2) Sarah Connor – Terminator 2: Judgment Day
One of the reasons I’m incredibly worried about Terminator: Genesis is that there’s no way in hell the gorgeous Emilia Clarke will ever be able to hold a candle to Linda Hamilton’s kick-ass performance as Sarah Connor in T2: Judgment Day (yes, she was all right in The Terminator, but it wasn’t until the superior sequel that Connor really came into her own). After a stint in a mental hospital after attempting to bomb a computer factory, she emerged as a completely ripped, hardened, apocalypse-ready woman warrior – ready to take on anything Skynet could ever send her way.
Shall I count the ways in which Sarah Connor is one of the most kick-ass action heroines in cinematic history? We’d be here all day, so I’ll settle for a few points. In her hands, a broken broom handle is a deadly weapon to be used on any sniveling orderly standing in her way. She can hold her own in any shootout, no matter how intense. Stealing cop cars? No problem. Taking out killer robots? She can do it like snapping her fingers. And raising a kid? Well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want to give this lady mothering tips.
She’s also extremely proficient and resourceful, making good use of paperclips, syringes, giant-ass guns and of course any projectile weapon she get her hands on to wreak serious havoc. When I consider people I’d want by my side in the event of a robot or zombie apocalypse, Sarah Connor is at the top of my list – and I’ve even settle for Linda Hamilton, seeing as there’s absolutely no way she could have gotten that buff and that badass without something sticking.
– Isaac Feldberg