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Eternals
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Eternals has been what? The 3rd pandemic film of the MCU? It was also the one that most people weren’t expecting, or even cared that much about. The Eternals were a group of superheroes that were pretty obscure from mainstream success, and while cool, were kind of odd to include into the MCU. They were more godlike and powerful than the Asgardians, and served the celestials (the oldest and most powerful beings in the Marvel comic universe). Although, technically we’ve already met ONE of them in the form of Thanos (yes, he was one of the Eternals on Titan), but that technicality aside, the characters have been virtually untouched...until now.
To make things even more interesting, Eternals was directed by Chinese director Chloe Zhao of Nomadland, who had never once done an action film, let alone a big blockbuster super hero flick. The choice was odd, and it does cause some problems for the film’s pacing and action sequences, but it also makes it one of the most “Non Marvel like” MCU films ever. THAT I actually take away as a huge boon, as the MCU has sort of gotten rote and formulaic over the years. The same bright colors, the same quippy one liners throughout the whole thing, and tons of slow motion action that looks virtually the same. At this point I’ve almost become bored with the stuff that Marvel is churning out in cookie cutter style (although I was super surprised by how much I like Spiderman: No Way Home). The movie starts 5,000 years ago, as a group of super powered beings known as the Eternals come to Earth to hunt and destroy monsters known as deviants at the behest of the celestial Arishem (we’ve seen other celestials in the form of Starlord’s dad Ego, and the celestial wielding the power stone in the flashback of Guardians of the Galaxy). It’s taken thousands of years, but the last of the Deviants were destroyed 500 years ago, and now the Eternals wait for Arishem to call them home.
Eternals is a different sort of super hero movie. The action sequences are kind of stodgy and over produced, and the pacing is a bit wonky even at 2 hours and 35 minutes (a bit longer than your average Marvel movie). One of the major problems comes from dumping an ensemble cast of characters onto the screen at once and trying to care for them all. Salma is really only in the movie for 10 minutes, and some of the others only get a cameo as well (I was super disappointed that Don Lee’s Gilgamesh didn’t get more screen time. He’s an incredible actor who steals the few scenes he’s in) and the rest of the time is really mostly Ikarus, Sprite and Sersi. However, I actually started getting into the groove of the film in the 2nd half as things pick up. The non Marvel like nature of the film is refreshing and exciting, especially with the non linear story telling, and the last 15 minutes or so of the movie sets up a great return with some more established Marvel characters and the introduction of a new anti-hero (kinda?) which may lead into Black Panther 2 (if that ever gets off the ground with Chadwick Boseman’s death). A new villain, a new world, and newer heroes (well, technically some of the oldest). It’s fun, a bit long at times, but overall an interesting addition to the MCU, and I kind of want to see a sequel now, especially if they can get a more experienced director.
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Rated R for violence including gruesome images and for language
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Eternals was an interesting flick. It feels very non Marvel like (which I consider a good thing), and introduced a set of heroes that we hadn’t seen before. It took a little while to get going, but by the end I was actually really enjoying the flick and seeing some cool tie ins to future heroes and villains (the after credits scene with Kit Harington put a smile on my face, as I was hoping that Marvel wasn’t just name teasing us with Dane Whitman, but it looks like he might show up in future films). One nerdy thing I must mention, though. The changing of the original storyline of the Eternals left a HUGE opportunity on the table to include the X-men into the MCU. The original storyline had the celestials experimenting with apes on earth when they created Deviants and Eternals, a gene which would later become known as the “X” gene, giving birth to all of our favorite mutants. This would have been the easiest and most natural way to introduce the idea of Mutants in the MCU, but it was left completely out. Ah well, I figure they’ll add Mutants in sooner or later, but again, this would have been the perfect opportunity to tease it. All in all, a solid film that is distinctly outside of the MCU tone, but with some pacing flaws and story quirks that keeps it from being top tier. Still a fun watch and can be purchased digitally via many forms (VUDU, Movies Anywhere) as well as streaming now on Disney Plus.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Don Lee
Directed by: Chloe Zhao
Written by: Chloe Zhao, Patrick burleight, Ryan Firpo
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos
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Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 156 Minutes
Digital Release Date: January 12th, 2022
Recommendation: Solid Watch
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..... I liked the movie in many ways, but it was oddly paced and very sluggish, and the action sequences were so incredibly bland. That being said, I did appreciate how it broke the Marvel mold and felt very different form the cookie cutter comedy and action, with the typical weak villains. Having something as impressive and nasty as Arishem was a cool twist for once. It just really felt like Chloe Zhao was not the right person for the job, as she obviously had a hard time with superheros.
