Out of Their League

Regarding your article about the rise of female martial artists in movies (“Women on the Verge of a Breakthrough,” by Lorenza Munoz, Nov. 19):

I am extremely happy when an exceptional martial artist who happens to be quite attractive, such as Michelle Yeoh, is cast in a film. However, don’t tell anyone who knows anything about martial arts that the three actresses who were chosen for the recent “Charlie’s Angels” movie are in the same league in martial arts ability as Karen Shepherd, Kathy Long and Michele “Mouse” Krasnoo, who are accomplished as well as being very attractive. And Kelly Wu, who recently got her black belt, is a former beauty queen and a devastating kicker.

It’s quite apparent that the producers used Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu instead for box-office reasons only. If box office was the prime consideration, why not chose Sarah Michelle Gellar, who not only has a brown belt in taekwondo, but handles herself quite well on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”?

Any three of these ladies could easily destroy the threesome of Diaz, Barrymore and Liu. Based on the “Charlie’s Angels” travesty, I am not at all optimistic about the future of female martial artists in films.

ROCKNE SKYBYRG

Van Nuys