Action movies in the ‘80s, ’90s, and early 2000s were dominated by male action heroes, and while women have started to get more rep since then, it’s still almost unheard of to have a queer action movie heroine.
Luckily there have been a handful of action-packed movies with kick ass lesbian, bisexual and queer women fighting the bad guys and taking no prisoners. So if you love a little blood and a good fight sequence alongside your sapphic representation and onscreen lesbian love scenes, then these action movies are for you!
Annihilation
Paramount Pictures
The Alex Garland-directed sci-fi action horror movie Annihilation follows a group of scientists who explore a piece of Florida wilderness that has gone haywire because of an alien presence. The women who risk their lives to enter the quarantine zone include the foul-mouthed lesbian paramedic played by Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez. Not only do you get a soft butch character, but you’ll also get to witness her encounter a mutated “bear” hybrid that will scare the pants off you.
Where to watch: Paramount+
Atomic Blonde
Focus Features
From James Bond to Jason Bourne to Ethan Hunt, men had been dominating spy movies for decades, until MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton, played by Charlize Theron, came along. Theron’s character in the action flick Atomic Blonde is sexy, powerful, kicks ass, and is casually bisexual. The fling Lorraine has with a mysterious brunette is exactly what we want to see on screen: it’s not filmed for the male gaze, there are no overwrought sexual awakening convos, and it’s hot.
Where to watch: Rent on Amazon Prime
D.E.B.S.
Warner Brothers
The campy, ridiculously fun D.E.B.S. is about a team of teenage crimefighters who attend a clandestine paramilitary academy. The four teen spies, Max, Janet, Dominique, and Amy, are tasked with surveilling the super villainess Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster), who ends up falling for Amy. This quintessentially early aughts movie is a silly good time, and the forbidden relationship between Amy and Lucy is sweeter than it has any right to be.
Where to watch: Roku Channel
Set It Off
Warner Brothers
The heist movie Set if Off, stars ‘90s powerhouses Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Queen Latifah, who plays a butch lesbian single mother named Cleo. In the action film, the women are desperate for money and decide to arm themselves and rob a bank. It’s action-packed, has a firecracker lesbian character, and critiques the system that pushes these inner-city Black women into a life of crime.
Where to watch: Starz, rent on Amazon Prime
Everything Everywhere All At Once
A24
Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of the wildest movies you’ll ever see, but it also has a ton of heart, and part of that is the sapphic character Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu. Michelle Yeoh stars as middle-aged Chinese immigrant Evelyn, whose daughter Joy brings her girlfriend home to come out to her grandfather, but her mom shuts her down out of fear of her parents' reaction, even though she is tolerant of Joy’s sexuality. Not only is this movie a surrealistic, action-packed thrill ride, but the commentary around sexuality and immigrant family dynamics will leave you feeling all the feels.
Where to watch: Tubi
The New Mutants
Marvel
The Marvel Cinematic Universe movie The New Mutants follows a group of young mutants being held in a secret faculty who have to fight to save themselves. The superhero film includes a gay love story between Rahne Sinclair, played by Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams, and Danielle Moonstar (Blu Hunt), and is the heart of the movie. Instead of the queer character being on the periphery of the movie or barely acknowledged (ahem Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok), the two young women’s love story is important to the character development of the film.
Where to watch: Disney+
Charlie’s Angels
Columbia Pictures
The 2019 Charlie’s Angels reboot movie stars Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinska, and Naomi Scott in a more feminist take on the classic ‘70s TV show. While the original script didn’t have a an explicitly LGBTQ+ character, Stewart portrayed secret agent Sabina Wilson as queer and director Elizabeth Banks was on board for it. "Kristen's character is definitely gay in the movie,” Banks told Pride Source.
Where to watch: fuboTV, rent on Amazon Prime
The Archer
Floyd County Productions
The little known 2017 action movie The Archer is about a competitive archer who is sent to a reform camp for girls after kissing a girl and beating up her crush’s abusive boyfriend who interrupted them. While the tone of the movie is a little all over the place, it does have some real lesbian representation and a pointed critique of the juvenile justice system.
Where to watch: Hulu
Power Rangers
Lionsgate
The 2017 Power Rangers movie made history by becoming the first time the franchise introduced a queer character in the form of Trini, the Yellow Power Ranger, played by Becky G. Unlike a lot of the other movies on this list, Trini’s sexuality isn’t a big part of the film, but there is a pivotal scene where she’s asked about her “boyfriend problems” and Trini admits she may have “girlfriend problems.” Is it the kind of representation we deserved in 2017? Of course not. But it’s more than the long-running franchise had ever given fans before.
Where to watch: Netflix
Birds of Prey
Warner Bros. Pictures
After the disappointment of 2016’s Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey is the candy-coated super hero movie of your feminine dreams. Plus, it has sapphic rep! Not only is Harley Quinn bisexual coded, but there is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it visual reference to her dating women in the past, and the new queer character Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) is introduced along with her ex-girlfriend played by Ali Wong.
Where to watch: Max
Deadpool 2
Marvel
Deadpool might be pansexual himself but it wasn’t until the sequel to the popular superhero movie that we got an explicitly lesbian character. In Deadpool 2, the foul-mouthed superhero has a lesbian sidekick named Negasonic Teenage Warhead who introduces Deadpool to her girlfriend Yukio and he doesn’t bat an eye.
Where to watch: Disney+
