Elektra (2005)

Before I begin, let me just say that I’m a huge Alias fan. I have been ever since my grandmother bought the first DVD set. I’m also one of those people who saw Daredevil because Jennifer Garner was in it.

When I saw Daredevil, I was disappointed. Ben Affleck just didn’t convince me that he was a superhero.

So, I went to Elektra with low expectations. I got what I expected: a movie with strong action and a semi-strong plot. Elektra picks up where Daredevil left off; after Elektra’s death, she’s brought back to life by Stick (Terence Stamp) and begins a life as an assassin-for-hire. After refusing to kill a father and his daughter, Elektra has to defend that family from a team of super-villains.

In many ways, this movie is like The Matrix Reloaded. The plot had its weak points, but the action scenes held my attention. The special effects looked great on the big screen. Unlike Reloaded, however, Elektra is definitely better than its predecessor.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a comic-book movie fan; I loved Batman and Spider-Man. While those movies each had a very strong plot, a troubled hero, and a cabal of well-detailed villains, Elektra falls short in all three. The plot seems familiar, Elektra doesn’t have any internal demons, and the villains are almost nonexistent.

Though the acting’s pretty good, don’t expect any Oscars. Jennifer Garner gives her usual tough girl performance, and Goran Visnjic seems rattled enough for his part as a defensive father. Terence Stamp (who had previously lent an aura of class to the otherwise droll The Haunted Mansion) seems out of place as the most distinguished actor in the picture.

Super-villains always have my attention. The quintet of bad guys and girls in Elektra disappoint; the movie glosses over the villains as if the audience should understand them already. The prime example: fan-favorite Typhoid Mary, whose powers include the ability to kill anything. Her first scene featured a deadly kiss with a member of terrorist group The Hand; she’s got three more scenes in the movie—a raw deal, considering Jack Nicholson’s presence in Batman.

I’ve never read the Elektra comics, but I’ve read that she’s a very violent, disturbed individual. Her violent nature was considerably toned down in this PG-13 movie, but the fight scenes still look good. Fans of action movies will love Elektra’s nighttime duel with Kirigi (Will Yun Lee), whose powers include super-speed and an dazzling dueling ability.

As I get older, I notice more how the movies look. Elektra joins the ranks of Pulp Fiction and Edward Scissorhands as a movie that looks good. Green, black, and red all make the movie a memorable sensory experience.

Overall, for fans of comic-book movies or Jennifer Garner, this movie would be great. Those who aren’t will probably be disappointed. So, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the Bogart classic Casablanca), Elektra hits around a 6.2.