Women’s Month viewing: the action stars turning ‘hit like a girl’ into a compliment … Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Queen Latifah, Gal Gadot, Maggie Q, Karen Gillan, Lena Headey & many more
Photos and article supplied by the Showmax Publicity Department
I am an action movie junkie – I can easily binge on any of these series and as a Queen Latifah fan, I will start with The Equalizer! Where will you start?
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD | Stream now
Production started in June 2022 on Furiosa, the origins story of renegade warrior Furiosa before she teamed up with Mad Max in Fury Road. Billed as “the biggest film ever to be made in Australia,” Furiosa will see Anya Taylor-Joy star in the title role, opposite Chris Hemsworth.
Filmed in Namibia and at the Cape Town Film Studios, Fury Road won six Oscars, with nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Visual Effects. The 21st biggest box office hit of 2015, Fury Road has a 97% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The New York Times calling it “a modern action classic” and Richard Roeper “one of the best action movies ever”.
While we wait for Furiosa, it’s the perfect time to revisit Fury Road. When the warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads the despot’s five wives in a daring escape, she forges an alliance with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a loner and former captive. Fortified in the massive armoured truck the War Rig, they try to outrun the ruthless warlord and his henchmen in a deadly high-speed chase through the Wasteland.
BIRDS OF PREY | Stream now
You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the Mafia princess?
The 10th biggest box office hit of 2020 globally, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only she can tell it. After splitting with the Joker, Harley Quinn joins superheroes Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to save a young girl from an evil crime lord.
Nominated for four People’s Choice Awards, including Favourite Movie, Birds of Prey has won 17 awards so far, including Best Actress for Margot Robbie (I, Tonya, Bombshell) as Harley Quinn and Best Actor for Ewan McGregor (Star Wars, Fargo) as Roman at the 2021 Critics Choice Super Awards’ superhero category, where Birds of Prey was also nominated for Best Superhero Movie and Jurnee Smollet (Lovecraft Country) was up for Best Actress as Black Canary. Birds of Prey was Rotten Tomatoes’ best reviewed comic book and graphic novel film adaptation in 2020, and one of its 10 best-reviewed wide-release films overall.
In their four star review, The Observer hailed Birds of Prey as “the movie equivalent of a fairground ride with all the bolts loosened and the safety booklet blazed long ago when someone ran out of Rizlas.”
WONDER WOMAN 1984 | Stream now
With director Patty Jenkins back at the helm and Gal Gadot returning in the title role, Wonder Woman 1984 fast forwards to the 1980s as the DC superhero faces two all-new foes: Max Lord (Critics Choice nominee Pedro Pascal from The Mandalorian) and The Cheetah (Oscar nominee Kristen Wiig from Bridesmaids).
The 13th biggest box office hit of 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 also stars Emmy nominees Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus, Insecure), Robin Wright (House of Cards) and Chris Pine (Star Trek).
Richard Roeper says Wonder Woman 1984 “ups the entertainment in the heroine’s new adventure”, calling the sequel “equal parts thrilling, comedic, romantic and action-packed… Pure pop entertainment.”
Also look out for Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, hailed as one of the 10 best films of 2021 by Variety’s Owen Gleiberman.
THE EQUALIZER | Binge S1 now, then S2 from 16 August
Oscar nominee Queen Latifah (Chicago) was nominated for a 2022 Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress in an Action Series for The Equalizer, a reimagining of the classic 80s series and the 2014 blockbuster movie with Denzel Washington. She was also nominated for People’s Choice, Black Reel and Image awards for her performance as Robyn McCall, a single mother and former CIA operative who helps those with nowhere else to turn.
Already renewed for a third and fourth season, The Equalizer was named Best New Show by The African American Film Critics Association in 2021 and nominated as The Drama Show of 2021 by the People’s Choice Awards.
Critics Choice Award winner Lorraine Toussaint (Orange is the New Black), Screen Actors Guild nominee Adam Goldberg (Saving Private Ryan, A Beautiful Mind), and Image Award winner Laya DeLeon Hayes (the voice of Doc McStuffins) co-star.
THE PROTÉGÉ | Stream now
Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III) was nominated for a 2022 Critics Choice Super Award for her starring role in The Protégé as Anna, a contract killer who was rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Oscar nominee Samuel L Jackson).
When Moody is brutally killed, Anna sets out to avenge the man who taught her everything she knows, but a cat-and-mouse entanglement with an enigmatic killer (Oscar nominee Michael Keaton) turns deadly as the loose ends of a life spent killing weave themselves ever tighter.
Directed by BAFTA winner Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), The Protégé also stars multi-award winner Robert Patrick (Peacemaker, Terminator 2: Judgment Day).
GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE | Stream now
Nominated for Best Action Movie at the 2022 Critics Choice Super Awards, Gunpowder Milkshake is about three generations of women who fight back against those who would take everything from them.
Multi-award-winner Karen Gillan (Avengers: Endgame, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) was nominated at the Critics Choice Super Awards for Best Action Movie Actress as Sam. The all-star cast includes five-time Emmy nominee Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones), multi-award winner Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House), BAFTA nominee Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Oscar nominees Paul Giamatti (Chuck Rhoades in Billions) and Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), and Freya Allan (Ciri in The Witcher).
Chicago Sun-Times’s Richard Roeper calls Gunpowder Milkshake “an insanely over-the-top, deeply stylized, bullet-riddled and female-centric riff on the John Wick movies … featuring an outstanding cast of first-rate actors clearly having a great time shooting up the joint.”