Saw the film "Elektra" last night.

First, let me get to the important stuff. Before the film they ran the first trailer for the Fantastic Four movie.

What did I think? How will the film adaptation of my all time favorite comic book characters look on the big screen?? Well.... not as bad as I feared, at least in this trailer. A film version of the FF though, should be as great as the Spider-Man films, and so far.... well, I guess we'll find out on July 4.

Now what movie did I see? Oh yeah,
Elektra.

Elektra (Jennifer Garner) is a high paid assassin who has uncanny abilities thanks to her training by her blind mentor Stick. (though anyone who read the excellent run of Daredevil issues in the early 80's already know her story, of course that would be a tiny % of the movie viewing public.)

In the beginning of the film she's a cold hearted assassin, who after finishing a job reluctantly takes on another assignment. She must kill a man and her daughter, but something inside prevents her from carrying out her deed. She sees something of herself in the girl, and yes, it turns out that Abby (the girl) also has the talents of a warrior and the evil group who call themselves "The Hand" want to capture her for their side.

The bulk of the film follows a group of killers with (pretty cool) unique powers as the must battle Elektra to capture Abby for their own.

meh.

The story itself is really nothing that we haven't seen before. What could have set this apart are two things.

1) A REALLY bad villain. Someone who comes across as a genuine threat.
Yes, the powered henchmen are neat, Tattoo (a man who's body covered tattoos can come to life), Typhoid Mary (her very touch brings death to any living thing) and Stone (a big strong guy as strong as stone). But their leader, Kirigi, is a pretty lame advisory.

2) Elektra herself. Yes, the main character. Sure, Jennifer Garner is nice to look at, but she brings nothing to the screen. I believe though, it's not all her fault. Elektra is a pretty lame character. After you get past the atypical "angst lone killer" routine, there's not much to get caught up in. And when you're main character isn't all that interesting....

(and for those viewers who haven't seen the Daredevil film, you don't really understand that she was killed! Yes, she died in Daredevil and was brought back to life by Stick. But you wouldn't know that from just this film.)

Elektra is a nice looking film. It has some nice fight scenes and effects but it's not nearly enough to overcome the uninteresting title character.

I give this a sai wielding: