Start Your Engines!
It’s the year of the woman, and how about these empowered female action stars?
Meet “The Villainess!”
One of the best action films of all time just happens to star a woman!
“The Villainess” is the 2017 South Korean action film directed by Jung Byung-gil, starring Kim Ok-bin.
Trained to be a deadly Assassin, Sook-hee performs her duties for ten years, then starts a new life…but you know what they say, it’s tough to put old habits behind you!
Here is the trailer:
What’s truly amazing is a motorcycle chase and samurai sword battle – happening at the same time!
While in the US, female action stars aren’t the norm, Asia has a rich tradition of women going toe to toe with men – and winning!
Yes, “The Machine Girl” is one of those wild and crazy Asian cult films that I have posted about before – and don’t forget “Helldriver” as well!
The films are wild, bloody and full of nonstop action – all led by empowered women who aren’t afraid to fight back!
You can see some of the best ones here:
https://johnrieber.com/2012/05/01/female-ninja-warriors-extreme-asian-cinema-updated/
The tradition began in the 70’s, with such classic “pinky violence” films as these:
It’s a unique style of filmmaking and storytelling, and there are some terrific box sets that showcase the best – see the trailers here:
One last genre involves over-the-top stories with wildly inventive filmmaking, like this:
“Killer” Sushi!
That’s right, a film about sushi that eats YOU! And of course, only a young female Sushi Chef is smart enough to fight back…see the trailer here:
Let me know how many of these you’ve seen!