"Garner takes to her Elektra role with an understated enthusiasm. She is ideal in build and style- from kicks, fists and flashing blades to a romantic smooch or two." Stan James THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER "True to form, Garner creates a strapping action character with as many foibles as muscles." Bob Townsend ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION "'And I must say that not since Rafael kicked butt with the rest of the Ninja Turtles has a character wielded a sai the way Garner does!'" Michael A Smith NOLAN'S POP CULTURE REVIEW "[Garner] is ... gloriously in gear, ready to kick some Hand." Bruce Newman SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "The constant talk and tease of Elektra is sure to cause even more male frustration than Catwoman and Tomb Raider, where the femmes were similarly dolled up and then sexed down to appease the nanny censors." Peter Howell, TORONTO STAR

"In terms of comic book flicks, it’s way better than Catwoman and nowhere near as good as Spider-Man." Jon Niccum LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD "The fight sequences are hot." Tim Cogshell BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE "No one will confuse Jennifer Garner for Meryl Streep, but she has a solid turn here as a woman who makes a big show of having withdrawn from the world but really hasn’t." Daniel M Kimmel WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE "There are some tense action sequences and the film has a tight running time." Mark Beirne BRISBANE WHATS ON "With spectacular stunts, electrifying martial arts sequences and one of Hollywood's most appealing actresses taking center stage as the beautiful and deadly assassin, the mystical epic adventure ELEKTRA promises to be a killer at the box office in 2005." FEMAIL.COM.AU

The Inside Story

"Gaps don't ruin the film, thanks to Garner's performance and Bowman's apparent enjoyment of his job." Loey Lockerby KANSAS CITY STAR

"I think the difference between this film and other big comic book movies is that we spend some time inside Elektra's head; the true story is really inside of her," says Bowman. "There's so much unspoken reality in her. Sure, I want audiences to experience a big action movie and give them the thrills of watching the character kick some butt." And there's no doubting the fact that the action scenes and some of the CGI effect used in them are very good but in between there are some dark moments for the lead character. There is a purpose for this as Bowman explained, "I also wanted them to root for Elektra to triumph over her own inner darkness." While there have been others before her, Jennifer Garner is in the rare position having the lead to herself, sharing centre stage with other characters, even though they are certainly interesting, is not a part of the game plan in "Elektra". It's fair to say Garner does a reasonable job with the material given to her and like many stories in this genre, the journey is often a battle with ones self, a journey to discovering who one really is. Given the background of her character, it's little wonder then that there are some dark moments and Garner carries the demands of the role well. Those who took in the movie "Daredevil" will be aware that Elektra was killed off by Colin Farrell's character 'Bullseye'. "At the end of 'Daredevil' we left Elektra at the beginning of her real darkness," says Garner. "When we pick her up in this movie, there's a wall of ice around her," Garner says. "She's so isolated from the outside world that she doesn't even know she's isolated anymore. She's fighting the inevitability of her own humanity," Garner adds. "It's a fantastic story to play, one that I think people can relate to." The man responsible for bringing Elektra back to life is 'Stick'. It's no big secret that acclaimed British actor Terence Stamp wasn't really keen to step into a film of this genre. In fact he was pretty disinterested and showed no enthusiasm for taking on the role of a martial arts instructor with superpowers. But the producers were an insistent bunch and they eventually persuaded him to take the role. "We were determined to get Terence," says producer Gary Foster. "General Zod is still one of the great characters in comic book movie history, and we knew Terence could bring that kind of magic to "Elektra", as Stick." So how did Stamp tackle the role of a man who is blind but has the power to see? "Originally I intended to convey the blindness by having my eyes closed," Stamp recalls."It's something rarely done by an actor, and I like to do original things if I can." So you decided to appear with your eyes open throughout the film. How hard was that to accomplish? "It still entails a different spatial sense," he explained. "You can obviously see if your eyes are open, but if you're playing blind you're not necessarily looking at where you're going or who you're talking to. So there's a kind of side vision that comes into play." And while 'Stick' appears to be a pretty heartless bastard by expelling Elektra from his training camp, he really does feel an affinity for her, doesn't he? "Elektra wants Stick to be her sensei, but she doesn't want to do what he tells her to do," Stamp says . "Although he often appears to be giving up on her, he has a kind of overview, a way of getting her to do what he wants by hook or by crook, so to speak. In the East they say that the guru needs the great pupil even more that the great pupil needs the guru. So I think there's a kind of symbiosis in their relationship." Elektra's adversary in the film is the sinister group 'The Hand' who send a team after her, led by Kirigi, a master swordsman highly skilled in Kimagure. Kirigi is played by Will Yun Lee who has a genuine martial arts connection. "My father was one of the first Tai Kwan Do masters to come to the United States," he said. "So I've been studying martial arts since I was a child." Here's a couple of film facts that will interest you after you've seen the film. "Elektra" was filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. "The decision to shoot a major portion of the movie in natural settings was a departure from the gritty, urban landscapes of other comics-to-film adaptations. "The forest surrounding Vancouver is spectacular," says Bowman. "There is something fresh to invite into the comic book world with these colors and this light." The credit for that sensation costume Jennifer Garner wears throughout the film goes to costume designer Lisa Tomczeszyn. "It was very important to me, to Jennifer, and, I know, to the fans, that this time the costume be red. In addition, we've incorporated at a lot of fashion elements like corset lacing, low-rise pants, and high fashion boots into her costume. Bearing in mind that Elektra Natchios is one of the wealthiest women in the world, she wears every important designer label." On those fight sequences. "Jennifer did a little bit of boxing, some Wu Shu, a bit of hard style martial arts like Shodukan," says stunt coordinator and fight choreographer Mike Gunther. "It's a little bit of everything mixed together." Garner says every fight required a different form of training. "For a 'Bo Stick' fight, for example, I spent a couple of months training," she explained. Finally, what does Garner hope for this comic book hero and its audiences? "I think the audience will be carried along on Elektra's emotional ride," she says. "You're going to see why she is the way she is and why it isn't working anymore. You're going to see a friendship forged and a little bit of romance. You're going to see some great action. I know I worked on this role as hard as I could. I promise, it'll be a ride!" Crew Bytes "ELEKTRA" was .......
directed by Rob Bowman ["Airborne", "The X-Files Movie" and "Reign Of Fire"]; screenplay by Zak Penn ["Last Action Hero", "Inspector Gadget", "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Incident at Loch Ness"]; original story by Zak Penn & Stu Zicherman ["Thick as Thieves", "Guinevere", "Slap Her... She's French", "2000 AD" and "Deathlok"]; costume design by Lisa Tomczeszyn ["Pleasantville", "Monkeybone", "Spider-Man", "Blow" and "Daredevil"]; production design by Graeme Murray ["My 5 Wives", "Malone" and "Knight Moves"]; edited by Kevin Stitt ["Lethal Weapon 4", "X-Men", "X-Men" and "Paycheck"]; director of photograhpy Bill Roe ["The Lost Boys", "Kindergarten Cop", "Terminal Velocity" and "Primal Fear"]; original music by Christophe Beck ["Thick as Thieves", "Guinevere", "Slap Her... She's French", "Under The Tuscan Sun" and "Garfield"] produced by Avi Arad ["Spider-Man", "Spider-Man 2", "Daredevil" and "The Punisher"], Gary Foster ["Loverboy", "Sleepless in Seattle", "Tin Cup", "Desperate Measures" and "The Score"] and Mark Steven Johnson ["Grumpy Old Men", "Grumpier Old Men", "Simon Birch" and "Daredevil"]. Casting About "ELEKTRA" stars .......
Jennifer Garner ["Dude, Where's My Car?", "Pearl Harbor", "Daredevil" and "Suddenly 30"]; Goran Visnjic ["Welcome to Sarajevo", "The Peacemaker", "Practical Magic" and "The Deep End"]; Bob Sapp ["Izo" and "Devilman"]; Terence Stamp ["The Collector", "Superman: The Movie", "The Hit", "Alien Nation", "The Limey", "Bowfinger" and "The Haunted Mansion"]; Colin Cunningham ["Captain Corageous"Best in Show", "The 6th Day", "Antitrust" and "Stealing Sinatra"]; Natassia Malthe ["Lake Placid", "The Wedding Dress", "40 Days and 40 Nights" and "A Guy Thing"]; Kurt Max Runte ["Dirty Little Secret", "Shoes Off!", "I'll Be Home For Christmas" "Josie & The Pussycats" and "X-Men 2"], and Kirsten Prout ["Once Upon a Christmas", "Mindstorm" and "The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess"] as Abby Miller. What It's All About

