Hollywood loves a good damsel in distress, waiting for the prince to come save her from certain death. But the new action thriller “In the Blood,” in theaters Friday, flips that trope on its head. Butt-kicker Gina Carano — a former pro mixed martial arts competitor — stars as Ava, a woman happily vacationing in the Caribbean with her husband, Derek (Cam Gigandet), until he is injured on a zip-line and mysteriously disappears. In a twist on the knight-in-shining-armor archetype, it’s Ava who must find and save her man. But how does she stack up to other film heroines who save their dudes in distress? We rank their subversiveness on a scale from 1 (“Nice try”) to 5 (“You go, girl!”).
‘In the Blood’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Ava (Gina Carano) and Derek (Cam Gigandet)
Heroic save: We won’t spoil it for you, but just know that the entire movie is Ava working toward saving her guy.
Subversive factor: 5. You don’t get any more anti-Hollywood than Ava’s cunning sensibility and physical prowess.
‘The Hunger Games’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson)
Heroic save: In the first game, poor, pathetic Peeta would have died had Katniss not risked her life to retrieve medicine for his injured leg.
Subversive factor: 5. Peeta is about as capable of saving himself as Snow White.
‘Divergent’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James)
Heroic save: After battling it out, Tris drags a zombified Four out of the grips of the mind-control serum that has overtaken him.
Subversive factor: 2. Tris’ heroism is dulled by the fact that she didn’t really physically save Four — it was their emotional connection that saves the day.
‘Enchanted’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey)
Heroic save: After the evil queen (Susan Sarandon) turns into a dragon, snatches up Robert and climbs to the top of the Woolworth Building, Giselle follows to stab the dragon in the tail and get Robert to safety.
Subversive factor: 4. It’s a pretty deliberate sendup of the classic fairy-tale plot point — but minus one point for the assist from her squirrel friend, Pip.
‘Kick-Ass’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson)
Heroic save: Kick-Ass is held captive, and his murder is about to be live-streamed when Hit-Girl breaks in and kills the captor thugs.
Subversive factor: 3. Not too long later, Hit-Girl runs out of bullets and Kick-Ass has to save her.
‘Tangled’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and Flynn (Zachary Levi)
Heroic save: The witch stabs Flynn, and Rapunzel agrees to be her prisoner if she’ll let her use her magical hair to heal him.
Subversive factor: 1. It was a nice gesture, but Flynn makes a big move when he cuts off her hair, which kills the witch. It’s Rapunzel’s tears that heal him.
‘Mission: Impossible III’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Julia (Michelle Monaghan) and Ethan (Tom Cruise)
Heroic save: Julia shoots and kills the villain after being trained by an incapacitated Ethan.
Subversive factor: 2. She has her glory moment, but she couldn’t have done it without him.
‘Iron Man 3’
The heroine and her dude in distress: Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Tony (Robert Downey Jr.)
Heroic save: After Tony’s self-destructing suit plan fails to kill villain Killian (Guy Pearce), the assumed-to-be-dead Pepper returns to kill him, rescuing Tony from death.
Subversive factor: 5. The movie may be called “Iron Man,” but it’s the woman in iron who gets s- -t done.