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Preview by: Jack Foley
THERE seems to be no end to super-hero movies at the moment,
following the success of franchises such as Spider-Man,
X-Men and Hellboy
in 2004.
Looking ahead to 2005 and beyond, we have a new Superman
to look forward to, as well as a new Batman,
plus the further adventures of Spidey
and Wolverine and co. Yet there is still room for more, it seems.
First off the blocks will be Elektra, a spin-off to Dare-Devil,
which revives (almost literally) one of the key characters from
that film.
Dare-Devil, of course, featured Ben Affleck as a blind, crime-fighting
super-hero, whose love affair with the equally kick-ass Elektra
(Jennifer Garner) was cruelly cut short by Colin Farrell's psychopath,
Bullseye.
Anyone who thought they had seen the last of Elektra, however,
would be wrong, particularly as she was one of the best things
about Dare-Devil.
Elektra therefore picks up some time after her demise in Dare-Devil,
as she is revived by a group of assassins, known as The Order
of the Hand, who helped train her in the first place.
However, when the Hand's current leader, Kirigi, orders her to
kill a man, Mark Miller (ER's Goran Visnjic), and his 13-year-old
daughter, Abby (Kristin Prout), Elektra falls in love with him
instead and makes a stand against the assassin.
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However, as is often the case, the
path to Kirigi is not an easy one, and Elektra must also take
on the might of the leader's lethal quartet, including Tengu and
a certain Typhoid Mary (Natassia Malthe).
Much has been made of the latter, in particular, as it features
an eagerly-anticipated kissing sequence between the two actresses.
According to a recent report on USA Today, Typhoid Mary is, by
day, an ordinary woman, who is transformed at night into a knife-wielding
psycho capable of spreading typhoid with her breath.
The scene in question with Garner was shot over two days in Vancouver
on a bed of dead leaves and already has fans of the Marvel Comic
Books on which it is based hot under the collar.
Malthe, a former ballet dancer, told USA Today: "I basically
had to float through the air, landing on top of her. But this
is not a sexual act. I want to kill her."
Ironically, Malthe confessed to having a cold on the day in question,
so was equally concerned about not infecting Garner with her germs
- particularly as she had to return to the set of Alias pretty
soon after.
Fortunately, everything went to plan and no germs were spread.
One of the other talking points in the film is Elektra's costume,
which, according to director, Rob Bowman, has been changed from
the comic slightly.
"We didn't do it verbatim from the comic because she would
look like a hooker," he told Empire magazine.
However, he promises that Garner remains true to the 'badass'
nature of the comic book character throughout the movie and even
gets more weapons to play with - including a rather nifty bow
and arrow to match her prowess with the sais.
The film is due for a simultaneous release in the UK and US on
January 14, 2005.
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