A sexy female character can be an essential part of a good movie. For example, Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence both did a fine job as Mystique, an X-Men mutant both terrifying… and terrifyingly hot. The sensuousness of a female character can drive the plot of films, especially if she is playing a femme fatale role. On the other hand, there are those times when you look at a scantily-clad actress running through a dangerous jungle fighting off villains (and dinosaurs!) and you can’t help but wonder, “Is that practical? If the gender roles were switched, would a guy put on his swimming trunks to battle baddies?” With that in mind, here is a look at 6 movie characters who were sexualized for no good reason.
1. Lara Croft – Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
The video game creators deserve most of the blame for focusing on Lara Croft’s feminine attributes. But we’re not going to let the filmmakers off the hook. As beautiful as Jolie is, she is also a very capable actress, so the fact that the movie decided to focus more on the former at the expense of the latter is kind of poopy. Bonus Fact: the large size of Croft’s breasts in the game was actually a programming mistake, but they decided to keep in that way when they realized they were on to something.
2. Natasha Romanov/Black Widow – The Avengers
It’s fairly common in comic books for the female heroes to dress in super tight leather tops that barely hold in their fantastically large breasts. But it’s still a bit weird. The movie tones things down a bit for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, though they still have her wearing the tight black leather that couldn’t possibly be a comfortable choice when engaging in one-on-one combat with aliens. There are also scenes in which the camera seems to pause on the character for just a bit too long, like a weirdo on the subway who can’t stop staring.
3. Christmas Jones – The World Is Not Enough
We know what you’re thinking. Bond girls are supposed to be sexy. Fair enough, but this movie takes things to a pretty ridiculous level. In particular, we’re supposed to believe that the famously ditzy Denise Richards, who plays Jones, is some kind of nuclear physicist genius. For her not-so-convincing efforts, Richards took home a Razzie Award.
4. Ruby Roundhouse – Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Karen Gillan is a cool enough athlete to be teammates with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. So of course instead of using this fact to inspire girls, the movie chooses to focus on how sexually desirable Karen is. She wears tight butt-hugging shorts and sports a bare midriff. She’s in the jungle, guys!
5. Princess Leia – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
In Star Wars Episodes IV and V, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia Organa is hardly a damsel in distress. Indeed, she plays a tough, fearless woman who is just as heroic as her male counterparts. So naturally the logical thing was to put her in a metal bikini in Episode VI and have Jabba the Hutt lick her a few times.
6. Mikaela Banes – Transformers
Megan Fox acts super hot and sweaty in this one, fixing up a car engine while her back is arched. The problem is that she is supposed to be playing a highschooler, making her overt sexuality super creepy.
