ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

merelyaninnuendo ElektraElektra lacks every ingredient that a comic-book movie contains or even a movie for that matter, as it is flat out exhausting from the top.

brchthethird Even by pre-MCU standards, ELEKTRA is pretty bad. You have a nonsensical script, flat characters, uninspired dialogue, and equally bad delivery. DAREDEVIL was no prize, but this spin off failed in a large part to even be entertainingly bad. I can't really claim to know much about Elektra since I've never read any of the comics, but I have a hard time believing that the interpretation here was in any way faithful, except maybe cosmetically. If there's one thing the film has going for it, Jennifer Garner looks stunningly attractive in the character's trademark red costume. Even the filmmakers seem to be aware of this fact, as they spend an inordinate amount of screen time devoted to her movement in slow motion just looking sexy. Aside from some hackneyed backstory, though, Elektra is barely as fleshed out as the supporting cast around her. Even more to its detriment, no attempt is made whatsoever to explain anything whatsoever. The only thing that is clear is that The Hand is after some teenage girl who is "The Treasure," and Elektra somehow gets caught in the middle of it. Other than that, it's the same old "antihero who finds the good within themselves" hokum that we've seen dozens of times already. But, one must give credit where credit is due. The production design and art direction on this film is pretty darn good. Costumes, sets, and effects were all done quite well. Even the action, though edited in a slightly irritating way, was effective enough. Too bad there wasn't more of it, though. The best scene is arguably Elektra's (re)introduction, but after that the pacing takes a nosedive and doesn't really recover until the last 30 minutes, and by then it's too late. Plenty of time is spent with Elektra and the two people she's originally tasked with killing, but the villains are left out in the cold as far as development is concerned. They all look cool and have some cool abilities, but their goal is ill-defined (as is the human MacGuffin they're after) and the actors playing them were risibly bad when they decided to open their mouths. If there's anything else to say to the film's detriment, it's that the pacing is so lethargic in the middle portion it becomes boring. When it comes down to it, I feel like only the Marvel completist would enjoy this in the slightest. Even as a DAREDEVIL apologist, I must say that ELEKTRA is non-essential when it comes to the Marvel canon. There is visual appeal to be had, but that's about it. Thank goodness the rights reverted back from Fox to Marvel Studios, because I feel like the Netflix DAREDEVIL show will finally get her right.

