January 13, 2005 - With loads of flowing linen, drapes and sashes, Elektra arrives, slashing the air and a fair number of cronies. Let's face it, when it comes to taking out an opponent, the assassin doesn't get prettier than this. And boy, the wind machines sure do sell the effect. Did Avi Arad special order all of those? The wind comes from everywhere. Sure, one can expect an occasional gust while engaging in martial artistry in a forest or on a hilltop vista, but it's awful windy on some of the household sets. Then again, no one can blame director Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire) and set decorator Peter Lando for taking a little atmospheric license. With a character like Elektra it goes with the territory.

Having cheated death as a target of Bullseye in Daredevil, Elektra survives with, I can guess, emotional scars. But in her nightmares the persistent image that haunts her is that the death of her mother in an idyllic white bedroom (more flowing drapery), and the fleeting glimpse of her slayer. This, it appears, is one of the things that keeps her going, one of the things that likely propelled her to become an assassin for hire; an assassin so good that among those who have witnessed her at work her image has ascended to a somewhat mythical status. It's nice to be so highly thought of.

The movie begins with what I believe is its most impressive moment, a fine introduction at that. A crime boss (an uncredited Jason Isaacs - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) sits alone having a drink, waiting, instinctively knowing he's Elektra's target. Resigned to the inevitable, he tells one of his henchmen exactly how she goes about her business and why he's still alive after a prior encounter. In his case, for optimum effect, the thought of death is even worse when you know, without question, it's coming. He now realizes this was her intent. And like the stories he has heard, he expects she'll whisper in his ear before she kills him. The scene does Elektra's myth good. I'd like to say the same for the rest of the movie, but beyond this point it's more like a depletion of the myth, at least from the audience's standpoint.

-20th Century Fox Jennifer Garner as Elektra

Elektra's right-hand man informs her that her next assignment is a cash windfall and certainly worth the take, so they gear up and go for it. She commences the first part of the assignment: relocating for a couple months to a sparsely populated island. The house itself is an impressive piece of architecture. And there she prepares, waits for further directions. To no one's surprise there's a workout montage, during which I'll note that she does one-handed pull-ups. I'm not sure if Rocky ever did that.