Hitmen are one of the great character types in all of fiction. But are there any good movies with female assassins? around? Well, although they are rarer than men, there are still quite a lot of badass women in the business of professional murder. The movies in the following list consist of the deadliest women who will probably disagree with the notion that you can’t put a price on human life.
Movies with Female Assassins
1. Kate (2021)
The plot is rather mediocre, centering on Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstood), a female assassin who unfortunately finds herself poisoned with radioactive material, shortly after she decides to retire from the assassination business, following a particularly traumatic assassination. When she realizes that her time is limited, she decides to make a U-turn and locate the person who did it and repay him. On her way, she commits massacres of anyone who happens to be on her way with bloody graphics. This journey is also accompanied by a girl named Annie, who was previously a witness to her father’s assassination by Kate, and this time she is annexed to it as the last snooze in her carnage and bloody journeys. The film is rhythmic and abundant at times, and differs favorably thanks to its visuals and excellent style, and especially to the streets of Japan that are shot great. It could have worked well in cinema as well mainly due to its cinematography and frenzy shots, but the film’s tropes and lack of original plot make it a mediocre film at best.
2. Wanted (2008)
Wesley Gibson, a 25-year-old man, is one of the least successful people on the planet. He works at a dead-end desk job with an annoying boss, takes medication for panic attacks, and has a live-in girlfriend who cheats on him with his co-worker and best friend. Then one evening, a secret club of assassins contacts him and informs him that his recently murdered father was a covert assassin, and the killer, named Cross, is now hunting him. With the help of the secret society of assassins (the Fraternity) and under the cruel tutelage of the beautiful and sexy assassin Fox (Angelina Jolie) Wes learns endurance, knife fighting, and hand-to-hand combat. She soon taps into his supernatural assassin abilities in order to replace his father. Wanted provides a sweeping, sexy cinematic experience with never a dull moment. The action scenes are entertaining and there are quite a lot of successful comedic situations too.
3. Colombiana (2011)
Cataleya is a nine-year-old girl in Bogota, Colombia, who witnesses the death of her parents by a drug lord, Don Luis Sandoval. She finds refuge in the US Embassy and from there she moves to Chicago and asks her uncle to train her as a killer. Fifteen years later, Cataleya has become one of the world’s most formidable assassins, with one thing on her mind: to eliminate Don Luis who took her parents’ life. With each contract murder she commits, she leaves her signature, the Cattleya flower, hoping to one day attract the attention of Don Luis so she can take her revenge. Don Luis learns that Cataleya is still alive and organizes his men to kill her. Can Cataleya fight his entire gang and manage to exact her revenge? Colombiana is a well-made film that provides fast, fun, and sparkling entertainment for fans of the genre.
4. La Femme Nikita (1990)
Another entry for Luc Besson to this list of best movies with female assassins. The film tells the story of Nikita, a teenage junkie criminal who is handed a life sentence for murdering policemen during an armed robbery. She is allegedly executed and re-created as a professional assassin for the French security services. After intense training, she starts a career as a talented killer, where she struggles to balance her work with her personal life. Her career progresses until a mission in an embassy goes awry. La Femme Nikita is a praiseworthy action movie, which also manages to excite the viewer while depicting, somewhat melancholy, the non-glamorous life of a female secret agent.
5. Leon: The Professional (1994)
When her entire family is murdered by a corrupt DEA agent, 12-year-old Mathilda Lando takes refuge with her neighbor Leon, who hesitantly gives her shelter. Leon is a professional hitman, and at Mathilda’s urging, he teaches her his skills, as she wants to avenge the murder of her four-year-old brother. Mathilda slowly transforms into a deadly assassin, trained in the use of various weapons. In exchange, she runs Leon’s errands, cleans his apartment, and teaches him how to read. Will Mathilda be able to exact her revenge on the corrupt Agent who destroyed her life? Written and directed by Luc Besson, Leon is the ‘Bambi’ of adult men, one of the few movies that allow them to shed tears without questioning their masculinity. It is also one of the all-time best movies about the assassination trade.