Adam Foidart Move over "Ghostrider"; "Elektra" is now the worst Marvel movie to come out of the 2000's. It's a total disappointment on every single level and even if you're a hardcore fan of the character from the comic books, there is no way you will be able to forgive the slew of continuous cinematic sins this movie brings to your screen.If you remember the end of "Daredevil", our titular character (played by Jennifer Garner) had been killed, much to our hero's chagrin. Just before the credits, there were hints that maybe she wasn't dead, despite the fact that she got a sai (those swords she wields) through her chest. Even if you don't remember any of that stuff, it doesn't really matter because this picture has little, if anything to do with that first movie. Elektra is now a crazy ninja assassin who is "deep" because she feels no remorse about killing people and does so a bit excessively; or sometimes doesn't. After being sent to assassinate a man (Goran Visnjic as Mark) and his teenage daughter (Kirsten Prout as Abby) Elektra decides to toss out her assignment and protect them from the evil clan of ninjas called "The Hand" instead.I had an epiphany during this movie. It made me realize why this, and other notoriously poor comic book movies like "Ghost Rider" and "Catwoman" suck so much. It's because they have totally lame villains. Let's say you were making a Batman movie. Who would you have him pitted against? Would it be villains that no one has ever heard of, that even comic book fans don't care about like "Chemical King", "Hellhound", "Killshot" and "Rip Roar"? No way! Not in a million years! What you would do is pick one, maybe two and make sure they're some of the most interesting, most iconic criminals in Gotham City. Guys like The Joker, or Two-Face, or Bane. Characters that couldn't possibly be mistaken for anyone else, have a ton of personality and feel like genuine threats because their reputation precedes them. With that in mind, who is Elektra pitted against in this story? A bunch of no-name, Z-grade baddies that are totals chumps and that no one will ever remember, or care about. We have Boob lady, who can make stuff decay, sometimes; Big black guy who is bullet proof and strong; their boss who has generic ninja powers and a guy with killer tattoos (he's actually kind of cool admittedly). After doing a bit of research, I realized that these characters, which are about as appealing as the popcorn you find under your seat cushions are actually previously established characters from the Marvel universe. Boob lady (Natassia Malthe) is Typhoid, the strong guy (Bob Sapp) is Stone, their leader (Will Yun Lee) is Kirigi and some of the other characters introduced throughout include Stick, and some ninja clans that fans of Daredevil and Elektra will recognize.The problem is that none of these villains have powers that feel original. We've seen strong guys before; we've seen people that can make people go moldy before. If not in other superhero movies, then in generic action films that require a supernatural villain (which is what this feels like). I did think that at least one of the villains in this film was cool, which was Tattoo (Chris Ackerman). Basically he can bring the ink on his body to life to spy on people with spiders, or birds or even use them offensively by unleashing the wolf or snake tattoos. Even then though, this character never really feels like a genuine threat because he doesn't use his powers in any inventive ways and when he goes down, you'll go "wait, that's it?!" Notice how little I've actually talked about the movie? That's because "Elektra" is about as generic as it gets. Jennifer Garner jumps around in a sexy outfit looking tough, nobody uses guns because guns are too effective in terms of assassinating people, you get your teenage sidekick, characters that make idiotic decisions so that we can have action sequences, and the acting is lousy. In terms of performances, the worst offender has to be Terence Stamp as Stick. He's supposed to be blind, but you couldn't tell from the way he's always looking at the person he's talking to. It's like they didn't even try to make it convincing! This film only lasts a little bit over an hour and a half and it felt like it was taking forever to conclude. There is nothing interesting going on here. Even the combat sequences couldn't jar me out of my state of nearly-dead-out-of-boredom because the villains suck and the way they're taken down isn't interesting. It doesn't make Elektra look good when she effortlessly takes down a slew of stereotypical black-clad ninjas, it just makes these shinobi look like a bunch of pajama-wearing losers. If you can't predict where this plot is going, by the way you haven't seen any action movies because this doesn't feel like a superhero or comic book movie at all. They don't even refer to Daredevil or anything! This movie is clearly as sequel-spin off of the Ben Affleck flick (whose "Director's Cut" is solid and very enjoyable) but the only hint of this is an afterthought during the first five minutes of the running time.At least "Ghost Rider" had some cool visuals, with Johnny Blaze running around with a flaming skull for a head. This movie has got absolutely nothing to offer. None of the characters are compelling, none of the action is exciting, none of the writing is original. Even if you were the world's biggest Elektra fan, I can assure you that this is not a worthy representation of her comic book iterations. I can't think of anyone I could recommend it to, but it didn't offend me so I can't quite give it a zero rating. It's close though. (Director's Cut on Blu-ray, March 28, 2015)

jayneflakes I have watched Daredevil once and that was one time too many, Elektra though I have enjoyed many times and now have on DVD. It saddens me that the criticism of this film is so harsh, even allegedly from it's star. The movie is brooding, often dark and the action is intense. Characters are well conceived and the actors chosen play those roles well. Garner plays a formidable Elektra, but also a human version that has flaws and fears. The human side of her comes to the forefront in this movie and there are not many actresses who could have portrayed such darkness.Lead bad guy Will Yub Lee is as beautiful as he is terrifying and his final fight scene with Elektra is a dignified end to such a powerful character. As characters from the Marvel Universe, there is always going to be the unbelievable side to them, but in this film the story carries them all well.The animation of the bird of prey returning to Tattoo's chest is beautiful and Tythoid's first attack on Elektra is scenically beautiful with the falling black feathers. In truth I like the Hand more than I like Abby and her Father.I like this film, there are a great many things about it that make it excellent and as such I gave it nine out of ten. This quiet little film should be discovered and loved for the classic it is.