3. Haywire
Haywire is that classic action movie starring a fighter, not an actor. This time however, its a woman. Gina Carano, former MMA fighter plays the lead character, Mallory Kane, and beats up all the men. Haywire was brilliant because it didnt descend into double standards. It was exactly the kind of action movie you would see starring a man, except it was a woman. It manages to do this without falling into the pitfall of never acknowledging that the character is a woman at any point for fear that it would undo any strength the character has, a statement that essentially says women have to act like men and never acknowledge their femininity to be considered strong. One of my favorite aspects of equality in Haywire was a comparatively small detail. Mallory has casual sex with co-worker Channing Tatum on a job theyre working. This is something very common among male-led movies, but not female-led. Usually this encounter would lead to a love story or an ending that acts as a cautionary tale against women having casual sex. Haywire does none of these things. Channing Tatum pretty much acts as the typically female eye candy in an action movie. Mallory has sex with him but that doesnt stop her from beating him up and applying a wicked arm bar on him later on in the movie. Throughout the movie Mallory is surrounded by attractive men. Oftentimes with a female character like this, she would never acknowledge this or act on it and be functionally asexual, as writers may fear that she would come off as weak if she is attracted to a man. In Haywire, Mallory not only feels attraction for them but acts on it, and it doesnt stop her from doing her job just as it would not stop a man from doing his. Haywire is a brilliant example of a female led action movie without double standards or lack of acknowledgment of femininity. Its really a shame it didnt get better reviews because movie studios might assume that people dont like female led action movies just like after the failure of Elektra and Catwoman they assumed people dont want to see female superheroes, when really its a question of quality, not gender.