WONDER WOMAN (2017/dir. Patty Jenkins)

[Johann]

Tabuno- Elektra doesn't come close to what Wonder Woman is. It's a good movie, but did Elektra make half a billion dollars in record time? And you can't say it was all because of name...

[tabuno]

Yes, of course Wonder Woman has collected tons of money, yet when it comes to the more intimate and finely appreciated subtlety of natural versus supernatural powers, it is much more believable that Elektra might be much real that Wonder Woman. There is more focus on Elektra and both her personal turmoil of being cast out by her teacher and the lessons learned than Wonder Woman. Elektra's martial arts seem to be more acute and sharply presented than Wonder Woman with her magic bullet repelling bracelets. The more intimate story with the father and daughter offers up a stronger emotional connection with the audience than the larger than life epic of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is more dazzle and sizzle, what Elektra is more personally meaningful and emotional appealing. Wonder Woman is directed more as what male audiences members might seek in what they imagine their feminine side might be in search of, whereas Elektra taps much more poignantly into the female heart and human connectivity between mother and child.

[Chris Knipp]

tabuno, you are comparing Wonder Woman with the 2005 movie Elektra directed by Rob Bowman, Metacritic rating 34. I have no memory of it and didn't see it. When a movie is universally panned I tend to save my time for other entertainments. Oscar asks you why you prefer Elektra. Johann is not just worshiping money, he's merely suggesting that major box office success usually means a movie has something to offer. Elektra cost $43 for production, and made $24 million in the US, about $56.7 million worldwide including US, so a much more modest success than Wonder Woman, but they did make their money back eventually. A look at the review excerpts on Metacritic for Elektra show it was deemed to have little to offer besides pretty images and a striking looking star.

Here are the top comments quoted in Metacritic:

50
ReelViews James Berardinelli
One of the least effective comic book-to-movie stories to have come along in the past few years. Without a viable screenplay, there's nowhere for the character to go, and no way to avoid making her look silly.
50
Variety
Elektra proves no more than fitfully satisfying, a character-driven superhero yarn whose flurry of last-minute rewriting shows in a disjointed plot.
50
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Watching this is like sitting by a pinsetter at a bowling alley. That's too bad, because the picture had potential.

[Johann]

Tabuno- Elektra is entertainment, it was serviceable, Jenifer Garner is very pretty, but Wonder Woman is much more ambitious and Grand. It does have a lot more to offer, and I disagree about it being for male audience members. It's one of the strongest female movies you'll find, recent or otherwise. And it's not corny or campy, which Elektra slips into.
I like Elektra, both as a comic book character and as a movie. But they could reboot Elektra and do a WAY better job. It was just a companion movie to Daredevil, which a lotta fans think is a dud.

[tabuno]

It's interesting to observe that the two critics who Chris quoted appeared to have male names. Of course most adventure action movies are usually dominated by male audience members. What was great of Elektra was that it was more balance in its regard to both action and substantive emotional cerebral content. As I've noted with Wonder Woman, the movie was more about how an action movie might incorporate a female lead using a male perspective, thus Johann's description "the strongest female movies you'll find, recent or otherwise." For me, the necessity of having a "strong" female movie only supports my irritation with this movie. I prefer Elektra because its character was eventual shown to be sensitive, caring, and mindful while at the same time respectful of her deadly abilities. This was an essential lesson that Elektra was to learn - that humanity was more important than skillful strength.

[Johann]

Tabuno- you are aware that Wonder Woman was directed by a woman, right?
You are saying that a man (Rob Bowman) did more right by women than Patty Jenkins?
Wonder Woman is a feminist Icon. Elektra is not.

[Johann]

Tabuno- Wonder Woman doesn't actually use her skills as "weapons"- what she does is moral judgment calls, according to her powers, thus making her a benefactor to humans- all humans of Earth. Elektra faces select enemies, and doesn't always win. It's important to make that distinction- Wonder Woman is a Goddess. Elektra is a human. Extraordinary, yes, and even more humane when played by Jennifer Garner.
Do you read Elektra comics, tabuno? or just love the movie?

[tabuno]

Just because a female directed a movie doesn't mean that her perspective will be successfully allowed to reign over a movie. Sometimes to be successful in today's movie business, especially the blockbuster mainstream feature films, one may have to sacrifice one's values in order to obtain a broader audience that adheres to more traditional values. I believe a side by side comparison between Wonder Woman and Elektra would reveal an imbalance of the lack on the part of Wonder Woman compared to Elektra of key emotive and relational connections, intimate detailed scenes that highlight the value of human compassion over just exciting physical action and special effects. One can also see this in politics when minority candidates run for elected office where the minority candidate sometimes needs to run on the white electoral platform to win. African American Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice, would be an example of how cultural or genetic make up doesn't necessarily translate into a narrower focus on adhering to one's own historical background.