Elektra (www.the-usher.com)

"I've died once..."

Elektra

Released from death by her new master, Elektra (Garner) returns to the world to become a feared assassin. Now trained in the art of Kimagure, Elektra has the ability to see the future and anticipate her opponent, making her feared throughout the criminal syndicates. She is ruthless and without mercy but that is about to change when she meets her latest target, a father and daughter, who seem to have no importance in the greater scheme of things.

In the movie and comic book world a character never really dies and despite falling at the hands of Bullseye in 'Daredevil', Elektra returns for another adventure.

Marvel's first spin-off movie during the current comic book adaptation renaissance sees the best character and fan favourite from the Daredevil universe get an movie all of her own. The reason Elektra returns to the silver screen before Matt Murdock's blind vigilante is because of star Jennifer Garner. Easily outshining Ben Affleck, Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell, she was the real star of 'Daredevil' and her character was by far the most interesting. Acknowledged as one of the most professional and nicest stars working in Hollywood today, Garner has the acting ability to match a beautiful looks but the problem is that see is the only reason to see the film.

Elektra suffers from a very average and undeveloped script. This is an action movie that is lacking action sequences and any real pace. There is no question that Jennifer Garner can handle anything that the director and stunt coordinator can through at her (all you have to do is watch her in the TV hit 'Alias'), but the script just doesn't provide enough for her to do. There is also a lack of backstory. After a brief introduction during the opening credits, we find out little more about the film's main villains 'The Hand'. All we know is that they are an evil organisation and they want 'the Treasure' for themselves. 'The Treasure', a powerful warrior who can influence the battle between good and evil, is also underdeveloped with little explanation of its background and how it came into being.

On the performance front, only Jennifer Garner's Elektra has any kind of development with her backstory revealed in this movie and what we previously know from 'Daredevil', the rest don't fair much better though. Goran Visnjic and Kirsten Prout as Mark and Maggie Miller are criminally underdeveloped. While we can understand why some of their story is not revealed too soon, due to plot development but we need to know more about their past and more about what has happened to them. Terence Stamp brings some class to the production but his character and the art of Kimagure also suffer from a lack of development. The Hand assassins also suffer from a lack of screen time, which is a shame, as some of them seem quite interesting.

'Elektra' is a missed opportunity. With a wealth of back material from the long running comic book, there is no reason for this film to be as average as it is. Star Jennifer Garner deserves a lot more than this to work with and the same can be said about the supporting cast. Lets hope that this is only a blip in resurgence of the Marvel comic book movie.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with a choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 or dts soundtracks, the transfer is extremely good. The comic book world of Elektra is vividly brought to life via a crystal clear picture. The sound quality is also extremely good especially during the climatic fight sequences.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes (5.22 mins)
Entitled 'Sai approach', 'Rounding up the troops' and 'Come back to me', these three deleted scenes have optional commentary by director Rob Bowman. Look out for an appearance by someone for the Elektra universe.

The Making of Elektra (12.59 mins)
Director Rob Bowman, executive producer Avi Arad, producer Gary Foster, stunt coordinator Mike Gunther, costume designer Lisa Tomczeszyn and stars Jennifer Garner, Terence Stamp, Kristen Prout and Goran Visnjic come together to talk about Elektra. The cast and crew discuss the characters of the piece, highlighting Elektra's past and the evil character that she will face. The featurette also takes you behind the scenes of the fight training, showing you that Jennifer Garner did all her own stunts. We also see how the look of the film and character where created.

Elektra: Incarnations (52.49 mins)
Creator Frank Miller, artist Klaus Janson, illustrator Bill Sienkiewicz, writer Brian Michael Bendis and writer Greg Rucka talk about the evolution of Elektra. From her Daredevil origins, each collaborator talks about their contribution to the character and how they became involves with comics and the assassin. The documentary takes us through the design process of the character, from her look, style and personality, to her relationships and place in the Marvel Universe. This is fascinating stuff, as you witness the evolution of a character through life, death and resurrection in the comic world.

Daredevil: Director's Cut Sneak Peek (1.26 mins)
Writer/Director Mark Stephen Johnston introduces the DVD release of the director's cut of the super hero movie.

Inside Look (2.12 mins)
Previews of 'Fantastic Four' and 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown'

Trailers
Preview of House of Flying Daggers and The Simpson's on DVD

OVERALL

Fox have done a great job with the release of 'Elektra' on DVD. While the featurette maybe sort and the lack of a commentary track is almost criminal, the inclusion of the 'Elektra: Incarnations' documentary make up for any shortcomings. With a dts soundtrack and excellent presentation, fans of the film should be very happy with this release.

DVD

Daredevil

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2005