Having gone to the trouble of rewatching Ben Affleck's Daredevil, it becomes a requirement to comment on the companion film, Elektra. Though she clearly died in Daredevil, a spinoff film allowed Jennifer Garner to play the role again.
The movie opens with DeMarco (Jason Isaacs) explaining to the chief of his security detail that Elektra was going to get him. He wasn't even sure why he bothered to hire bodyguards. While he is narrating his several escapes from previous attempts on his life, Elektra is busy dispatching the security detail. The security chief only stops scoffing at his boss's story when he realizes the cameras are down and his men aren't answering. He too is dispatched and only Elektra and DeMarco remain. Before DeMarco can even lift his gun, a sai impales him through his chair. Clearly, Elektra is a top assassin.
McCabe, Elektra's agent, has another job for her but she declines. She is burnt out and needs a rest. However, curiousity makes her ask and she accepts the job thanks to the huge payment. Oddly, she is required to 'hang out' for a couple of days before the target will be revealed. During this time, she has visions of the distant past, visions of the recent past, visions of the near future. Yes, all these visions get rather confusing and annoying. However, this does explain why she isn't dead.
It turns out that efforts to revive her in the ambulance after Bullseye killed her... didn't succeed. Still dead. No, it wasn't until Stick (Terrance Stamp) used his mystic healing that she came back to life. She stayed with Stick and his band of martial artists. She proved a tremendous fighter but not the kind of material that Stick sought. So, he sent her away and, as we saw in the opening, she became a hired assassin.
Between intense workouts and hallucination-filled swims in the lake, Elektra meets Mark and Abby Miller, a father and daughter who live in a neighboring cottage. It comes as no surprise when it is revealed that they are the target. Unable to do the job, she becomes their defender against later efforts.
The fights are mostly silly and involve inhuman leaps, spins, and otherwise unbelievable action. I'm not clear on why that bad guys burst in the brimstone clouds when killed. Are they demons? In the penultimate battle against Kirigi, Elektra is completely at his mercy a couple of times and he declines to kill her. Why? Basically, the villain chose to lose when victory was at hand. Also, Kirigi could move at superspeed, almost like the Flash (maybe I should say Quicksilver since this is Marvel, not DC), but he would slowdown when making his strike. Why? Again, it just didn't seem like he was interested in winning.
The pacing is bad, providing long tedious lulls in the action. The see-the-future power was generally useless, only providing an opportunity to have characters get seemingly killed before rewinding to try again. Elektra is entirely too emotional and soft for an assassin. If there is one thing that defines Jennifer Garner, it is her ability to emote, which really doesn't fit the character. Steely-eyed killers don't get emotionally attached after one dinner with the target. Though she was staring in the popular Alias at the time she got the Elektra gig, she just wasn't suited to the character.
Best avoided.
It turns out that efforts to revive her in the ambulance after Bullseye killed her... didn't succeed. Still dead. No, it wasn't until Stick (Terrance Stamp) used his mystic healing that she came back to life. She stayed with Stick and his band of martial artists. She proved a tremendous fighter but not the kind of material that Stick sought. So, he sent her away and, as we saw in the opening, she became a hired assassin.
Between intense workouts and hallucination-filled swims in the lake, Elektra meets Mark and Abby Miller, a father and daughter who live in a neighboring cottage. It comes as no surprise when it is revealed that they are the target. Unable to do the job, she becomes their defender against later efforts.
The fights are mostly silly and involve inhuman leaps, spins, and otherwise unbelievable action. I'm not clear on why that bad guys burst in the brimstone clouds when killed. Are they demons? In the penultimate battle against Kirigi, Elektra is completely at his mercy a couple of times and he declines to kill her. Why? Basically, the villain chose to lose when victory was at hand. Also, Kirigi could move at superspeed, almost like the Flash (maybe I should say Quicksilver since this is Marvel, not DC), but he would slowdown when making his strike. Why? Again, it just didn't seem like he was interested in winning.
The pacing is bad, providing long tedious lulls in the action. The see-the-future power was generally useless, only providing an opportunity to have characters get seemingly killed before rewinding to try again. Elektra is entirely too emotional and soft for an assassin. If there is one thing that defines Jennifer Garner, it is her ability to emote, which really doesn't fit the character. Steely-eyed killers don't get emotionally attached after one dinner with the target. Though she was staring in the popular Alias at the time she got the Elektra gig, she just wasn't suited to the character.
Best avoided.
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