Stubs - Elektra

Elektra  (2005) starring Jennifer Garner, Goran Višnjić, Will Yun Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Terence Stamp Directed by Rob Bowman Screenplay by Zak Penn, Stuart Zicherman, M. Raven Metzner.  Based on Comic book characters by Frank Miller. Motion picture characters by Mark Steven Johnson. Produced by Arnon Milchan, Gary Foster, Avi Arad. Color Run time: 97 minutes. Superhero USA

If you watched the recent Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) and saw Jennifer Garner dressed up as a superhero and were unfamiliar with the character she’s playing, you might be tempted to watch Elektra (2005), in which she portrayed the titular character. Or, if you watched the much-assailed Daredevil (2003), you might want to see what happened to the Elektra character that was believed dead but apparently wasn’t, in which case you might also be curious about this film, the supposed continuation of her story.

The idea to make the film based on the character dates to 1987. Frank Miller’s Elektra: Assassin was so successful that Marvel tried to adapt it into a live-action movie, even having Miller take the first stab at the screenplay. With New Line controlling the rights, Oliver Stone was signed on to direct and volleyball player/actress Gabrielle Reece set to star. But this first attempt to tell the story died when the rights were sold to 20th Century Fox.

Following the rather unspectacular release of Daredevil, Fox decided to go ahead with Elektra, perhaps hoping to get a trilogy of films out of the IP. Garner was already finding success with her own TV show, Alias, so production of the film had to take place while the series was in hiatus, which meant a short window for the filming.

Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner) on her way to a kill.

The film opens with a rather involved hit job, wherein a man of wealth and ominous background can’t afford enough protection to defend himself against who he knows is coming for him, Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner). After vanquishing all of his guards, she enters and unceremoniously kills him.

There is a meeting of the Hand to discuss the Treasure. Roshi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), master of The Hand, is confronted by his son, Kirigi (Will Yun Lee), who wants his chance to go after it. But Roshi has faith in his right hand man to take care of it, much to Kirigi’s displeasure.

Elektra is a paid assassin and has an agent, McCabe (Colin Cunningham), who handles requests for her service and, one suspects, other assassins as well. One day, McCabe receives an unusually large offer from an anonymous client wishing to hire Elektra. At first, she’s not interested, but money talks and she takes the job. The only stipulation: she must spend a few days in a rented home on the island where the assassination is to be performed. A woman of action, Elektra gets bored waiting for the names of the targets to be revealed.

Elektra is brought back to life by Stick (Terence Stamp) using Kimagure.

It is on her trip to the site that she recalls her life post Daredevil. Dead, she is revived by blind martial arts master Stick (Terence Stamp), who teaches her the ancient art of Kimagure, which provides its practitioners with precognition as well as the ability to resurrect the dead. However, Elektra is expelled from the training compound because of her inability to let go of her rage and fear of seeing her mother's killer as a child, a recurring dream throughout the film.

While she waits to learn her target, Elektra catches a girl named Abby (Kirsten Prout), who has broken into the house and is trying to steal Elektra's mother's necklace. Abby is a born liar, but Elektra sends her away. Later, she meets Abby’s father, Mark Miller (Goran Višnjić), when he’s looking for Abby.

Elektra is invited to Christmas dinner with Abby (Kirsten Prout) and her father, Mark Miller (Goran Višnjić).

Later, Abby invites Elektra to Christmas dinner on Mark's behalf. Elektra develops a romantic interest in Mark, but tries to keep her distance. When she learns that Mark and Abby are the targets she has been hired to kill, she seems determined at first to do it. However, Elektra spares them and leaves. On the ferry off the island, she sees other assassins arrive and goes back to protect Mark and Abby from assassins sent by The Hand, a crime syndicate of ninja mercenaries. When the ninjas are killed, they disappear in a greenish fog.

Kirigi (Will Yun Lee) (c) and his crew. From l to r: Kinkou (Edison T. Ribeiro),
Typhoid (Natassia Malthe), Stone (Bob Sapp) and Tattoo (Chris Ackerman).

Roshi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), master of The Hand, learns of the failed attempt and permits his son Kirigi (Will Yun Lee) to lead a new team of assassins to kill Elektra and return with Abby, referred to as "The Treasure". Kirigi’s team includes Tattoo (Chris Ackerman), Kinkou (Edison T. Ribeiro), Typhoid (Natassia Malthe) and Stone (Bob Sapp), all of whom have some supernatural powers to go along with their ninja training.

Did Stick get his name from his pool playing?

Elektra takes Abby and Mark to Stick in what appears to be a pool hall. But he doesn’t want them and scolds her to protect them herself. She tries to leave them there, but Abby comes out looking for her. By then, Kirigi’s team has followed them using a bird that comes out of one of Tattoo’s tattoos. She hurries them away and drives them out to McCabe's country house. He’s not happy to see them, but provides shelter. The quiet doesn’t last long when Kirigi’s team shows up. McCabe tries to hold them off while Elektra flees with Mark and Abby through a secret underground exit to a forest. McCabe sacrifices himself to buy them time.

Elektra's agent McCabe (Colin Cunningham).

Kirigi and his assassins hunt them down in the forest and attack. Elektra kills Stone by dropping a tree on him and Abby and Mark kill Kinkou with one of his own daggers. As Elektra is distracted by the revelation that Abby has martial arts skills, Typhoid gives Elektra the "Kiss of Death". Abby is captured by Kirigi. Stick and his Chaste ninjas arrive, forcing Kirigi, Typhoid, and Tattoo to retreat. Stick saves Elektra from death and takes them under his protection.

Back at his retreat, Stick confirms to Elektra that Abby is the "Treasure", a martial arts prodigy, whom the Hand seeks to use. Elektra learns that she was a Treasure herself, resulting in her mother becoming a casualty of the fight between The Chaste and The Hand. She further speculates that Stick set up the hit on Mark and Abby in order to test Elektra's propensity for compassion.

Elektra astral projects herself to a meeting with Kirigi and challenges him to a fight, the winner claiming Abby for their own purpose. She tells him that the final battle will take place where it all began, which means her childhood home. It is only then that she realizes the horned demon, whom she sees in her dream killing her mother, was Kirigi.

In their fight, Elektra is defeated by Kirigi. Abby arrives and engages him long enough for Elektra to recuperate and the two escape into a hedge maze. However, they get separated and Abby is captured by snakes dispatched by Tattoo. Elektra finds Tattoo and snaps his neck, releasing Abby.

Elektra engages Kirigi a second time and manage to kills him. Typhoid poisons and kills Abby, before Elektra throws her sai into Typhoid, killing her. Elektra desperately tries to wake Abby, calms herself, lets go of all of her rage, and successfully resurrects her using the power of Kimagure.

Later, Elektra gets ready to leave. She and Mark share one final kiss, but that is the end of things with them. Elektra tells Abby to live a normal life and that they each gave each other's life back. Elektra leaves, hoping that Abby will not grow up to be like her. Stick appears and points out that Elektra did not turn out so bad. Elektra bows to Stick to thank him. He bows to Elektra and disappears. Elektra leaves on foot to cinematic oblivion, only to be rescued in Deadpool & Wolverine.

If you’re still stuck remembering that she returned to Daredevil, at the end of that film, and left him a braille necklace, you will be disappointed. There were plans for a Daredevil cameo, but that didn’t happen, so rather than a continuation of Daredevil, this film is more a standalone film pretending to be a sequel. And that can be good or bad depending on your point of view.

Speaking of that tender moment between Daredevil and Elektra, that gets blown out of the water when it seems she make a romantic connection with Mark. So much for the romance.

As far as staying true to the source material, while I’m personally not a reader of that series, I’ve read that the creative team decided to “improve” the source material for the big screen. This story is not based on the comic book, but a new idea altogether. Can’t say that decision was a good one, as fans like to see what they expect on the screen.

This was not a good film for Jennifer Garner. She reportedly did not want to do the film and only did it because she was legally required due to contractual obligations from Daredevil. If that’s true, her instincts were good. While it was not a death knell to her career, it certainly was not a boon.

Goran Višnjić, perhaps best known for his role on the short-lived TV series Timeless, stars here as the love interest for Elektra. He’s a good actor, but there really isn’t all that much for him to do here.

Terence Stamp is not a savior for this film either. An actor with a certain gravitas, his role here seems almost cliché. Somehow, the idea of a blind martial arts instructor seems like it’s been done before and perhaps better.

That's got to hurt. A wolf emerges from one of Tattoo's tattoos.

The film adds mysticism to the superhero genre, as the ninjas deployed by Kirigi, including himself, don’t seem to be held to the laws of physics. It’s more than just animals of prey emerging from Tattoo’s tattoos, but they can teleport in a blink of an eye and seemed to be almost impossible to kill. But they are mortal, but when they die their bodies disappear in a greenish fog. It’s not surprising that this is never explained in the story.

And for all the martial arts in the film, the action really isn't all that spectacular or exciting.

At the end of the story, it’s unclear where Elektra is going, but it wasn’t on to a sequel. Made on a budget of between $43 to 65 million, it only made $57 million at the box office. The word you’re looking for is flop.

Audiences back then seemed to have gotten it right. If you’ve been intrigued by the Elektra character after her appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, trust me it’s not worth watching Elektra. You won’t really enjoy what you find. Sometimes, it’s best to just leave things alone.