Layth AlKhatti
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

Here is how I imagine the pitch for Peppermint went: Taken but with a female lead. In fact, both films are directed by Pierre Morel.

Peppermint stars Jennifer Garner who plays a woman out for revenge after seeing her daughter and husband murdered. The story is simple and is just an excuse for Garner to go out there and murder some drug dealers. Garner delivers a great performance, and even at age 46 kicks some major ass. It is for that reason that I find it very unfortunate that her performance is surrounded by mediocrity.

I say it is unfortunate because I love seeing a woman kick-ass on screen. I am glad it is becoming increasingly more common. However, in a male-dominated industry, it is still noteworthy to me when a woman is headlining an action film.

The trope of a husband or father out for revenge is a tired one. Having it reversed makes for a potentially refreshing take that could have interested me. Peppermint is not that movie.

The movie got me thinking. When was the last time we have seen an action movie starring a woman over the age of 50? While Jennifer Garner is not quite 50 years old, it is close enough that I am willing to count it. So, besides Peppermint, what else is out there?

We have plenty of examples of aging men headlining action films: Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and Robert Downey Jr. On the flip side, I have struggled to find examples of aging women in action films.

Zoe Saldana is at age 40, she’s the current queen of sci-fi action movies. It will be interesting to see how her career develops as she approaches the 50 mark. Saldana’s Avatar co-star, and arguably the previous sci-fi action queen, Sigourney Weaver has not headlined an action film since turning 50.

Charlize Theron (43), Angelina Jolie (43), and Milla Jovovich (42) are up there too in the ass-kicking department.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter filmmaker James Cameron had this to say:

“There are certainly plenty of 50, 60, 70-something guys out there that just keep cranking along doing action movies and killing bad guys left and right. But there isn’t an example of that for women, and I think there should be.”

I completely agree with James Cameron. Cameron himself has a long history of presenting strong women in film. Although even in examples from his own films, the women are younger than 50. The upcoming Terminator reboot will mark the return of Cameron to the franchise (as a producer) and along with him Linda Hamilton. At the time of filming, Hamilton is 61 years old.

Is Peppermint going to be among your top films of the year? Probably not. However, if you are looking for an action film starring a mature woman, your choices are very slim. Anyone out there knows of examples I’m missing? I would love to be enlightened and watch those movies!

Layth AlKhatti
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