Eternals (2021)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Welcome to film #26 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eternals has a large amount of buzz and hype and is ready to share a different vision of a Marvel film.
Chloé Zhao is a groundbreaking filmmaker and storyteller, pivoting from the Best Picture winning Nomadland to this $200 million blockbuster.
Creates the opportunity for a wealth of new characters to emerge, as diverse and representative as ever before, and breathe new life into the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward.
NO
For many, who are used to a particular style, look, and feel of Marvel movies, Eternals is going to feel like a dramatic diversion which may seem out of place and disappointing to MCU diehards.
The biggest surprise and disappointment here is that the story seems to evaporate in real time. For all the globe-hopping and stunning real-world locations the film shows us, the story falls flat and never quite resonates.
OUR REVIEW
I am not sure where this falls as the most ambitious moves so far within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but the hiring of groundbreaking Academy Award winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao has to rank at or near the top. Eternals, with a $200 million budget, gives Zhao the opportunity to introduce an entirely new foundation of characters within the confines of her first blockbuster, part of the most popular movie franchise in the world. Potentially, this could just be one of those “crazy ideas that just might work out.”
Zhao’s previous work, comprising three beautiful, moving, small-budget films, shared a combined production budget of roughly $8 million dollars. A commonality among 2015’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, 2017’s The Rider, and the 2020 Best Picture winner Nomadland, is that these are films which feel slightly invasive, vulnerable, engrossing, and documentary-like at times. Zhao is one of this generation’s great storytellers; she embeds with her subjects, locking arms with them, never with judgment, and investigates how tragedy and obstacles define their next steps.
Characters grow and evolve in Zhao’s films. And so...if you are introducing a massive new ensemble of cinematic heroes, why not take her unique approach, nestle in with these characters, and get to know their backstories and connections?
The problem is Zhao, for all her talents and gifts, doesn’t quite vector up to full clarity within a Marvel superhero movie setting. At least not here. And that is not to say Eternals is a disappointment - I actually think it is a better film than many are giving it credit for - but this is not what mainstream MCU devotees are likely anticipating. And that will undoubtedly prove to be something of a letdown for those who like the men spidery and iron-clad, their widows black and hulks incredible.
25 previous films in the MCU have taught us to expect bombast, engaging exposition and world-building, a blend of comedy and tension, and a dazzling escapism that makes so many of these Marvel characters’ fantastical adventures so entertaining. What we are not accustomed to within the MCU is dense, dialogue-heavy scenes where people question their purpose, contemplate decisions, and action scenes coming at something of a premium.
In Eternals, a decagon of superheroes have origins back to 5,000 B.C. Sent from their home planet of Olympia, Eternals were created to fend off the nasty, vicious Deviants - CGI creatures who exist seemingly to destroy all that is good in humanity. As time goes on, these Eternals, when not demolishing Deviants, are essentially watchdogs or gatekeepers over the world. They can travel to any time period, do their business, and jump to somewhere else.
Zhao, writing this adaptation with fellow screenwriters Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Birpo, takes the time and effort for us to see how these characters entangle with each other across centuries, decades, even millenia.
Our de facto main character is Sersi (Gemma Chan), who has a modern-day love affair with kindly chap Dane (Kit Harington), but has had a long-standing connection to Ikaris (Richard Madden) through the centuries. Ikaris closely resembles Superman, at least as shown here, while Dane is an archaeology nut in present-day London.
Druig (Barry Keoghan) can alter thinking, while Sprite (Lia McHugh) presents as a 12-year-old child who can create illusions. Don Lee portrays massive brute Gilgamesh, while Kumail Nanjiani plays former Bollywood movie star Kingo, throwing balls of energy from his hands, with his manager/handler in tow (Harish Patel). Brian Tyree Henry is Phastos, the gadget and weapons guy, who prefers a quieter, rather mundane modern-day life with his young son and husband (Haaz Sleiman).
My favorite of the bunch? Easily Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), a runner with super-speed who is also the MCU’s first deaf superhero.
Rounding out the Eternals: Ajak (Salma Hayek), the matriarch of sorts to the group, and Thena (Angelina Jolie), a heralded warrior, a master of weapons, and something of a loose cannon.
They all seem to be disparate creations, but remain bound together by a common cause: Save mankind at all costs. Zhao shows she can clearly direct a powerhouse action sequence or two and Eternals has a very specific direction and vision.
Eternals is a platform, or springboard, for new characters and individuals to populate the MCU. And it should be celebrated for the diversity presented both in front of, and behind the camera. Zhao, the second woman ever, and first woman of color, to win an Academy Award for Best Directing, is the first female of color to helm a Marvel film. We have Black and Brown actors, an openly gay superhero, a character who appears genderfluid, the first fully deaf superhero, and more representation in a superhero film than ever before.
Diversity does not automatically make a film good. However, it does continue to open up doors and break down stigmas in the types of films which, pandemic or otherwise, draw the largest audiences. This is meaningful and Eternals come by the choices it makes honestly and matter-of-factly. This is progress.
Stunning visual effects work, strong sound design, and beautiful cinematography make this a more accomplished film than some want to admit. Eternals offers plenty to embrace. Sadly though, and perhaps the film’s largest surprise, is that Zhao and team have crafted a story that evaporates from the mind almost in real time. There’s simply a lot to keep track of, in these cumbersome 157 minutes.
Though one can easily enjoy Eternals as a standalone film, with minimal to no knowledge of what the MCU has previously been, the overall production is just not bold enough, “big” enough, or effective enough to move into the upper echelon of Marvel films.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Haaz Sleiman, Esai Daniel Cross, Alan Scott, Hannah Dodd.
Director: Chloé Zhao
Written by: Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo (screenplay); Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo (screen story)
Based on the Marvel Comics’ series “Eternals” created by Jack Kirby
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Walt Disney Studios