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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 63:23)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: DTS 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English - Hearing Impaired
  Extras
  • 3 Deleted scenes - Two With Commentary
  • 1 Teaser trailer - Daredevil Director's Cut Sneak Peek
  • 2 Theatrical trailer - Flight Of The Phoenix & Hide And Seek
  • Featurette - Making Of Elektra (12:58)
  • Animated menus
  • Documentaries - Elektra: Incarnations (52:49)

Elektra

20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 93 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

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Elektra neat
In what was almost considered a forgone conclusion when Daredevil was released, there was always going to be an Elektra movie spin-off. For Jennifer Garner, who was on her way up in Hollywood with the cult success of the TV series Alias, sooner came quick enough with Fox green lighting the project to be helmed by X-Files regular director Rob Bowman.

"Her name was Elektra. She was a warrior. She was also dead. Well, nobody's perfect. Only a warrior can come back from death and even then the second life is never quite like the first."

Elektra is assembled from some of the better parts of the comic books series, both her own and Daredevil, culled from the various incarnations over the years and distilled into a film friendly version here for the masses. Naturally this is going to offend the purist’s but not everything in a comic looks great on the screen thus necessitating the use of some poetic license. If you don’t like it you can always still read the comic I’ve always said.

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Zod, kneel before, yes.

Having got a reasonable amount of her back story out of the way in the movie Daredevil, the film more or less kicks off with Elektra (Jennifer Garner) now a contract killer for hire. There is still the requisite amount of flash backs to her tortured past, and also how she managed to get over that small fact that she was killed by Bullseye in Daredevil!

Things don’t get much better for her here either, after taking a job to kill a father & daughter that she ends up forming an attachment to and then welching on the contract. Our lady in red begins to find out that there is more to these two than meets the eye. With the criminal organisation The Hand having a keen interest in the young girl for reasons unknown to Elektra and who will stop at nothing to try and capture her by using a group of supernatural assassins; placing Elektra into the role of protector rather than killer.

  Video
Contract

Fox have given us an excellent transfer for Elektra. The video is in 2.35:1 widescreen with anamorphic enhancement. The image is hard to fault, in fact near flawless save for some minor aliasing that popped up. Aside from that, the detail is extremely sharp and colour reproduction is spot on giving the effect of the images literally leaping off the screen. Black detail is perfect as well handling the films many darker scenes with aplomb.

  Audio
Contract

There are two tracks to choose from; Dolby Digital 5.1 or a DTS 5.1. Both tracks are excellent with very little difference between the two, aside from the usual comparisons i.e. Bass extension and presence. The soundtrack is quite active and the soundstage is filled with some nice directional effects and ambient noise.

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Typhoid spreading
However Elektra is not as aggressive as some comic book movie soundtracks in this reviewer’s opinion. Not a fault of the audio more the amount of action on screen. There are very few explosions and minimal amounts gunplay. The music featuring some of today’s contemporary artist’s helps convey the mood of the picture perfectly along with the score by Christophe Beck also.

  Extras
Contract

A modest collection extra's are included on the disc. There are three Deleted Scenes (5:55) with commentary by director Rob Bowman all except for the last one which features Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock from Daredevil in a dream sequence. Very short to be of any significance and I am really torn as to whether it should have been included. I think it would have been nice to link the two films, but if the director wanted this film to stand on its own stilletos I can respect that. The other two scenes consist of a variation to a scene and the other is a little extra padding for a scene in the film.

There is also a short EPK fluff piece The Making of Elektra (12:58) which is basically a group of talking head type of interviews from the cast & crew. The biggest and most satisfying feature here is the ample documentary Elektra: Incarnations (52:49) featuring interviews with the writers and artists of the comics Daredevil & Elektra. If you are a fan of comics this will keep you enthralled from start to finish, if you’re after info regarding the shoot of Elektra you will have to make do with the aforementioned fluff piece. There are two Theatrical Trailers for Hide & Seek & Flight of The Phoenix and lastly we have the Daredevil Director's Cut Sneak Peek (1:27) .

  Overall  
Contract

Elektra is good piece of escapism, a little light on story but for the short amount of time it’s on screen it certainly passes the time which is my chief complaint here. Like the theatrical cut of Daredevil that sacrificed story for swiftness, the same can be said for this film. Fear not though fellow DVD enthusiast just as Fox saw fit to release a longer extended cut of Daredevil recently, so to Elektra will have an extended cut released on DVD this November in Region 1. We can assume region 4 will also see this release.

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Elektra at the Mortal Kombat fancy dress party.

Rob Bowman’s original cut was longer and given an R rating in the States but was trimmed down due to the usual contractual obligations studios impose on blockbuster releases. Still Elektra is definitely worth a rental, and if you have enough discipline grasshopper, hold out for the coming 2 disc extended cut that will no doubt grace the shelf of your favorite retailer shortly. Watch this space.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=5263
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      And I quote...
    "Elektra is good piece of escapism, a little light on story but for the short amount of time it’s on screen it certainly passes the time"
    - Anthony Bethell
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS780
    • Projector:
          Infocus 4805 DLP Projector
    • Screen:
          LP Morgan Galleria 95" 16:9 fixed screen
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DB795
    • Speakers:
          Sony SS-MF650HM
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony CR550HM
    • Surrounds:
          Sony SS-550HM
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony SA-WM500M
    • Audio Cables:
          MaxCable Optical
    • Video Cables:
          MaxCable Component
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