The not-so-gentle sex
With male action stars fading, Hollywood should look at women like Jennifer Lawrence
This hasn’t, on the whole, been a great era for action heroes. Sure, we’ve got cops and spies and superheroes and gods and titans crawling out of every corner of the cineplex. But can you even remember the name of the guy who plays John Carter? Which is in theaters right now?
The movie industry has been trying to revive the Golden Age of Action since its ’80s heyday, with little success. Alex Pettyfer, Taylor Lautner, Jason Momoa, Justin Timberlake and “John Carter’s” Taylor Kitsch are among those who’ve failed in the last year alone.
Jason Statham comes closest to replicating Bruce Willis’ deadpan swagger, while The Rock had potential, until he donned a tutu for “Tooth Fairy.” But even once-unassailable stars like Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have to band together — as they will in this summer's “The Expendables 2” — to make any sort of impression.
And when they do, will it compare with the impact we’re about to see from a 21-year-old woman? Because this year’s biggest action hero is very likely to be “The Hunger Games’ ” Jennifer Lawrence. As Katniss Everdeen, Lawrence brings us a warrior tougher than any in recent memory. At just 16, she single-handedly supports her family. Stares down death on a tragically regular basis. Insists, despite intense opposition, on remaining the master of her own fate.
And is far more likely to save boys than swoon over them. (Though “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games” are often compared, the self-reliant Katniss has little in common with the oft-rescued Bella, a character perpetually defined by her relationships.)
Granted, plenty of ladies have used brute force to break down barriers onscreen. Pam Grier had the ’70s covered, in films like “Coffy” and “Foxy Brown.” Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hamilton will remain eternally iconic for their “Alien” and “Terminator” roles, and Carrie-anne Moss set the standard for “Matrix” fans before co-star Keanu Reeves even showed up. F or the most part, though, women wielded weapons because men told them to (“La Femme Nikita”) or they looked great in leather (pick a “Batman” sequel) or both (“Charlie’s Angels”).
Finally, around 10 years ago, action heroines became (just) common enough that we could stop thinking of them as the exception to the rule. Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi helped turn “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” into the biggest foreign-language release the U.S. had ever seen. Uma Thurman brought us a bloodthirsty Bride in two volumes of “Kill Bill.” Milla Jovovich strode through various “Resident Evil” entries knowing that she owned them. And no one brought more confidence to the game than Angelina Jolie. While Yeoh’s turn in “Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon” didn’t result in the influx of Hong Kong heroines many hoped for, Jolie seemed to consider Hollywood hers for the taking — and nobody had the nerve to object. By the time she’d moved from “Gone in 60 Seconds” to “Salt” — with two “Tomb Raiders,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Wanted” in between — female action heroes no longer felt like such a novelty.
We can see many of these women in Lawrence’s portrayal — especially Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, whose emotional vulnerability and maternal instincts help fuel her strength. But Katniss’ most relevant precursor can’t actually be found on film — she came from television, and was decidedly life-sized When Joss Whedon created “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” for the small screen, he was aiming for the same young adult audience now primed for “The Hunger Games.” Though more powerful than her peers, Buffy was at heart a confused teenage girl pushed into a harsh life she’d never have chosen on her own.
Like Katniss, Buffy had to balance insecurities and personal desires with an urgent drive to protect herself and others by any means necessary. And it was her weekly presence that truly acclimated contemporary audiences to a hero who could kick ass in high heels.
Unfortunately, not all filmmakers are as enlightened as Whedon. So there will still be times when the high heels matter more than the heroism: witness last year’s inane thriller “Sucker Punch,” in which Zack Snyder treated his actresses like lingerie models.
And it’s crucial that novelist Suzanne Collins and director Gary Ross have contextualized the ugly violence of “The Hunger Games” — in contrast to recent films that more casually turned little girls into killers. Though movies like “Hanna” and “Kick-ass” have their fans, they feel to many — including me — like exploitation made by cash-counting adults.
But as Saoirse. Ronan and Chloe Moretz, the stars of those two films, come of age, they may find opportunities their elders did not. Once, the sight of a female superhero was unusual. Now, with movies like Whedon’s upcoming “The Avengers” and last year’s “X-men: First Class” — which also starred Lawrence — it’s the norm.
We’ve watched Hollywood push actor after actor through the action mill, with unimpressive results. Maybe they’ve just been looking in the wrong place all along.