A lotta times, before I even see a movie, I have a general idea of how I'll begin the review. In the case of "Elektra," I was gonna begin the review writing about "Elektra: Assassin" and "Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer," the two comic book stories in which the movie is supposedly based. After watching the movie, however, I no longer wanna do that. In fact, I don't wanna write this review at all. I wanted to like this movie, I really did, and it pains me to have to tell you that it sucks. As soon as it was announced that "Elektra," a spin-off of the film, "Daredevil," would be made, I was looking forward to the movie, and I wanted it to be great. Instead, it's crap, a huge disappointment. This movie sucks ass.
The opening sequence in the movie is really good. It's "Elektra" as depicted in the comic book. She's a badass, a killer, an assassin. She's in costume (not totally accurate to the comic, I would have loved to see the red bandana, but it was close enough), and it was a really good start. Unfortunately, it was NOT a sign of things to come. After that short sequence, we get more than an hour of a storyline that's dull, boring, and uninteresting. Even the flashbacks of how she came to be are lame. When she finally gets back into the costume for the showdown at the end, it's completely anti-climactic, with bed sheets inexplicably flowing all over the place, distracting from the fighting. When the fighting is moved away from those stupid bed sheets, it's only a little bit better, but not by much. I should probably give out a little spoiler warning for what I'm about to say, but yes, I'm sad to say that at the end of the movie, it looks like "Elektra" is no longer an assassin. She's a kinder, gentler "Elektra." My God, does every Hollywood movie have to be about redemption?!?!
I read somewhere that this movie was based on "Elektra: Assassin" by Frank Miller and "Elektra/Wolverine: The Redeemer" by Greg Rucka. I don't know where I read that, but it's not true. Sure, a couple of elements from those stories are in the film, but very few, certainly not enough to say that it's based on them. In fact, very little of what's in this film has anything to do with the comics. To make matters worse, the filmmakers were so hell bent on separating this movie from "Daredevil" (a movie I liked, and even though many people did not, it was at least very close to the comic book), that there was no reference to that film at all. That was a big mistake. I think I speak for all comic books geeks when I say that we would have at least liked some references to "Daredevil."
The cast is hit and miss. Jennifer Garner is great as "Elektra," but there isn't anything for her to do in this movie. In the comic book, it's not just that "Elektra" is an assassin, but she's an assassin who loves what she does. The movie treats her more like a tragic figure who needs to be saved. Who does the saving? Well, a young girl, of course, a young girl in whom "Elektra" sees a younger version of herself. And naturally, "Elektra" has a thing for that young girl's father. Ugh. The young girl is played by Kirsten Prout, and I've never seen her before. I found her to be very annoying, and her fighting skills lacked any believability. The father is played by Goran Visnjic, who seems completely devoid of any personality or charisma. I don't watch "ER," but I know he's in it. Maybe he's great in that show, I dunno, but in this movie, he was totally blah. Terence Stamp is really good as "Stick," the person who trained "Elektra" (which is true to the comic book, but the uninitiated may be surprised to learn that in the comics, he also trained "Matt Murdock"). Will Yun Lee is also good as the main villain guy. Natassia Malthe, an incredibly hot chickie I've never seen before, is really good as "Typhoid Mary," but I may be a little biased there. Wow, she's gorgeous. Actually, the character is quite unattractive in the comics, but I'll let them slide by with that inaccuracy.
"Elektra" was directed by Rob Bowman ("Reign of Fire" and "The X Files: Fight the Future"), and a lotta the problems with this movie rest squarely on his shoulders. My God, what the hell was he thinking with those bed sheets? But really, I think the biggest problem, by far, is the script, which was written by Zak Penn (he helped write "Last Action Hero," "Behind Enemy Lines," and "X2: X-Men United") and Stu Zicherman (he did the English translation for the Japanese film, "2000 AD," other than that this is his first real writing credit) & Raven Metzner (debut). I'm sorry, but the script was absolutely horrible. Unforgivably so.
Aside from the allure of Jennifer Garner, the commanding presence of Terrence Stamp, the sexiness of Natassia Malthe, and the cool opening sequence, there's nothing here worth watching. "Elektra" is a savage disappointment, I really disliked it. Then again, it coulda been worse. It coulda been "Catwoman."
Scale of 1-10: 2