Buy it... if you're open-minded about complexly layered and often elusive mixes of orchestra and sound design in experimental, atmospheric environments.

Avoid it... if you prefer your heroines to be sustained by kick-ass rhythms and consistent, thematic integrity in a traditional orchestral sense for this genre.

Beck

Elektra: (Christophe Beck) Picking up where her title character's appearance in Daredevil leaves off, Elektra hit the big screens during the doldrums of January, 2005, further fueling rumors of a Daredevil sequel at the time. For this spin-off, the first solo film of Greek assassin Elektra Natchios takes inspiration from the "Elektra: Assassin" graphic novel and the "Elektra Saga" from Frank Miller's run in the Marvel Comics' "Daredevil" series (Elektra was introduced in #168, which debuted around 1980). In her involvement with the Order of the Hand, Elektra finds herself in the same predicament as the lead assassin in the hit cult film The Replacement Killers, serving as a resurrected assassin herself who ends up befriending the family she is meant to kill and fighting her own fellow assassins and their leader. Enthusiasts of both the "Daredevil" and "Elektra" story arcs will find several crossover references with which to be satisfied in terms of continuity, and Fox's films of these combined characters were left open-ended for possibly more sequels in the future. The style of the martial arts in Elektra were meant to rival those seen in the films concurrently sweeping across the Far East, and lead actress Jennifer Garner, during a break from her work on the "Alias" television show, fulfilled the role with more than enough kick-ass attitude and ball-busting physique to make Elektra a sexy eye-candy flick at the very least. The high-flying action and exotic locations, as well as a certain element of religious atmosphere, allowed composer Christophe Beck to experiment greatly with the character of the score. As Beck stated, "One thing I wanted to try for a while was to create textures and music beds and edit and manipulate them to create both strange and familiar musical elements." To accomplish this, he first recorded a small orchestral ensemble specifically for the purpose of manipulating its sound into an abstract sound design. He then recorded an 83-player orchestra with which to layer the more traditional half of the proposed equation. On top of this, a duduk and handful of East Asian specialty instruments make cameos at specific points in the score. Without a doubt, Elektra is an experimental departure for Beck, who was best known for his Emmy-winning music for the "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" television series, the light drama Under the Tuscan Sun just over a year prior, and a slew of silly comedies for which composers never earn much fame. Of his 40 or so film scores at that point, Elektra was his best known assignment, and you can certainly hear the four months of effort he put into its soundscape as a result.

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By no means is Elektra a typical heroine or superhero score; it makes Graeme Revell's music for Daredevil seem even more mundane than it already was. While Beck attempted to make a genuinely fresh and unique collaboration between sound design and live orchestra, the ambient effects leave the only lasting impression. A theme for the title character does exist, but its role is significantly downplayed by the seemingly more important need by Beck to establish his atmosphere above all else. There are no swooshes or brass fanfares; as a matter of fact, the performances of theme in Elektra are restrained and spiritual rather than heroic. Along with the absence of a true heroine or superhero presence is the lack of significant or sustained muscularity. Whenever a rhythm worthy of ass-kicking is established by Beck, such as in the Underworld-like sequence of "Insomnia," that rhythm abruptly halts before you can truly enjoy it. The martial arts sequences make strong use of Beck's highly creative sampling and weaving of electronic bass rhythms and live percussion. This percussion can, at times, test the patience of the listener, especially when the volume and pace of the music is at full throttle. The score has a tendency to degenerate into an overly-layered mess at times, sometimes dominated by an electric bass that will test the capabilities of your subwoofers. But a cue such as "Gnarly Gongs" rocks the room with its outstanding percussive mix, and there are moments throughout when a distant toll of bells or chimes adds a distinctly intriguing fog to the score's other layers. Distant voices, distorted intentionally, remind at times of Mychael Danna's ambient designs. A sound design best described as a Muslim prayer call in "Stick" makes for a particularly fascinating cue, perhaps even the highlight of the score. Brass pitch mutilation in "Kirigi" is naturally more difficult to enjoy apart from the villain's on-screen presence, and some of Beck's work does wear on the nerves with its occasional overextension into the realm of the bizarre. With a tame orchestral cue at the end (a woodwind performance that finally shows a more human side than the rest of the music allows), as well as one somewhat half-hearted performance of the title theme in the final seconds (were the performers simply not inspired that day?), the album leaves you wondering if you actually heard a coherent, overarching score or simply a rambunctious, eccentric explosion of wandering sound design theory. It's an interesting work, and any artist should be commended for venturing into new experimental realms, but just a tad too much of the heroine part was sacrificed in the process of enhancing the soundscape. This score-only album follows a song compilation released the same week as the film, and it's difficult to pinpoint exactly who will find repeat enjoyment in this irregular genre work. ***   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download