Every year needs a defining hero. In 2002, Peter Parker was revealed as Spiderman. 2003 had Matt Murdock as the blind, justice-seeking Daredevil. 2004 saw the rebirth of Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2. Now, although early in 2005, another hero has emerged. Her Name? Elektra.

Elektra was released on January 14 as a spin-off to the movie Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. Garner was asked to reprise her role as the beautiful, yet deadly, Elektra Natchios.

Elektra tells the story of a young woman who has nothing left to her name- except her work. She’s brought back from the dead and trained as a martial artist. However, Stick, her master, releases her from the school because he felt that she only cared about winning and defeating her opponent. Upon leaving, Elektra enters the assassin field. Hired out as a hit-woman, she uses her talents to kill people because, according to her, it’s what she’s good at. Finally, she’s asked to kill a man named Mark Miller and his daughter Abby. When she decides to protect them instead of kill them, an organization called The Hand sends its most powerful and deadly members to kill Mark, Abby, and Elektra. Trying to keep the family safe, Elektra starts on a journey of self-discovery.

Throughout the film, a series of action sequences captivates the audience. Personally, I found the choreography for the fight scenes impeccable. Garner chose to do her own stunts, and it shows. However, there are a few fight scenes- such as the finale- where the fight goes by too fast. It seemed to me that the camera was moving around too quickly, so I was not able to get a good view of what was going on. Where was she? Where was the villain? Was she moving, or was it just the camera?

The rapid-paced fight scenes are really the only downside to the film. Other than that, the story is great. Through her self-discovery, Elektra teaches viewers to never give up. She finds someone that means more to her than anything and discovers that she’ll do anything to keep that someone safe. Not just an action-packed film with a rising A-list star, Elektra offers a good time for all.