Jennifer Garner has been on the receiving end of some unfair criticism after her cameo appearance in this summer’s popular superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine.
It will hardly shock readers to learn that Garner, ever the consummate professional, went all out prior to reprising her role as Elektra, almost twenty years since starring in the solo film of the same name.
The actress was just one of many familiar faces to hope on board the project, which sees Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team up as their beloved Deadpool and Wolverine characters.
By and large the film has proven a hit with moviegoers, not least for boasting an extensive list of cameo appearances by major stars. Garner can count herself among them, and though the original Elektra flick wasn’t received with plaudits and celebration when it was released back in 2005, her fans were excited to see her back as the sai-wielding assassin.
Earlier in August, Garner shared a video to social media in which fans got a behind-the-scenes look at the extensive work she had put in to prepare for the return to her role as Elektra.
The video revealed the intense physical regimen the 52-year-old undertook for months in order to get “Marvel Fit” for her cameo.
The Instagram montage featured a punishing exercise routine that included cardio, weights, trampoline jumps, swimming, boxing, and water aerobics.
In the caption, Garner wrote: “I remember the moment @slevydirect and @vancityreynolds had the idea for Elektra Natchios to show up in @deadpoolmovie 3— we were on the set of The Adam Project and they gave each other this look they have that can communicate an idea, 20 pages of dialogue, nuclear codes— there is a crazy artistic kismet between those two.“
The actress added that she hadn’t picked up Elektra’s sais (three-pronged daggers) since 2004.
“I was fit, but not @marvel fit,” she added.
And fit she most certainly got, though apparently not all internet denizens were satisfied with Garner’s second outing as Elektra.
“She looks awkward and slow…she still gots it? No she don’t man [sic]!” one person wrote on Instagram.
“And she was still the worst part of the movie,” another criticized.
A third said: “She’s in great shape but she’s too old for this character.”
A fourth, meanwhile, suggested that Garner’s impressive training was futile: “All this training for 5 minutes of screen time.”
Others, it must be said, were far more positive of Garner’s fleeting role in the movie.
One fan wrote that: “Her biceps were the sexiest thing in D&W.”
A second joked: “This is why Ben and J-Lo are splitting up.”
When all’s said and done it’s unlikely that Garner is going to be taking any criticism to heart, but we’ll go on record as stating that Deadpool & Wolverine is all better for her being in it.