January 13, 2005
By Matt Savelloni
“I'M MORE ATTRACTED TO A STRONGER MAN RATHER THAN A FEMININE MAN.” – Carmen Electra
Let’s face it: chicks get short shrift in the comic book world. No surprise there. Comics, or graphic novels as they are sometimes credited, are created, purchased and worshipped predominantly by dudes. The roster of notable female crime fighters is short and rather anemic in terms of characterization. WONDER WOMAN, CATWOMAN, BATGIRL, VAMPIRELLA and HAWKGIRL don’t exactly inspire the same type of lunatic passion as BATMAN, SUPERMAN and SPIDERMAN. Sure, THE FANTASTIC FOUR’s Sue Storm and the X-MEN’s Jean Grey are beloved, but even the latter struggles in a series with “Men” in the title. However, in an era where female champions are no longer the exception but a welcome alternative, one is gaining mainstream notoriety: ELEKTRA.
In DAREDEVIL #168 (1980), the Proust of the comic books, Frank Miller, introduced Elektra Natchios, former girlfriend of Matt Murdock, the Man Without Fear. In a short story arc, she grew from paramour to rival to avenging angel. Her esteem extends from the fact that DAREDEVIL was for years a cult phenomenon in the comic book industry. Its fans latched on to ELEKTRA’s purebred ass-kicker and felt Murdock’s pain at her ultimate demise. When she was reborn as a bona fide mythological hero, ELEKTRA earned her own popular title.
“PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED AT HOW DOWN-TO-EARTH I AM.” – Carmen Electra
All great art is subject to the zeitgeist of the times. In the '70s and '80s, the feminist movement took hold and the reverberations were felt in the resulting decades of pop culture. ELEKTRA came to fruition around the same time as Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley and Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor. Sure, women defenders have always persisted but the concept is now a genre unto itself. You don’t have to look too far to find a hard-talking, hard-walking babe meting out justice: Laurel Hamilton’s Anita Blake in the realm of novels; THELMA & LOUISE and the continued ALIEN and TERMINATOR franchises on the big screen; BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and ALIAS on television. We accept these superwomen for their added dimensions (no pun intended) and dramatic possibilities outside of tired macho tropes.
Nevertheless, ELEKTRA calls upon the time-tested formula of most comics: valor derived from tragedy. Elektra Natchios lives and dies, literally and figuratively, against a tough directory of villains who destroy significant portions of her life. Meanwhile, she is routinely denied the normality so often craved by all comic legends. Like DAREDEVIL and BATMAN, she doesn’t possess supernatural powers nor is she an alien. Such humanity allows readers to identify with her while marveling at her crime-busting skills. Yes, she wears a fetishistic costume to send legions of fanboys into a fantasyland best not thought about, but ELEKTRA offers more than just kitschy kicks: hers are lethal struggles with contemporary gravitas. She’s no longer a sidekick or a guest star: ELEKTRA has earned the rank and respect of full-blooded American superhero.
“YOU KNOW CRITICISM WHEN YOU GET INTO THIS BUSINESS.” – Carmen Electra
The film version of DAREDEVIL was terrible. I knew this film was in trouble when it hurtled through Matt Murdock’s origin during the opening credits. When are filmmakers going to learn that it’s not the antics of our superheroes but their genesis and its effects on present-day life that interest audiences? What works on the pages of a comic book will never translate exactly to the big screen. Ever. You need to lay a dramatic foundation before spewing special effects and action set pieces across the screen. The best comic adaptation is still SUPERMAN (closing in on 30 years young) with THE CROW right behind it. SUPERMAN II has its merits as do THE HULK and SPIDERMAN films but the Tobey Maguire blockbusters have flat-out stolen the thematic and plotting blueprints from the first two SUPERMAN films and I’m surprised more people haven’t pointed this out. Then again, if you’re going to copy someone, you might as well copy the best.
What the better comic book movies have in common is a serious dedication to telling the origin of the character and showing the ramifications of their “gifts” in present dilemmas. SUPERMAN was 2 ½ hours long, largely spent just getting Clark Kent to Metropolis and setting up his life outside of the tights. Yes, there are action beats and snippets of his powers exhibited but the majority of the whizbang is preserved for the last act. This is vital because Superman is such an indestructible force. His only weaknesses are his compassion and reluctance to lord his powers over mortal men. The brilliance of SUPERMAN’s structure allows viewers to revel in the escalating conflicts. As the stakes rise, so does our desire to see Kent save the day. When he pulls his shirt open and we see that S on his chest, we exalt at this seemingly average guy taking to the heavens. Restraint is always the better part of true filmmaking magic.
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DAREDEVIL, on the other hand, made every conceivable bad choice in constructing its narrative. The film was in such a rush to get to the smackdown, we were given nothing but the most cursory explanation for DAREDEVIL’s existence. The tragedy of his life, his raison d’être, is presented with all the significance of a news clip. Somehow, the filmmakers thought a thumbnail sketch of the protagonist’s life-changing event would support an entire movie. DAREDEVIL experienced many other problems on its road to failure but this compositional blunder was the most damaging.
We can only pray that DAREDEVIL’s failure does not impact ELEKTRA, as it picks up where her storyline ended in the first film. They are following the comic book’s lead to focus on her first major mission: her battles with the Order of the Hand. It’s a risky proposition and if they simply delve into the action, they will be committing the same sins as DAREDEVIL, BATMAN I – IV, X-MEN, X2, THE PUNISHER, FROM HELL, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, HELLBOY and most other comic book films: never proffering the audience a reason to care. The origin is always, always, always more interesting than the main plot. One of the most successful and accomplished TV shows of the past few years is SMALLVILLE, which is essentially one ever-evolving origin story, a SUPERMAN yarn without a cape, without a uniform and without moustache-twirling villains bent on destroying and/or conquering the world. It’s amazing so many comic book adaptations miss this crucial point.
As far as the talent involved, you can’t ask for a better star than Jennifer Garner. She rules the TV roost with ALIAS and has the looks, brains and brawn to become one of Tinseltown’s top leading ladies. ELEKTRA is her first real cinematic acid test, a blockbuster with her name and her name only above the titles – no Ben, no Colin Farrell, no Michael Clarke Duncan, no Jon Favreau. Rob Bowman directs, a decent choice in that he eschews the spasmodic editing of most of his contemporaries. However, his movies lack urgency. Both THE X-FILES and REIGN OF FIRE lagged in their second acts before finishing up strong. The writers include two newbies (Raven Metzner and Stu Zicherman) and an established pro with nothing noteworthy on his résumé (Zak Penn – LAST ACTION HERO, BEHIND ENEMY LINES, X2, SUSPECT ZERO). Of course, ELEKTRA does features Terence Stamp as Stick, one of the most popular peripheral characters this side of Boba Fett. But this is basically Garner’s show, a big-budget action film based on a popular comic character…released in January? Garner is my favorite actress right now. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
“I was watching an HBO special the other night on real-life maximum-security-prison guys. I glanced up, and my poster was in quite a few cells. I was screaming 'Oh, no!'” – Carmen Electra
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