Assassin/Heroine
Elektra Moves Beyond Daredevil Sidekick

The origin of Elektra, at least as far as the original comic book goes, is very similar to the story depicted in the 2003 film Daredevil. Back in the 1980s, she was introduced as a love interest for the blind hero. During Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, in the now classic issue #181, Elektra was murdered by the villain Bullseye. Whereas the film Daredevil left her dead, the film Elektra brings Jennifer Garner's beautiful assassin back to life.

As the film begins, it is apparent that Elektra (Garner) has chosen a different path following her rebirth. After the loss of her father and banishment by her mentor, she has become an assassin that is whispered about like legend. Using her unfinished training, she finds and kills people for money -- but she seems to delight in hunting members of an evil sect known as The Hand. When she is given a contract on a father and daughter, however, she finally begins to question the motivation behind her chosen lifestyle.

To its credit, the film explains a lot about why the daughter of a rich man with underworld ties would have the fighting abilities of a ninja. It also muddies the water by throwing a lot of "never ending battle of good vs. evil" and "ancient prophecy" into the mix.

Elektra introduces a slew of new characters into the storyline. Most noteworthy is her mentor, Stick (Terrance Stamp). Stick is a blind man who (as the cliche goes) sees better than anyone. It's amusing, in a way, because Daredevil too was a blind hero. But at least, in this regard, the character is similar to the comic. The members of The Hand who are sent to kill Elektra are also villains of a comic book type. With names like Typhoid, Stone, and Tattoo, it is simple to guess wherein their specialties lie.

For Elektra, the conflict between her past and her future are completely internalized. While the audience experiences some of her trauma in flashback, there film is too action-oriented (and too short) to become a contemplative introspection on the moral ambiguity of assassins. When she becomes a protector of her would-be targets Mark (Goran Visnjic) and Abby (Kirsten Prout) Miller, two inevitable things happen. She becomes a brief love interest to Mark and a mother-figure/mentor to Abby.

For all its trappings, however, the film never finds a direction. It dabbles in the comic book world long enough to establish itself as a hero story. For the most part, though, Elektra has more in common with martial arts films. The action is exciting, although more for show than for art. The choreography fails to rise to the level to which American audiences have come to expect.

As a comic book movie, Elektra is an unsatisfying follow-up. It never really feels like it is telling a continuation of the Daredevil storyline. Nevertheless, it offers up a pretty good stand-alone film that builds up the character from scratch (more or less). If not for the necessary explanation of her resurrection following her death in Daredevil there would be no ties to the former film.

While Daredevil wasn't a great film, Garner's portrayal of Elektra was noteworthy. Her return as the star of her own film is a testament to her power in Hollywood. This film is every bit as good as Daredevil, perhaps even better, but it fails to completely capture the feel of a comic book movie.

MY RATING: 7 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 96 min.