Re-Watch: Elektra (2005)

I was browsing my movie collection of what to watch and Elektra caught my eye. I haven't seen it in a number of years and popped it back in to review. I love Marvel films and own most of them on DVD or Blu-Ray. Jennifer Garner is one of my favorite actresses. Elektra is a spin-off movie from 2003's Daredevil where she plays the same character but is killed. Elektra opens with a narration about good and evil and a great warrior who comes back from the dead. Cut to Elektra, alive and well. A man sits in a chair telling his security team about Elektra and her talents, skills and how she came back from the dead. She's clearly an assassin, feared by many people.

Elektra is directed by Rob Bowman

Jennifer Garner is no amateur when it comes to delivering great action scenes, having worked on Alias for many years. As the film opens we see that she keeps her life as simple as possible, obsessively cleaning and doing her job. Through a flashback we see that she has attempted to learn Kimoguri, the ability to control time and the future with lots of combat fighting skills to go with it. She is unable to finish her training and it is assumed that she went from there to becoming an assassin. Elektra is a Marvel character and some of the villains that she faces in this movie are supernatural.

This guy's tattoo's of animals come to life. His character's name? Tattoo...

So okay here's the thing, it's pretty much universally disliked. It has a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes saying that "This comic book movie is an inert muddle that takes itself much too seriously". I think this movie could've been fun with all the various supernatural villains but I agree that it tries to hard to be a serious comic book movie, to be as depressing as the character is. Thank goodness for Jennifer Garner, though, because she is the redeeming factor that makes it bearable enough to keep watching.

She prefers to wear tight, red leather suits

Thirty minutes into the movie and there's not a laugh or enjoyable, light-hearted scene yet. I suppose the surprising part of this movie is its lack of surprises. There's nothing new or unique, Marvel was still getting its bearings of how to make a decent superhero movie. The "sassy" teenage girl in the movie doesn't offer any comic relief, instead she makes herself look immature and almost obnoxious. Her function in the movie is pretty clear as is her father's. She's apparently this all powerful warrior but she doesn't seem to be able to defend herself much so you sit watching the whole movie going, so why is this girl so special? Because she carries around warrior beads? Um... Sure.

Kirsten Prout plays Abby Miller

It's truly a shame that this movie wasn't something more fun, it could've been a great cult hit which such a captivating star, unfortunately it comes off as more of a joke due to its seriousness. The longer you watch the movie the more ridiculous it seems, a 30 second long shot of Elektra making out with the girl villain? Sure, she's already clad in leather the entire time, why not? All of the names seem unoriginal, "they call her The Treasure"? Really? The evil guys are Stone, Tattoo and Typhoid? He's built like stone, the other one has tattoos and she brings death. I don't see a lot of creativity there.

At least Jennifer Garner is a badass

Plus sides? The action is kinda fun to watch. Seeing some of the villains powers are cool. Jennifer Garner carries the entire movie. Down sides? Even though she carries it, it's not enough to make it a decent film. The seriousness never lets up and everyone seems to lack any type of humor in this film. Even the main villain doesn't seem that threatening, he throws around sheets and can move quickly letting most of the other more interesting villains do all the work.

Elektra found a mini-me! They even dyed her hair in the movie to make it more official

What's the question that we should be asking while watching this movie? Will Abby be able to escape The Hand? Will Elektra let go of her haunting past? I'm not really sure. Neither seems captivating enough to be truly motivating for an entire film. We don't know enough about these villains to understand why they are really after Abby other than the fact that she's a skilled warrior (without showing many skills by the way). No one gets much of a backstory besides Elektra, leaving the secondary characters to fall flat and to not give much support to the lead.

Fans of Jennifer Garner might enjoy this film, I remember liking it when I first saw it (before I knew much about what made a good story in a film) but it's still part of the Marvel universe and that's worth at least 1 watch for me.