Vivica A. Fox

In the suburban kitchen fight in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Vivica A. Fox has about four minutes to make Vernita Green matter. She manages it, giving a brief part enough humanity to hold our attention alongside the fighting. The physical credibility is there, but so is the sense that this woman has a life beyond the scene. We were surprised by how quickly we cared about Vernita, because Fox makes a person of someone the film has barely had time to introduce.

Her breakthrough came in 1996 with Independence Day and Set It Off, moving between a blockbuster and an ensemble heist drama. As Frankie Sutton in the latter, she showed how toughness could coexist with a performance that kept our sympathy. The lead role of Shante Smith in Two Can Play That Game (2001) gave her a romantic comedy to carry. Television brought another kind of responsibility when she co-starred in and produced Missing (2004–06). There is more to her work than arriving briefly to prove she can handle herself.

Batman & Robin (1997) is poor entertainment, and Fox's presence as Ms. B. Haven is no reason to pretend otherwise. Joel Schumacher gives us inventive sets, then wears us down with repetitive action and ice jokes. Nor does praising Fox mean forgiving Kill Bill: Vol. 1 its thin writing: we admire the fights, but it remains half a film. What she achieves in those few kitchen minutes is worth noticing precisely because the film is so much better at staging combat than writing people.

Fox is known for intensive physical preparation and doing many of her own stunts, which helps explain why Vernita's fighting feels convincing. Quentin Tarantino benefits from that preparation, while Fox gives him a character we can care about without much introduction. We would welcome more parts that give her longer to develop that connection rather than relying on her to establish it almost immediately. Start with Kill Bill: Vol. 1 for the action, then try Set It Off for more of her dramatic work.