Today's all-action film heroine is tough and putting leading men to the sword

Article here. Excerpt:

'Then entertainment caught up with feminism, and along came a slew of remarkable female roles: Ripley in Alien, Sarah Connor in Terminator, Disney’s Belle and Mulan. They set a precedent for hundreds of heroines who were not only as intelligent and strong-willed as the men in the story, but more so. Less nuanced than the heroine, less intelligent and usually weaker, the conventional hero seems now to be in greater danger than the Siberian tiger.

Next week sees the release of Universal Pictures’ Snow White and the Huntsman. Instead of a mild little thing who keeps house for seven dwarves and charms woodland animals (and the prince) with her sweet singing and gentleness, here we meet an action heroine who is far more appealing to contemporary tastes. Dressed in shining armour, the new Snow White will not be doing any housework; and it is she – rather than the uncouth Huntsman of the title – who will call the shots against her wicked stepmother by going into battle.
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All of this is good fun for girls, but rather less so for boys. As yet another feisty female bounces on to the screen, eyes blazing and bow twanging, our sons have some excuse for grunting dismally and returning to the all-male worlds of Call of Duty or an old Arnold Schwarzenegger DVD.'