"The direction and visuals of this movie were great, but just not spectacular. Fighting scenes throughout the movie keep you very entertained and will never leave you looking at your watch." YAHOO MOVIES REVIEWS

Brought back to life by the blind martial arts master Stick, Elektra has been banished from his training came for failing to use her natural abilities. The anger inside her means she will not be able to reach the masters level. Left to her own devices, Elektra is now known as a fierce warrior, a killing machine who shows no mercy. Until she receives her latest assignment. She is to kill a father and his daughter, both of whom are on the run from 'The Hand' a sinister martial arts group who seek a treasure, the location of which Mark Millar and his daughter Abby are only to well aware of. For the first time, Elektra fails to complete a mission. There is something in Abby that strikes a cord with her. Could it be that Abby reminds her too much of her past? Now they are on the run and 'The Hand' have sent a team to track them down. The Verdict "Chances are that if you enjoyed films such as "Daredevil", "Hellboy", "Van Helsing" and "Bulletproof Monk" you'll get a real buzz from this one. While "Elektra" isn't as good a character role as Garner's previous two films, it is never the less still an entertaining genre film. By no means great, but if this is your style, it's worth a look at." The Cast

Jennifer Garner Kirsten Prout Terence Stamp Will Yun Lee Goran Visnjic Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Chris Ackerman Nathaniel Arcand Colin Cunningham Jason Isaacs Hiro Kanagawa Natassia Malthe Jana Mitsoula Bob Sapp Paul Wu Marke Driesschen

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Elektra Natchios Abby Miller Stick Kirigi Mark Miller Roshi Tattoo Ninja #1 McCabe DeMarco Kinkou Typhoid Mary Young Elektra's Mother Stone Fight Instructor Weatherman

The Crew Directed by Rob Bowman Produced by Avi Arad/Gary Foster/Mark Steven Johnson Original Music by Christophe Beck Cinematography by Bill Roe Film Editing by Kevin Stitt Production Design by Graeme Murray Art Direction by Eric Norlin Set Decoration by Peter Lando Costume Design by Lisa Tomczeszyn Run Time 97 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - 20th Century Fox - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved