Well, it's not the worst superhero movie I've ever seen. 'Elektra' first, last, and most importantly, has Jennifer Garner. Not only is she an angular beauty, the star of TV's "Alias" is a terrific athlete (although I guess her stunt woman is even better) and she's not lacking for charisma either. And, luckily, a good friend with the power of God brought her back to life after that jerk Colin Farrell killed her in 'Daredevil'. Comic book fans might have been begging for a spin-off of her 'Daredevil' character, but was anyone else? I saw the movie because of who was playing Elektra and that's it. She may not be the next Hepburn (either one), but she sure is pretty.
It's too bad this flick is so bland and marginal because there are 2 or 3 cool villains, all members of The Hand (apparently, this is the Mob in Marvel comic land). The head of the black hats (Will Yun Lee) is nothing special, but his henchman include scary folks named Tattoo, Stone, and Typhoid. They seem to be an unstoppable combination, until they meet a lone (and lonely) woman who can stop them. Elektra doesn't have quite the same magical powers as her rivals, although she's able to disappear and reappear like Tony Hopkins in 'Dracula'. Come to think of it, the ground rules for her actual abilities are never made clear by director Rob Bowman. Oh well, she's good enough to be able beat up everybody.
So the Lady in Red is paid to assassinate a man (Goran Visnjic, who actually smiles for the first time in his career) and his teenage daughter, Abby (Kirsten Prout). Abby is quite a fightin' prodigy herself. The hired killer can't go through with it, then actually helps her new friends flee from The Hand. Terence Stamp works some Miyagi magic for Elektra as a blind mentor with mad skills. Stamp has panache, but nobody can class up this drab script. The whole plot is nothing we haven't seen before. Ah, but it would be wrong not to mention Garner's red outfit. I don't want to own the 'Elektra' DVD, but I might buy a gigantic poster of Garner in that sexy battle gear.
It's too bad this flick is so bland and marginal because there are 2 or 3 cool villains, all members of The Hand (apparently, this is the Mob in Marvel comic land). The head of the black hats (Will Yun Lee) is nothing special, but his henchman include scary folks named Tattoo, Stone, and Typhoid. They seem to be an unstoppable combination, until they meet a lone (and lonely) woman who can stop them. Elektra doesn't have quite the same magical powers as her rivals, although she's able to disappear and reappear like Tony Hopkins in 'Dracula'. Come to think of it, the ground rules for her actual abilities are never made clear by director Rob Bowman. Oh well, she's good enough to be able beat up everybody.
So the Lady in Red is paid to assassinate a man (Goran Visnjic, who actually smiles for the first time in his career) and his teenage daughter, Abby (Kirsten Prout). Abby is quite a fightin' prodigy herself. The hired killer can't go through with it, then actually helps her new friends flee from The Hand. Terence Stamp works some Miyagi magic for Elektra as a blind mentor with mad skills. Stamp has panache, but nobody can class up this drab script. The whole plot is nothing we haven't seen before. Ah, but it would be wrong not to mention Garner's red outfit. I don't want to own the 'Elektra' DVD, but I might buy a gigantic poster of Garner in that sexy battle gear.