3. Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is the irresistibly sexy, feisty temptress. She made a generation of gamers' eyes pop out when she donned the vest top and short shorts in Tomb Raider, and she can floor any man with a sultry pout, look great in leather, and can melt the hardest of men with her eyes. Basically, she's the perfect female 21st Century action hero, but she's so much more than that. Her lightning chemistry with Brad Pitt makes Mr and Mrs Smith a very entertaining action flick, and despite the movie being very flawed, she's impressively engaging throughout Wanted and is the only thing worth seeing in the otherwise abysmal Beowulf. Sure, Angelina Jolie is the best female action bad-ass since Signourney Weaver, but Jolie's range as an actress goes far beyond punching, kicking and pouting. Clint Eastwood's Changeling is the perfect showcase for Jolie's talents, which quite frankly she hides far too often. She is scarily vulnerable as a woman who is reunited with her missing son, only to realise he is an impostor, and shuns her glamorous movie star image to appear understated and fractured. Changeling boasts Jolie's finest performance to go with her quietly brilliant role in The Good Shepherd and her powerfully delicate role in Michael Winterbottom's masterpiece, A Mighty Heart. When seeing Jolie be this emotive and trancing the audience with her vulnerability, it's a great disappointment to continue to see her appear in dross like Salt and The Tourist, where she is so lacklustre and empty by comparison.