6. Salt (2010)
We already had Angelina Jolie on this list, but how could we possibly leave Wanted out of the list? Angelina Jolie has portrayed ultra-skilled assassins several times in her career (Both in Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2005 and in Wanted in 2008), but her latest role as a hitwoman was in the 2010 film Salt. Evelyn Salt is a CIA agent who lives with her husband in New York. Out of the blue, she is accused of being a double agent for the KGB, part of a Russian program in which many children underwent special training in Russia that taught them to assimilate into senior positions in American politics and security. The plan was for the dormant agents to continue in office until the day came when they would be asked to cooperate in the assassination of the President of the US and the President of Russia in order to create a war between the countries. Salt tries to convince her colleagues of her innocence, but she runs away from them and the acts she commits during the chase make them even more suspicious. Just who is Evelyn Salt and what is she planning? The fast pace and classic style of Salt make it a well-made action movie with the taste of yesteryear.
7. Hanna (2011)
Hannah is a teenage girl who was raised in the wilderness of northern Finland by her father Erik, an ex-CIA operative, who trains her to become a cold-blooded assassin. As a result, Hanna has almost superhuman skills in fighting, using weapons, and subduing enemies. In addition to a proven ability to eliminate any number of mature men with bare hands, Hannah also knows how to speak German, Italian, French, and Arabic, and sounds like she understands what she is saying in each language. Erik knows a secret that cannot become public and Marissa, a senior CIA officer, searches for him to eliminate him. Erik has trained Hanna with the intent that she will kill Marissa. One night, Hanna tells Erik that she is ready to face their enemies. Erik sends Hanna on a journey across Europe. As Hanna keeps a low profile while on a collision course with Marissa, she begins to reexamine her upbringing and question her role in the world. If what you’re looking for is pure action – you got it. If you want an exercise in breathtaking and sophisticated cinema, you got it also.
8. Elektra (2005)
Elektra Natchios is a deadly ninja assassin, who is also endowed with precognition as well as the ability to resurrect the dead. Following her death in Daredevil’s (2003) film, Elektra is revived by blind martial arts master Stick and becomes an assassin-for-hire. Years later, she receives an unusually large offer from an anonymous client wishing to hire her. After a long preparation for the hit, she finds out the job is to take down a single father and his young daughter. Electra chooses to protect them instead and soon finds herself at war with the Order of the Hand, a ninja collective of assassins. Elektra is a refreshing breeze in the plethora of hero films and one of the most interesting comic films.
9. Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 (2003)
Give it up for Beatrix Kiddo! Code name Black Mamba is a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, the romantic partner of Bill, the leader of the squad, and the most deadly female assassin in the world. Upon becoming pregnant, Beatrix leaves the squad to escape the life of an assassin and start a new one for her unborn daughter. However, on the day of her marriage to another man, Bill and the other members of the squad murdered her friends, her fiancé, and even the organ player. Bill personally shoots the bride in the head and presumes her dead but he only puts her into a four-year coma. This mistake will cost him and his partners dearly. Once The Bride wakes up she embarks on a deadly vengeance campaign against all members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, including Bill himself, killing them all one by one and killing anyone who stands in her way. Kill Bill is a song of praise for the movies that director Quentin Tarantino grew up in and he does it brilliantly, as usual.
10. Naked Weapon (2002)
Forty girls are kidnapped by a secret organization and trained through a vicious brainwashing process to be cold-blood assassins with superhuman powers. Those who survive are sent out on missions for the mysterious mastermind known as Madam M.A. A CIA agent in charge of the case cannot find any leads. However, when a series of assassinations take place, he begins to suspect the kidnapper. There’s a good amount of nudity, guns, and Barbarella-like fembots. It’s mostly it’s a typical fun Hong Kong trash movie.
11. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Eight years back, Samantha disappeared and appeared in a state of amnesia – a loss of memory about her identity. A minor injury in a car accident brings back memories of her previous life and she finds herself recalling additional details from the period before the loss of memory. After she is attacked by an escaped prisoner who claims to know her from the past she kills him with a fighting ability she did not know existed in her. Samantha embarks on a journey of discovery with Mitch, a private detective who helps her along the way. Together they uncover national plots down to the highest levels. This film turns out to be one of the most significant projects in the careers of all involved, an action film where the producers tried to make a real change in the genre and show how a good action movie with a female assassin protagonist can contain something beyond beatings and punch lines.
12. Red Sparrow (2018)
The plot revolves around Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence), Prima Ballerina who performs at the coveted Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Dominica finds herself in a situation where she has to choose between life and death and becomes, against her will, a weapon belonging to Russia’s security service, with the weapon being her body. When Aunt Vanya (Matthias Schoonarts, “The Danish Girl”) oversees her every move, Dominica is determined to prove to him that she will do whatever it takes to survive. Dominica is required to prove her efficiency and loyalty to the country when ordered to seduce CIA agent Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton, “Midnight Special”) and extract from him vital information about his secret activities in Russia, but finds that the matter is much more complicated than she imagined.
13. Underworld (2003)
For centuries, two races have evolved covertly alongside humans – the aristocratic and sophisticated vampires, and the violent werewolves. For humanity, their existence is just a legend. But for them, the struggle between them is certainly real and will only end when one race destroys the other. During the grueling battles between the gunwoman, Celine (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire fighter, discovers that a conspiracy is being hatched among the werewolves to kidnap a human doctor, Michael. After a long follow-up with Michael (Scott Speedman) around town, a special relationship develops between the two. As the werewolves plan their next move, Celine anticipates them and prevents them from kidnapping Michael.
14. Atomic Blonde (2017)
Charlize Theron is Lorraine Broughton, a senior agent of the MI6 (British Intelligence Agency), who was sent to Berlin in the days leading up to the fall of the Wall to extract from the Soviet clutches a secret list of agents. In Berlin, she joins David Percival (James McAvoy), the station chief, and together they set out on a mission to make the list. Since Berlin was the arrowhead where the superpowers met in the Cold War, all the elite of the intelligence community are on the scene. This is how the blonde assassin meets and makes love to a young French agent (Sophia Bottola), with both the KGB and the Americans involved in the background. When it became known that the list included details about “Satchel” – a double and dangerous agent – the multi-participant chase becomes much more critical. Good action with elements from the old dark thrillers of the 80s.
15. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
John and Jane are a married couple who are pursuing independent and thriving careers without the couple knowing exactly what their partner’s real profession is in the bedroom. To their surprise, they discover that they are both skilled assassins working for two hostile organizations. They were both given the task of eliminating each other. The couple who already suffered quite a bit in their married life go into the mission of their lives – mutual elimination. Pure fun, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is one of the best and most fun action movies of that decade, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in crazy chemistry when their relationship blossomed. It’s almost two hours but feels much less mainly thanks to excellent action scenes, good comedic moments, and of course perfect chemistry between Bradd and Angeline.
16. Black Widow (2021)
Natasha Romanoff’s dark past, known as the ‘Black Widow’, has haunted her again. After 7 films in which she participated in a decade in the Marvel cinematic universe, can the deadliest super-female assassin from The Avengers team atone for her actions? Scarlett Johansson returns to her role as the black widow Natasha in an action-packed spy thriller. The film takes place in the period between “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers Infinity War” and puts Natasha at the center when Natasha defected from Iron Man’s crew during the Battle of Berlin and is now considered a most wanted along with the rest of Captain America’s crew. During the interwar period, Natasha has to deal with demons from her past as an assassin of the “Red Room”. Although this is a movie where we know exactly how it will end, we get to see Natasha’s background.
