Image via Complex Original
As you may have noticed, we at Complex love sexy women who kick ass. Turns out, beauties who kick ass for a cause are even better. After all, with a modern day Joan of Arc on our side, we know that if we’re ever caught smuggling party favors out of Thailand, she’ll bring down the entire judicial system in no time. And she'll still be the hottest woman around.
In the regime-defying spirit of this week's release Red Dawn, a remake in which Isabel Lucas and Adrianne Palicki play two very good-looking guerrilla fighters who battle against evil communists who've invaded a town in Washington, we bring you the 25 hottest female revolutionaries in movies, sexy female characters who’ve risen against political and societal orders for everything from freedom of speech to free-spirited sex.
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Written by Valeriya Safronova (@vsaffron)
25. Sabrina Lloyd as Cecile, That Girl from Monday (2005)
Sabrina Lloyd plays Cecile, a woman living in a futuristic society in which sexual appeal determines a person's entire worth (as in, if you fail to score, you get punished by the government...whaddafuck!). Cecile fights the system by joining an underground group in which members have sex just for *gasp* pleasure.
24. Hilary Swank as Jeanne de Saint-Rémy, The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
Hilary Swank stars as a woman out to secure her fortune by stealing a very pricey necklace under the guise of Queen Marie Antoinette. Political mischief, a gigolo, a corrupt Cardinal, treason, and theft? No wonder this pretty lady is cited as one of the causes of the French Revolution.
23. Natividad Abascal as Yolanda, Bananas (1971)
In Woody Allen's satirical film, Natividad Abascal plays a sexy revolutionary from the fictional South American country of San Marcos. Who needs a cause when you can fight alongside that?
22. Sarah Kazemy and Nikohl Boosheri as Atafeh and Shireen, Circumstance (2011)
Sarah Kazemy's and Nikohl Boosheri's characters in this Iranian film are not trying to start a revolution per se. However, their affair and their partying, while awesome in our eyes, are considered highly anti-establishment in conservative Iran and put them at risk of harsh physical punishment. Even the movie itself had to be shot secretly in Lebanon rather than in Iran for fear of political reprisal.
21. Zhou Xun as the Little Seamstress, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
Again, Zhou Xun's character in this movie is not a revolutionary in the traditional sense of the word—no guns or guerrilla attacks are involved. But the gorgeous Little Seamstress undermines the Chinese regime in her own way—by reading Western books, flirting simultaneously with two men, and getting pregnant out of wedlock.
It may not seem like much, but during the peak of the Cultural Revolution, hiding Balzac under the floorboards and poppin' one out illegitimately could lead to an intense public "shaming" and ostracism from the entire community.
20. Clotilde Hesme as Lilie, Regular Lovers (2005)
In this film, Clotilde Hesme plays a 20-something who, along with her boyfriend, joins the revolutionary student movement in France in 1968. Intellectual radicalism never looked so good.
19. Jean Peters as Josefa Zapata, Viva Zapata! (1952)
In this fictional account of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata Salazar's life, the classically beautiful Jean Peters acts out the role of the wife to the people's hero, played by Marlon Brando.
18. Maribel Verdu as Mercedes, Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
In Guillermo de Toro's dark fantasy, Pan's Labyrinth, Maribel Verdu plays Mercedes, one of the servants of the sadistic Captain Vidal, a military leader brought to power with the rise of Franco's regime. While not tending to Captain Douchebag's needs, Mercedes is a sultry revolutionary out to bring the dictatorial regime down.
17. Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
In case you missed one of best action movies ever and one the biggest box office franchises of the late '90s and early aughts, The Matrix franchise stars the tough and sexy Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, one of the humans working covertly to destroy the machines that run the world in 2199.
16. Adrianne Palicki as Toni, Red Dawn (2012)
In this contemporary take on the 1984 film about a Soviet invasion, Adrianne Palicki plays Toni, one of the high school students who form a group of guerilla fighters and try to retake their small town from the invading North Korean communists. While the movie's premise is flimsy, the female half of the cast gets an A+ rating from us.
15. Diane Keaton as Louise Bryant, Reds (1981)
Diane Keaton plays Louise Bryant, a turn of the century, high-society lady who escapes her stuck-up husband for a life full of wild idealism, stick-it-to-the-man philosophy, and orgies in the West Village and Revolutionary Russia. OK, maybe the orgies weren't part of the film, but don't judge us for having an imagination when it comes to Keaton in her heyday.
14. Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi, The Lady (2011)
Aung San Suu Kyi is a modern revolutionary figure in Burma, where, despite her political popularity, she was confined to house arrest for 15 years for acting against the reigning military junta. In this film chronicling her life, the always elegant and badass Michelle Yeoh stars as the Nobel Peace Prize winning activist.
13. Catalina Sondino Moreno as Aleida March, Che: Part One and Che: Part Two (2008)
In both parts of the film Che, shapely Catalina Sondino Moreno plays Aleida March, Che Guevara's (Benicio Del Toro) second wife and a member of Castro's Cuban Army.
12. Franka Potente as Tamara "Tania" Bunke, Che: Part Two (2008)
In the second part of the biopic, the sexy Franka Potente plays "Tania the Guerilla," a communist revolutionary, spy, and the only woman to fight on the Marxist side during the Bolivian Insurgency. We know the fights are all important and shit, but damn, our favorite scene with Potente is when she exchanges the military drags for a tight ballgown that hugs her body in all the right ways.
11. Estella Warren as Daena, Planet of the Apes (2001)
Estella Warren plays a human slave who joins the revolt against a ruling class of apes in a futuristic society that's so fucked up that it doesn't recognize the value of a stunning woman when it sees one. That's an era we hope we don't live to see.
10. Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Milla Jovovich plays one of the most famous female revolutionaries of all time in this film, and also manages to make the woman-dressed-as-a-man look surprisingly hot. Keep in mind, we're talking battle armor here, not a morning-after button-down.
9. Isabel Lucas as Erica, Red Dawn (2012)
When we mentioned the female half of the cast of Red Dawn, we most definitely meant to include the stunning Isabel Lucas, who plays another member of team "Wolverines," the high school guerilla fighters on a mission to kick the shit out of the North Korean communists who've taken their town.
8. Mélanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus, Inglorious Basterds (2009)
Mélanie Laurent's character in Inglorious Basterds is out for blood. She plans to blow up an entire movie theater full of Nazis in order to avenge her Jewish family's murder. Brave and beautiful? Glorious.
7. Raquel Welch as Sarita, 100 Rifles (1969)
In 100 Rifles, Raquel Welch is as sultry and hourglassy as usual in the role of Sarita, a Native American revolutionary. She shows off her best side when she takes a shower in public to distract the enemy while the rest of her crew ambushes a train.
6. Moon Goodblood as Blair Williams, Terminator Salvation (2009)
In the battle between the Skynet machines and the humans in Terminator Salvation, Moon Goodblood plays a pilot for the Resistance. Against all logic, we would happily join the fight against an army of psychotic robots as long as we had Goodblood on our side. Hey, if sexy looks can start a war, why shouldn't they be able to win one?
5. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games (2012)
Jennifer Lawrence plays the ass-kicking, luscious Katniss Everdeen in the first installment of this trilogy. You know girl's got it going on when she can ignite a revolution with just a little bit of cleverly played romance.
4. Julie Christie as Clarisse, Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
She's a golden oldie now, but there's no denying that Julie Christie was smoking hot back in the day. Speaking of smoke, in Fahrenheit 451, the sexy siren starred as Clarisse, a girl whose anti-establishment questions regarding her book-burning society led to her permanent disappearance.
3. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010) and Part 2 (2011)
You've got to give it to Emma Watson—the nerdy Hermione Granger of the first Harry Potter movie is light years away from the gorgeous bookworm of the last two parts of the franchise. Hermione revolts against all sorts of messed up shit: the enslavement of house-elves, evil wizardry, and Ron's my-balls-have-barely-dropped whining. Hermione, you need a real man, one who can say that bitch-ass evil dude's name.
2. Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
In this dark re-imagining of the classic fairy tale, Kristen Stewart plays Snow White, a feisty beauty who's determined to bring down the all-powerful and very, very naughty sorceress Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron. Stewart might have been our top pick for this list if the redundant, batshit drama surrounding her affair on set hadn't annoyed us so damn much.
1. Natalie Portman as Evey, V for Vendetta (2005)
Natalie Portman is always and forever one amazing looking lady...even when she's shaved bald. In this film, Portman plays a young girl who joins the anarchist freedom fighter V in his quest to topple the fascist regime of a post-nuclear war Britain.