Elektra

My wife and I went to the premiere of Elektra last night at the Palms in Las Vegas. The show was definitely action packed and showcased Jen Garner's strong physical and acting ability. I thought this might be just another "kung fu" type of flick but I was pleasantly surprised that there was a good story line, some romance, and (of course) plenty of action scenes that were well crafted and interesting.

The supporting case was strong and good cross section of "evil" people. We particularly liked the effect when the bad guys were defeated. The crowd that we saw the movie with definitely liked the film.

You should take a look at this one when it comes out next Friday, January 14th.

Elektra (Jennifer Garner) is a professional assassin par excellence. It seems she was told to leave a martial arts school for failing to follow direction, but she's a powerful force nonetheless. When she is sent to a remote island, however, she soon learns that her assignment is to kill a father and daughter who seem anything but dangerous. She can't do it. Instead, she befriends them and vows to protect them against all others. A group of very wicked martial arts experts are sent out to eliminate all three of them. Who will prevail? Does the man's daughter have a secret as well?

One would hope that a superhero movie that features a female heroine would be most welcome, and it is, with reservations. Garner is lithe and lovely as the tough as nails but compassionate heroine. When she is garbed in a tight red ensemble, she can turn heads in a major way. Love is a concept she rarely experiences, so watching her let herself give into feelings is a wonder, too. So, what's the problem with the film? It is probably a matter of style over substance. The design of the film is first rate but the script has some trouble keeping pace. Nevertheless, Garner makes it work through her extraordinary embodiment of the title character. Period.

Perhaps I'm out of date or just don't know what Electra is like in current publications... But the Electra that I read was far more manipulative and always seems to have a plan. She usually used others to do her dirty work and more often than not some sort of double cross was involved. Just when you think you have it all figured out she pull the wool over your eyes and gets her way.

This movie was fairly weak on the dialog, the acting wasn't particularly convincing, and the action was spotty. I was really looking for something more along the lines of Frank Miller's book "Electra Assassin." Which is much darker than anything in this movie.

Special effect where cool, action was interesting at times, but more often than not the story and plot was slow or illogical. Tha Hand was not menacing enough, and Electra was not..... bitchy enough. She's the girl you love to hate... but in this story, I just didn't care either way.

The movie isn't particularly great. The story makes no sense and the dialogue is terrible (Terrence Stamp as a white haired English Yoda-type isa prime offender), but it compares favorably to Marvel's worst movies - Blade 2 and 3, the Hulk, Punisher, Daredevil.

It's definitely entertaining, the villains are really interesting (despite one is called "Kinko") and the action scenes are a lot of fun. It could have been a lot better if there was more exposition about the villains. They were certainly the best part of the film.

If you liked the comic, it's probably worth seeing. If not, you may want to wait for video.

Since I haven't read comics is quite a few years, and having never really followed Daredevil or Elektra, I don't really have any comments on how true to the books this movie was.I do believe it's definitely worth seeing. The effects are outstanding, the camera-work wonderful, and the acting quite good. Garner (almost always) moves like a trained fighter, and Prout looks at least well practiced. The plot was fairly fluid and interesting if not engrossing. Over all it was better than I expected. See it and enjoy it. Since concise opinions aren't allowed here, I may as well add that the costumes were quite well done. Also, the sound was peachy. Did I mention that Jennifer looked swell? Ciao.