17. Kick-Ass (2010)
Dave Lizoski suffers from all the possible teen anguish. But instead of shooting himself, he realizes that the modern age has provided him with a more sympathetic alternative – to adopt the identity of a superhero. He meets other mortals like him such as Hit-Girl, an 11-year-old girl, who vows to carry out her father’s (Nicholas Cage)’s revenge on the gangster who hurt him; Whereas Red Mist, a 17-year-old boy, the son of the same mobster, who aspires to gain a foothold in his family’s dubious business. “Kick-Ass” is not just a movie that makes you fall in love with cinema, and reminds you why you would give your heart to someone else and why you can still walk around comfortably in this world. Most of all, it’s a movie that makes you love yourself again, with or without a superhero suit.
18. Assassins (2020)
Filmmaker Ryan White examines the circumstances surrounding the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a crowded Malaysian airport.
19. Azumi (2003)
In 19th-century Japan, a master swordsman turns a girl named Azumi (Aya Ueto) and a group of other orphans into assassins whose mission is to eliminate hostile warlords. When one such warlord orders the destruction of the young assassins, his lackey liberates a fearsome killer named Bijomaru to accomplish the task. A grisly battle ensues as Azumi and her comrades fight for survival.
20. The Villainess (2017)
Honed from childhood to be an elite assassin, Sook-hee embarks on a rampage of violence and revenge to finally earn her freedom and escape her past.
21. Ava (2020)
An assassin becomes marked for death by her own black ops organization after questioning orders and breaking protocol.
22. Aeon Flux (2005)
Aeon Flux, who is a member of an underground organization, is tasked with assassinating a high-ranking government official. On her mission to achieve this, she uncovers a larger conspiracy.
23. The Assassin (2015)
After a failed mission, a female assassin is sent back by her master to her hometown to kill the man she falls in love with.
24. Montana (1998)
A hardened hitwoman and her seriously ill partner fight for their lives after getting into trouble with a crime boss.
25. Hatsukoi (2019)
One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops, and a female assassin.
26. Ms .45 (1981)
A twice-raped New York garment worker (Zoë Tamerlis) becomes a violent agent of revenge for wronged women.
27. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
A police captain breaks a dancer of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellow members. He gains her trust only to use her to lead him to the new leader of the organization.
28. Romeo Is Bleeding (1993)
Jack Grimaldi, a married cop with a mistress, does favors for the mafia. He meets his match in an assassin, Mona when she single-handedly takes on the cops and the mafia.
29. Logan (2017)
Logan comes out of retirement to escort a young mutant named Laura to a safe place. He meets with other mutants, who run from an evil corporation that has been experimenting with them, along the way.
30. The Protege (2021)
Anna is one of the best female assassins in the world. Her best friend worked with her for years. After he is murdered she vows to avenge his death. Before she can do so, she has to settle accounts with her opponent – Rembrandt, a mysterious agent, whose level of interest is beyond the bounds of the professional field.
31. The Tale of Nokdu (2019)
Nok Dok lives with her family on an island, and since he was little, his father forbade him to leave the island. One day, the family is attacked by a female assains army. Noe Nok Dok is on a mission to revenge on his family.
32. Teheran (2022)
Tamar Rabinian is a female assassin and an elite hacker sent to Tehran by the Israeli Mossad, in order to assist in an air strike on nuclear facilities in Iran. Following an unexpected disruption, she is cut from her operators, escapes the Iranian authorities, and tries to reconnect with her family roots in the city. At the same time, she is followed by the commander of the Revolutionary Guards and the people of the Mossad (Liraz Cherki and Menashe Noy) are navigating the country.
33. The Americans (2013)
Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are an All-American Family – they work together in a small travel agency that they also own, they have two cute and successful children and a house in the suburbs. Philip and Elizabeth are Russian agents, implanted for the DEEP COVER mission in the USA. They are members of an elite unit of agent assassins, who have learned English and an American accent and become all-American.
