful Elizabeth, a doctor who manages to mainitain her childlike curiousity in the heavens and other worlds with her deep Christian faith. The most badass moment in the whole film, therefore, occurs because of David's actions to Elizabeth - the surgery extraction of her Deacon foetus. The scene is dark and frightening as hell as Elizabeth struggles to get this parasitic monster out of her and it shows, better than anything, how strong she actually is - previously she was seen as a poor successor to the iconic role of Ripley despite her intelligence, but in this moment she reveals a core of pure steel as she escapes the medical pod after being stapled shut and goes on to survive the entire film whilst still healing. Try telling me she's not a badass after that.