The Movie
Once upon a time, the esteemed comic book scribe Frank Miller created a girl named Elektra who started out a little odd and before long went out-and-out nuts, but she was beautiful and at least had an outlet for all her restless energy: She was quite adept at killing people, and she became an accomplished female ninja assassin. As we saw in the movie Daredevil, she was also the love of heroic Matt Murdock's life and was fatally stabbed by the villainous Bullseye. Without Miller's approval, Marvel Comics resurrected Elektra and supernatural forces have since become an undercurrent to the once-realistic character, and these forces have sadly gone over the top in the big-screen Elektra.
Secret armies of good and evil are bracing themselves for an impending war over "The Little Treasure," a 13-year-old martial arts prodigy who reminds Elektra (an earnest Jennifer Garner who does the best she can with what she's given) of herself. "E" chooses sides, battling bulletproof giants and living tattoos and breath-o-death, and her path to redemption might leave you needing an insulin shot by the end credits. Theatrically the movie was PG-13, for this Director's Cut it is "Unrated," nothing too edgy, three frames added to a shot of someone being executed via a big knife to the face for example, but simple dramatic additions/extensions as well, for better or worse.
The Picture
The 2.4:1 HD video is outstanding. Visually (if not dramatically) it's a dark movie, and the many shadows are deep, rich and natural-looking, sometimes surrendering extremely delicate nuances. The image is quite sharp, with only some subtle shifts in quality at the new edits, while the palette is warm and pretty. There's a little grain, a little noise, and the backgrounds can take on a little mushiness from the digital compression, but all in all this one's a winner.
The Sound
The DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1 sound is exceptional too, punctuated by lots of crisp, sharp bass amid all the violent action. The musical score displays a beautiful multichannel spread, with a deft airiness to the bells in particular. Surrounds are seldom silent, for minor details like the chirping of birds but also keen effects such as the whizzing of a killer's little death darts or the abstract phasing when characters experience bizarre visions.
The Extras
All of the bonus content here, while extensive, is borrowed from the two-disc Elektra Director's Cut DVD, although the still galleries there have not been ported over. The video is standard-definition.
The audio commentary by director Rob Bowman and film editor Kevin Stitt is specific to the unrated version of the movie, a tad slow and technical in places. The revealing "Relentless: The Making of Elektra" is broken down into "Production" (87 minutes) and "Post-Production" (53 minutes). "Showdown at the Well: Multi-Angle Dailies" allows us to toggle between multiple cameras and combinations for Takes 3, 5, 7 and 9 of an intense action shot.
Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Bowman and Stitt include the dropped cameo by Daredevil himself (and Garner's future husband), Ben Affleck. These four scenes run a total of five minutes. Six Alternate/Extended Scenes offer optional commentary by Bowman, 14 minutes total.
The Mythology section is presented in two distinct areas of study. "Elektra: Incarnations" is a discussion of her comic book history, including an extensive interview with Miller (who had chosen not to see the movie when I interviewed him a few years ago, despite his admiration of Garner) along with other noted writers and artists, 53 minutes total. We're also given a look at "Elektra in Greek Mythology," with expert insight (15-and-a-half minutes).
Final Thoughts
The movie has some good points, some fine action, but there is so much to work with from the comics pages themselves, why the need for Tinseltown reinvention? Hollywood has however yielded a terrific looking/sounding Blu-ray edition.
Product Details
Where to Buy:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
