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| ELEKTRA (2005) | |
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Elektra brings the audience down the beaten path of the fight between good and evil.
The struggle between good and evil is an infamous theme in storytelling, as it teaches moral values that emphasize kindness, forgiveness, and compassion.
Despite being a frequently recurring theme, it has a solid value to its audience, as it provides new perspectives of the wolf in sheep’s clothing and continues to foster goodness in people.
Elektra tries to offer such a lesson through a troubled woman, who still lives in the past, as anger clouds her thoughts.
The good are represented by an organization led by the blind martial arts master Stick (Terence Stamp) who once taught the main character, Elektra (Jennifer Garner), to become a lethal killer that she is. This might sound counter-productive, but the good side once tried to turn Elektra to one of their leading fighters against the ancient battle against evil. This evil is led by Roshi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) who is the leader of the feared organization called the Order of the Hand. Yet, they are not as fearsome as one wishes in order to generate a suspenseful atmosphere. Once the audience settles down with the main theme, the film introduces a myriad of side plots. For example, Elektra has a troubled past, her obsessive-compulsive disorder seems like a way of survival, her job is as a hired assassin, and other character’s have secrets. There is also the Hands’ pursuit for warriors to tip the balance in their favor such as Elektra while puzzlement surrounds Stick’s relationship to Elektra. These are many of the plots provided in the film, which reminds the audience of a crossroads with several directions to choose. Unfortunately, the director does not develop these side plots or the characters. Instead, the filmmaker brings the audience through a rapid succession of images that are supposed to suggest ideas, thoughts, or something. It feels as if much of the potpourri of thoughts diverges into a messy conundrum where much makes sense, but does not finish or offer any kind of message regarding how Elektra reaches her final solutions. Much of it feels as if it is grabbed straight out of the air leaving the audience with a hollow and fabricated idea. In addition, Elektra’s choices occasionally seem to go against her character, and she does not seem to be the strong person that she is supposed to be. This truly hurts the cinematic experience, as it does not provide a vision or meaning behind Elektra, the Hand, or others in the film. The films is nicely shot with some intriguing cinematography, yet some of it will remind the audience about films such as Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers (2004) by Yimou Zhang. There is also a little of Matrix (1999) slow motion in the film, which does not provide any real unique experience. Ultimately, Elektra will make the audience experience a trivial super hero film while the character Elektra deserves a much better developed story that does not feel cluttered, or borrowed. |
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DIRECTED BY |
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| Rob Bowman | |
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USA |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 4/5/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
