Film Review: Elektra (2005)
Marvel films, until very recently, were considered the closest thing Hollywood ever came to the Holy Grail of perfect box office formula. However, it took some time and a lot of trial and error until that formula was established, with plenty of setbacks and failures. One of the biggest failures, generally forgotten or ignored by all but the most die-hard Marvel fans, is the 2005 film Elektra, directed by Rob Bowman.
Elektra is a spinoff of Daredevil, the 2003 film that represented the first attempt to bring the famous blind superhero to the screen. Jennifer Garner repeats the role of Elektra Natchios, a contract killer and martial arts master who was briefly Daredevil's romantic partner before being killed at the end of that film. The plot begins with her being alive, brought back to life through mystical powers of her mentor Stick (played by Terence Stamp). She continues to make her living as an assassin, and her last assignment brings her to a lake house where she meets Mark Miller (played by Goran Višnjić) and his daughter Abby (played by Kirsten Priet), unaware that they are actually her intended targets. She befriends them and ultimately decides to protect them. In the meantime, both she and the Millers become targets of the Hand, a secret evil organization of corrupted martial arts masters with supernatural powers who want to obtain a secret superweapon known as the Treasure.
Daredevil was, despite generally acceptable box office numbers, seen as a disappointment not only by original comic book fans but also by 20th Century Fox. Fans, on the other hand, wanted to see Elektra, who was, due to her complexity, one of the more interesting Marvel characters. Fox, however, didn't take any chances, and the film was made with a limited budget and tight schedule. Even the main star Jennifer Garner didn't want to repeat her role and took part only because of contractual obligations.
The film was directed by Rob Bowman, a veteran of The X-Files,"who was quite familiar with the Vancouver locations where most of the shooting took place. His skill and experience were evident, but definitely not enough to compensate for the poor, overcooked script and limitations of setting, plot, and PG-13 rating, which definitely toned down the darkness of Frank Miller's original comic book.
Jennifer Garner, despite her lack of enthusiasm, played her role adequately. There are some bits of the film that show promise, like the scenes in which Elektra bonds with Abby, played well by Kirsten Prout. Both those moments are usually brief and drowned by mediocrity that involves even such iconic actors like Terence Stamp or Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa in the role of Hand’s leader Roshi.
Even the action scenes are confusing and, despite some seemingly interesting concepts that mix martial arts with supernatural, utterly forgettable. The film's attempts to balance Elektra's dark past with her growing maternal instincts and her desire to protect the innocent are admirable but ultimately unsuccessful.
Elektra, unsurprisingly, turned into a major box office flop. This, on the other hand, allowed both Daredevil" and Elektra to get new incarnations as characters played by Charlie Cox and Élodie Yung in highly regarded Netflix television shows a decade later.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
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