Elektra Review
by Susan Granger (ssg722 AT aol DOT com)January 18th, 2005
Susan Granger's review of "Elektra" (20th Century-Fox)
With her hot bod and built-in "Alias" fan base, Jennifer Garner is the latest television star to don a Madonna-inspired red bustier and make the big-screen leap as a Marvel Comic superhero.
Devised by cartoonist Frank Miller in the 1980s, Elektra Natchios was created as a romantic interest/nemesis figure in "Daredevil." Clad in sexy bondage attire, charismatic Jennifer Garner stole every scene from hapless Ben Affleck in that forgettable flick with the same name.
In this spin-off, sinewy Elektra, who previously died, is revived by her blind mentor (Terence Stamp). She becomes a paid assassin who sent to a remote island in the Pacific Northwest to execute lethal "payroll reduction" on Mark ("E.R.'s" Goran Visnjic), a single dad, and his teenage daughter (Kirsten Prout), only to discover that they're being menaced by a supernatural Asian gang called the Hand. Since these nefarious ninjas, led by Kirigi (Will Yung Lee), were also responsible for the deaths of Elektra's parents, it's chaotic, butt-kicking vengeance - big-time!
In the shaky hands of "X-Files" director Rob Bowman and "X-2" screenwriter Zak Penn, plus several cohorts, it abandons the good-vs-evil-duality-within-a-superhero and becomes "Kill Bill"-gone-bad. The action sequences are lame, the dialogue is ludicrous, and the acting is laughable.
"Elektra, like the tragedy," muses Mark. "Your parents must have had a sense of humor." Too bad that's not true of the film-makers. Elektra going gooey maternal? Gimme a break!
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Elektra" is a listless, power-failing 4, clocking in at 93 minutes. But anyone who makes a critical judgment on sloppy movie like this can often be knocked over by teens and twentysomethings surging to the box-office. A new franchise is born!
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
