Elektra

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.

OK, I'll confess, this movie is definitely junk food for the mind, like eating a twinkie - but it is fun to watch Well, what can I say. We can't always be discriminating and intellectual in our attempts to probe the artistic complexities engaged in the artform of film.

Sometimes, a film is just . . . fun, or quirky, or in some other way entertaining - and this is where Elektra comes in, complete with her trademark red assassin warrior outfit.

It is fun to watch Jennifer Gardner work her craft as she threads her way through the dialogue and scenes in this film.

All things considered, she is a good casting match for the Elektra character.

As for the story itself . . . well, we're not talking war and peace here.

Aside from the major plot theme, the film does take the viewer into some dark personal views into Elektra herself . . . who she really is (and is not), and various situations that led her into th e profession she has become so skilled But, if you happen to be an Elektra fan (from the comic / graphic novel realm), you'll appreciate the extent to which this character has been translated to film . . . not always an easy or successful process.

Not a block buster, or leading edge provocative film . . . no, but for just plain fun, and also a movie that kids can see without too much concern, I'll give this a thumbs up.

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.

This is one hard movie to really rate. When i was about half way through i was thinking maybe 6 out of 10 and that was pushing it. After completely watching the movie and actually spend some time thinking about it the movie is actually pretty good.

Jennifer Garner did a awesome job in the movie. All the guys will like it cause it has plenty of action in it for them to enjoy. The only thing i really found lacking in the movie is the fact that they don't tell you anything about the bad guys and who or why they are doing what they are doing. Since the movie was not really that long i feel they should have spent a little time explaining all the characters better. If they did they i would have given it a even higher rating and would have said it was right up there with xmen and spiderman 2.

Overall i would say its about a 6.8 out of 10. It is definitely worth even spending full price at the movie theatres.

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.