Jennifer Garner basically didn't want to do it. That is the first thing you have to understand about the 2005 Elektra movie. It is a piece of Hollywood history born from a contract, not a creative spark. Garner was legally bound to play the character again after 2003’s Daredevil, and she famously told her friend Michael Vartan that the movie was "awful."
She wasn't exactly wrong. But looking back in 2026, it’s kinda fascinating to see how the film has aged from a "career-ender" to a weirdly beloved relic of the pre-MCU era.
The Jennifer Garner Elektra Movie: A Rushed Mess?
The production was a total whirlwind. Director Rob Bowman, fresh off The X-Files and Reign of Fire, had a tiny window to shoot because Garner was still the lead on Alias. We’re talking about a schedule that barely let the lead actress sleep. Bowman has mentioned in interviews that he was using "every trick in the book" just to get the thing finished on time.
The story picks up after Elektra’s death in Daredevil. She’s brought back to life by a blind master named Stick—played by the legendary Terence Stamp, who honestly looks like he’s wondering if his check cleared in every scene. She becomes a world-class assassin with a severe case of OCD and a penchant for wearing red leather in the snowy mountains.
Then she’s hired to kill a father and daughter, Mark and Abby Miller. Instead, she protects them from a group of supernatural ninjas called The Hand. It’s a classic "killer with a heart of gold" trope, but it feels hollow because the script just doesn't give Garner anything to work with.
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What actually went wrong?
Honestly, the biggest hurdle wasn't just the script—it was the internal politics at Marvel. This was the era of Ike Perlmutter, who famously didn't think female-led superhero movies could make money. When Elektra flopped, grossing only about $57 million against a $43-$65 million budget, it was used as "proof" that women couldn't lead action films.
That’s a heavy burden for one movie to carry. Especially one that was edited down to a PG-13 rating when the director originally shot it as a gritty R-rated flick.
The Action and That Famous Kiss
Despite the mess, Jennifer Garner is genuinely great at the physical stuff. You can see the Alias training in every flip and sai-spin. She was in incredible shape, even if she felt the character was "miscast" or "dour."
One of the most talked-about moments—for better or worse—is the kiss between Elektra and the villainous Typhoid Mary, played by Natassia Malthe. It was a blatant attempt to win an MTV Movie Award (they got nominated, by the way). Bowman admitted they spent a whole day filming that one scene from seven different angles. It feels like such a product of 2005 marketing: "Let's make the ninjas kiss so teenage boys buy tickets."
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The 2024 Redemption
If you saw Deadpool & Wolverine recently, you saw the "redemption" of the Jennifer Garner Elektra movie. It was the first time in 20 years we saw her back in the suit, and she looked like she was actually having fun.
She posted a video on Instagram showing her training for that cameo, and it was intense. We're talking:
- Boxing three times a week.
- Two strength workouts a day.
- "Marvel fit" cardio like swimming and running.
- Endless sai-twirling in her backyard.
Seeing her get a proper send-off alongside Wesley Snipes’ Blade and Channing Tatum’s Gambit made people go back and re-watch the 2005 film. Is it a masterpiece? No. But compared to some of the modern "content" we get, it has a certain tactile, early-2000s charm.
Why You Should Give It Another Chance
The movie is only 97 minutes long. In a world where every superhero movie is a three-hour slog with twenty post-credit scenes, Elektra is refreshingly fast.
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The villains are weird. You’ve got Tattoo, a guy whose animal tattoos literally come to life and fly off his skin. You’ve got Stone, a guy who is... well, made of stone. It’s silly, it’s dated, and the CGI looks like it was rendered on a toaster, but there’s a sincerity to Garner’s performance that saves it from being totally unwatchable.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're going to dive back into this corner of Marvel history, skip the theatrical version. Find the Director’s Cut. It only adds about three minutes of footage, but the pacing is slightly better and it restores some of the intended tone.
Also, watch it as a companion piece to Alias rather than a modern Marvel movie. It feels much more like a high-budget episode of a spy show than a precursor to The Avengers.
Next Steps:
- Watch the Director's Cut: It's often available on streaming platforms like Netflix or Hulu depending on your region.
- Check out the "Making of" featurettes: They reveal just how much Garner struggled with the tight filming schedule.
- Compare it to the Netflix version: If you haven't seen Élodie Yung's version of Elektra in the Daredevil series, it provides a great contrast to Garner's more "heroic" take.