Elektra (Widescreen Edition)
While 2003'sDaredevilwas a conventional superhero movie, the 2005 spinoff,Elektra, is more of awuxia-styled martial arts/fantasy flick. Elektra (Jennifer Garner) has returned to her life as a hired assassin, but she balks at an assignment to kill a single father (Goran Visnjic,ER) and his teenage daughter (Kirsten Prout). That makes her the target of the Hand, an organization of murderous ninjas, scheming corporate types, and a band of stylish supervillains seeking to eliminate Elektra and tip the balance of power in the ongoing battle of good vs. evil.As the star ofAlias, Garner has proven that she can kick butt with the best of them, and some of the visual effects are impressive, but the action sequences tend to be anticlimactic, and there's not much to the story. Fans will notice numerous references toFrank Miller's comic books, but there's very little resemblance to Miller's cold-blooded killer (Elektra with an agent? Elektra referring to herself as a "soccer mom"?).IsElektrabetter thanDaredevil? Not really, even with the distinct advantage of having all Garner and no Ben Affleck. That could be the spinoff's greatest disappointment: afterSpider-Man 2raised the bar for comic-book movies,Elektralowered it back toDaredevil's level.  Directed by Rob Bowman (theX-Filesmovie), and featuring Terence Stamp as the mysterious mentor Stick, Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day) as the chief villain, and NFL-player-turned-mixed-martial-arts-champion Bob Sapp as the immovable Stone.DVD featuresBen Affleck's much-rumored cameo is one of the deleted scenes on theElektraDVD.  It's a one-minute throwaway, and while he's supposedly appearing as Matt Murdock (who romanced Elektra inDaredevil), the barrage of celebrity gossip makes it impossible to see him as anything other than Jennifer Garner's real-life boyfriend.  There's also a making-of featurette, which is mostly promotional hype other than a few interesting effects shots; four editing featurettes; and Jennifer Garner's videotaped message to ComicCon.--David HoriuchiMore onElektraElektra: The Album(Soundtrack CD)Elektra: The Movie(Comic Adaptation)Frank Miller Comic BooksDaredevil(Director's Cut) (DVD)Jennifer Garner stars inAlias(DVD)More Superhero DVDs