Ninja Girl, Inc.

Have you ever noticed that action movie stars rarely (if ever) bleed when severely hit in a face-off? If Charlie’s Angels counts for an action movie, and it better not, then I honestly have issues with this bleeding “effect”. It does not exist! What sort of fools do they take us for, not making people bleed when hit? The “Angels” were not even bruised, not a scratch, niente! I bet the director thought damage applied to the face of a vixen of the sort cannot be promoted, it does not sell. Luscious lips, long hair and longer legs do sell, on the other hand.

I really have an issue with this. If you are going to feature a female as a leading action figure then it is not the assets that you should sell (that’s what the porn industry is all about; assets and fantasies, no?), and you should at least let your ninja lady get bruised every once in a while. There is a term used for this: Truth to Life. It is genuinely offensive to my taste that action stars, especially the females, seldom bleed or, say, break a nose (or a nail) in a fist fight.

But here’s an interesting bit about action movies starring females, and I always enjoy this bit: they almost always have a female rival. The catfights are usually, what’s the word? Too civil. There is somehow a part where the two girls grab each other by the hair (classic, I resent it), then if it’s a post-Matrix production you have the floating-in-the-air moments, and the a-girl-knows-how-to-kick-a-girl’s-ass line (rephrased), not to forget the mention of jealousy and the sadistic nature of the female villain.

Am I the only one who thinks that is getting just a tad old?