Elektra - The Director's Cut (2005)

While 2003's Daredevil was a conventional superhero movie, the 2005 spinoff, Elektra, is more of a wuxia-styled martial arts/fantasy flick. Elektra (Jennifer Garner) has returned to her life as a hired assassin, but she balks at an assignment to kill a single father (Goran Visnjic, ER) and his teenage daughter (Kirsten Prout). That makes her the target of the Hand, an organization of murderous ninjas, scheming corporate types, and a band of stylish supervillains seeking to eliminate Elektra and tip the balance of power in the ongoing battle of good vs. evil.

As the star of Alias, Garner has proven that she can kick butt with the best of them, and some of the visual effects are impressive, but the action sequences tend to be anticlimactic, and there's not much to the story. Fans will notice numerous references to Frank Miller's comic books, but there's very little resemblance to Miller's cold-blooded killer (Elektra with an agent? Elektra referring to herself as a "soccer mom"?).

Is Elektra better than Daredevil? Not really, even with the distinct advantage of having all Garner and no Ben Affleck. That could be the spinoff's greatest disappointment: after Spider-Man 2 raised the bar for comic-book movies, Elektra lowered it back to Daredevil's level. Directed by Rob Bowman (the X-Files movie), and featuring Terence Stamp as the mysterious mentor Stick, Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day) as the chief villain, and NFL-player-turned-mixed-martial-arts-champion Bob Sapp as the immovable Stone. --David Horiuchi Amazon.com

Taking a Dare

Jennifer Garner reprises a major character in the Daredevil movie for this comic book-styled romp in the martial arts. Elektra (Garner) is a hired assassin who refuses to go forward with an assigned hit, which doesn't sit well with an evil organization.

The shadows that twists and turns the soul of Elektra are not heavily delved into, as the focus is on action. Garner has a striking presence, but is underutilized due to the character never fully stepping away from the comics.

The bonus material is outstanding, with a documentary on the character - which includes an interview with Frank Miller - and an in-depth "making of" documentary and film commentary by director Rob Bowman and editor Kevin Stitt.

Ultimately, though, there was potential missed to turn Elektra into a solid movie franchise. November 3, 2008

I liked it!

Comic book fans, check this one out, Jennifer Garner fans, check this one out, you'll appreciate a few scenes that show off her physique in the super-hero costume. the storyline on this one was solid and had good development. I heard some pretty bad things about this one and am not really sure why. I liked it and thought it was a decent movie and I plan to keep it in my collection. October 24, 2008

A Sexy Superhero!!!

The beautiful Jennifer Garner is back as Elektra! After being reborn from DareDevil, Elektra assassinates the bad guys. During Christmas time, Elektra moves to a cottage and meets Mark Miller and his 13-year old girl, Abby. She find out that her next mission is to assassinate them both. After having Christmas dinner, she doesn't want to and all three of them are being hunted down by an organization known as The Hand. There are a lot of special effects and action sequences. If you love action, and sexy Jennifer Garner, you'll love ELEKTRA!!! September 27, 2008

Preposterous Action Scenes

I like Garner and think she's an appealing actress, and I liked her in Daredevil, but in this movie the action scenes are so weak and unbelievable. She is supposed to be a great fighter, but we hardly see anything, it's just implied that she is able to get past an army of ninjas or armed thugs. Then the battles with the superpowered guys are even more absurd, because any one of them could end the fight in a second. The story?.. not much there, there's a young girl who is supposed to be a good fighter so she protects her, and something about her learning from a blind teacher. Not as bad as Catwoman though. June 8, 2008

Lara Croft meets the X-Men

I have to say that I am not familiar with any Daredevil or Elektra comics, games or had had any other contact with the characters apart from the two movies so I cannot compare the characters to other sources, nor can I take part in discussing the technicalities and the specifics like other reviewers have. Therefore, coming from someone that did not "know" Elektra prior to the film I have to say that the movie was pretty good.
Jennifer Garner (who is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!) and the rest of the cast carry out their performances very well, allowing for an entertaining movie. On the negative side, there were several parts that were too predictable/obvious taking away from the overall enjoyment of the movie.
In short, the plot, the setting, the special effects, and the music are all good.
Overall, though not a masterpiece, it is definitely a movie worth watching, as it will provide for an evening's entertainment! 3.5 Stars
May 28, 2008

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