Blockbuster Hollywood sci-fi thrillers have not typically been a place where you'd find sexy, strong heroines beating back demons while dressed in lace gowns. "The Cell" offers this novel sight in abundance; and this summer, Lopez is just one of several female protagonists enthralling the sci-fi crowd. Sexy, strong women and their elaborate costumes are suddenly becoming one of the biggest draws of sci-fi movies, turning a genre that was once primarily about the hormones of 14-year-old boys into transcendent odes to the female powers and finery.

A quick survey of science fiction films reveals a paucity of meaty female roles: In the early days of the genre, most sci-fi leading ladies were granted the role of Love Interest or Saucy Sidekick, but rarely given liberty to actually kick butt. "Soylent Green" went so far as to refer to women as "furniture" (they came with the apartment), and the one enduring sci-fi heroine, Barbarella, still spent more time worrying about getting laid than catching villains.

The '80s changed all that, with the advent of hard-core heroines like Linda Hamilton in the "Terminator" movies or Sigourney Weaver's alien-thwarting Ripley in the "Alien" series. These characters satisfied many a feminist soul as hardened yet maternal figures who blasted their way through films while making no concessions to femininity other than a support bra.

But films have faltered since then. Instead of sexy and powerful female heroines (or villians), we've been treated to an array of namby-pamby female characters. In "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" Queen Amidala should have inspired a new generation of Princess Leia-like devotion among young girls; instead, the only interesting thing about her was her elaborate gowns, and she wasn't given liberty to strike a cutting figure in combat. (Then again, neither did anyone else in the first episode of the "Star Wars" prequel). Through decades of "Batman" movies, Batgirl barely registered a blip on the radar; Catwoman's sole purpose was to look good in a catsuit. In "The Fifth Element," a conveniently mute Milla Jovovitch crawled about in quasi-bondage gear and found herself in messes.

But a recent spate of sci-fi films has unearthed a more interesting species of heroine, who is both strong and sexy, and doesn't have to dress like a man in order to save the day (although she does, unfortunately, still have to fall back on her male peers in moments of danger). In movies like "The Cell," "The Matrix," and "X-Men," we have a new type of sci-fi heroine: the Fashionable Fatale. She is smart and attractive, lethal yet approachable -- a character women might actually identify with, a character men and yes, the 14-year-old boys who are still some of sci fi's greatest fans, might respect. She's always fabulously dressed, and she's blasting the sci-fi world with an image that fuses sex appeal and power; she is redefining Superwoman.

Science fiction and fantasy action movies have always been the realm of boys, and no wonder: Movies were made for them. They flocked to films filled with muscle-bound male protagonists who could save the world with a flick of their wrist. But it's a vicious circle -- without plausible female superheroines, ones with more depth than your typical virgin or whore caricature, why would girls be interested in sci fi in the first place? Even worse, the lack of believable female superheroes has reaffirmed the notion of men as saviors, women as victims, that we still haven't been able to shake from our heads.

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