Some of the 90s Best Action Movies with a Strong Female Lead

It's the 1990s: people are still using the VCRs, Blockbuster is thriving, and female actresses are dominating the movie industry. Movie fans will recall a vast amount of action movies that were churned out, and most of them have aged pretty well, but the real heroes were the women that got the deserved screen time they needed for a while, and viewers were happy and contented because there are a ton of well-received movies that came out of it.

So whether it's their bravery, brains, or unbeatable strategies to overcome obstacles or a certain villain, these female characters elevated and highlighted some of the best action movies that came out in the 90s and continue to inspire future actresses and storylines for years to continue. These are some of the movies mentioned below where the female had an impactful role. Know that the movies are in random serial and are not categorized by their ratings.

The Long Kiss Goodnight: Samantha Caine

The Long Kiss Goodnight is a splendid action-drama that not only stars the great Samuel L. Jackson but the iconic Geena Davis as well. Davis plays as Samantha Caine, a suburban mother to an eight-year-old daughter. After she suffers from supposed amnesia, she's on a mission to find out who she really is, and what she's suppressed for years.

Samuel L. Jackson is always a shoo-in for a good action character, but without a doubt, Geena Davis manages to play two characters in one, while playing the ultimate female action star. Samantha AKA Charly goes down a tumultuous and dangerous path of figuring out her past with detective Mitch Hennessey, played by Jackson while making sure no one will forget her performance for years to come by.

Starship Troopers: Dizzy Flores

Directed by the man who brought us hit movies like Basic Instinct, Total Recall, and RoboCop; Paul Verhoeven decided to direct a little movie called Starship Troopers. Based on a future filled with war, and giant alien bugs, Johnny Rico, played by Casper Van Dien, enlists in the army where he meets Dizzy Flores, played by Dina Meyer, a strong-willed woman that fights tooth and nail to earn her keep on her squad. Not only does she hold her own, but she shows a softer side to her as well, which is very humane contradictory to the side she shows usually in this movie.

Jurassic Park: Dr. Ellie Sattler

Dr. Ellie Sattler, played Laura Dern, practices paleobotany, a branch of paleontology that shines the light on extinct plant life. Sattler is tempted by John Hammond to the magical world of Jurassic Park, a theme park with cloned dinosaurs.

After a power failure, the dinosaurs are set loose, and Ellie, along with Dr. Alan Grant, played by Sam Neill, has to protect the owner's grandkids against the prehistoric beasts. The real shining light is Laura Dern's character as she speaks her mind and is headstrong while being incredibly intelligent and steadfast throughout the journey. Jurassic Park was an instant classic, and is, without any doubt, one of the best dinosaur movies to date.

Leon: The Professional: Mathilda

Perhaps one of the youngest strong female leads from the 1990s is Natalie Portman, who plays Mathilda in Léon: The Professional. Portman was only 11 years old when she was cast and was also her debut film in the industry. Mathilda is a damaged little girl who has a horrible home life, and when her parents are killed, she's left alone until she meets Léon who's an assassin.

The chemistry between Léon and Mathilda is perfectly splendid, and even though a younger cast member could be swallowed and overpowered up by the older cast, that never happened with Portman. She fell perfectly into the role of Mathilda, and Léon: The Professional definitely remains one of the best roles in her career, and in the 1990s.

The Fifth Element: Leeloo

The Fifth Element hit the movie theaters in 1997. It is an action and sci-fi movie filled with adventure and stars one of the most iconic female action characters named Leeloo, played by Mila Jovovich. The Fifth Element is not only considered a classic because of the overall cast but because Jovovich perfectly settled into the role of Leeloo. 

The Fifth Element is set in a colorful future filled with flying cars, different creatures, incredible outfits, and evil villains trying to take over the world. The only hope for mankind is the Fifth Element, something that only comes around every five thousand years, but after it is destroyed, Leeloo is the last resort. Her character goes through a development or an evolution from start to finish, and along the way, she's strong, resilient, and incredibly funny.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Sarah Connor

It's well-known that some sequels are better than others, and when it comes to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, this rings true, being one of the best action movies from the 1990s and present. The Terminator, played by the iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger, is one of the most prolific characters of the 1990s, but it's Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, that really took the audience by surprise.

Sarah Connor is the mother of John Connor, the leader of the Resistance during the Future War. In Terminator 2, Sarah is now in a mental hospital after attempting to bomb a computer factory. When she's busted out by her son John and The Terminator, her role to fight for a better future for the country starts right back up and stops at nothing to keep her son safe.

Matrix: Trinity

This strong-female role probably isn't a surprise, because The Matrix is one of the most mind-bending, and impactful movies of the 1990s. Even though it's been more than 20 years since the initial movie was released, it's a movie that has aged beautifully and has some of the best characters in movie history.

The role of Trinity, played by Carrie-Ann Moss, couldn't have been cast any better, and her action-packed skills were impressive, and she represented the pivotal example of a strong female. After three movies, and a fourth blockbuster film to look forward to in 2021, the role of Trinity, as well as the entire cast of The Matrix, remains extremely important as a shift in movie history of the 1990s.

I hope you all got nostalgic reading this as I was while writing it. Hoping all of you guys are having a great time.