Elektra (DVD) > Reviews > More Shocking than Elektrafying

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Disliked it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Weak
Special Effects	Good
Soundtrack	Average

Advantages:	Good costumes
Disadvantages:	Ham acting

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

From the moment I knew Elektra was coming to the big screen, I eagerly awaited it's arrival. From the outset it was clear to see I was going to be disappointed.

Jennifer Garner (from tv's "alias") plays the indomitable Elektra, a highly trained fighter and assassin who, after being extradicted from her training camp and sensai, begins to get a grip of herself and life on the outside world.

Elektra is hired to kill a man and his daughter - the details are highly classified, but this doesnt bother Elektra. Her reputation precedes her as a fighter and assassin, her calling card sometimes no more than a whisper in her victim's ear.

Her choice of weapon are sai, an ancient chinese blade forged from a single piece of metal and incorporating a long central blade and 2 smaller supplementary blades that protrude from the base of the central shaft. Very sexy, very cool, but ultimately they are a bitch to operate. I have a pair at home that I play with constantly, so you can trust me when I say that they are not the best choice of weapon to be lugging around or even fighting with.

A group called "The Hand" are also trying to kill Elektra's main targets. After a brief moment of "will-she, won't she", Elektra decides she will help Mr Miller and his daughter escape the clutches of "The Hand".

That's the main premise. A bit vague and very basic to say the least. Directed by Rob Bowman, the man behind the X-Files, Elektra fails to deliver the excitement and hype it comanded. The acting in this film compares to that of Kylie Mingoue, Raul Julia and Jean-Claude Van Damme in "Street Fighter". It's bad.

One thing that does this film justice, however, are the special effects. One of the bad guys, "Tattoo", has some very cool special effects going on involving all sorts of animals, and "Typhoid" also has a cool special effect scene in the woods when she is looking for Elektra. I won't spoil anything by telling you what they consist of, because they really are this film's only saving grace.

Again, the problem with the effects are that they are fairly few and far between. The graphics and imagery could have saved this film from certain doom...but didn't.

Elektra struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which she quietly tries to control whilst steeling her senses - serving as a reminder that even the greatest of "heroes" are not infallible. However, the topic is hardly brought into consideration in the film, opting for a more subtle approach to the issue.

In all honesty, if you didn't know she suffered from OCD (which also affects Leonardo Di Caprio to a massive degree btw), you could be forgiven for thinking she was dyslexic or even mildly autistic.

* Scoop * Apparently Ben Affleck was due to cameo in this film alongaside his beau, the delectable Miss Garner. However, after the recent bombs of his films with ex-love J-Lo, both he and Jennifer Garner decided it may not be such a great idea after all. I'll bet Ben Affleck is so glad with his choice NOT to appear. Like his career could do with getting any worse !! * Scoop *

In summation, I would not recommend going to see this film, or even renting it on dvd. Obviously the choice is yours, and by all means check out the film for yourself. Personally, I wish I hadn't went and had kept the immortal image I had always had of the superb Elektra.