Eternals
Eternals
Starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh
Directed by Chloe Zhao
In 5000 BC, ten superpowered Eternals were sent to Earth by the Celestial Arishem to protect the world from Deviants - beings also created by the Celestials who were designed to destroy apex predators and keep humanity alive, but they turned more feral and began attacking humans as well. Led by Ajak (Salma Hayek), the Celestials managed to defeat all the Deviants by the 1500s AD, but Arishem never sent for them to return home, so they remained on Earth living as humans. After Thanos snapped half the population out of existence and the Hulk brought everyone back, it gave birth to the Emergence - a possible Earth-destroying event that Eternal Sersi (Gemma Chan) wants to prevent from happening, but since it's been hundreds of years since she's seen most of the other Eternals, she has to travel the world to find them and bring them all together again. Yet as it is with every family, you're never going to get everyone to agree, which leads to dangerous struggles within the Eternal clan that threatens the world.
"Eternals," as I said earlier, is easily the riskiest thing the MCU has done to date, even more than "Infinity War" or "Endgame," in that it introduces ten new superheroes to the roster without the general MCU fan knowing who they are. Fans of the comics would understand the terminology like "Celestials," "Deviants," "Emergence," "Uni-Mind" and the like, but for the majority of people it's hard to understand what's happening. To this end, Zhao had to fully explain what's happening, which does kill the pacing of the film as it seems to be moving on a trajectory only for it to stop on its tracks for some exposition, but again that was needed in order to bring people up to speed. This is used with several flashbacks to the history of the world and the interactions the Eternals had with one another, showing that despite the fact that they weren't human, they embodied human emotions - they were told not to interfere with humanity unless Deviants were involved, yet there's moments where you see some of them indeed helping out humans, due to some of them falling in love with the people. Other Eternals, however, remained steadfast in their assignment and separated themselves from humanity, leading to the conflict that arises later in the film when they must band together to prevent the end of the world.
Chloe Zhao is only the second woman to win the Best Director Oscar, and she's more well-known for directing small, independent, character-driven films like "The Rider" and "Nomadland," which she won the Oscar for (it also won Oscars for Best Actress and Best Picture). This is the "rock and a hard place" moment for Zhao, as she had to deliver not one, but ten, character driven characters inside a universe best known for explosions, epic fights, and light-hearted humor. While Marvel gave Zhao free reign to tell her story (they even allowed her to film on location instead of using bluescreens), it was almost an impossible task to tell both stories fully. While it didn't work out entirely, the final result was something unique for Marvel - a film that didn't feel like it fit within the MCU mold and easily stood on its own merits, but also showed hints of classic MCU flare.
The film is epic in scale and nature, as it spans decades of time and includes the most diverse cast ever in a superhero film, and while it's hit and miss, it hits more often than it misses. The flashback scenes to the biggest moments in human history were intriguing and strong, establishing the Eternals into the history of the world (in a humorous moment, when discussing fellow Eternal Ikarus, a human talked about the legend of Ikarus flying too close to the sun, which they replied it was a tale that Sprite - a fellow Eternal - told). From ancient Babylonia to Hiroshima and everywhere in-between, you see the impact they have on humanity and how they interact - or don't - with them.
When it comes to the diversity of the cast, it's also epic in scale. "Eternals" showcases a worldwide conglomerate of actors including British, Scottish, Mexican, Korean, Pakistani, and American actors who play unique roles within the film. "Eternals" has the first same-sex superhero in Bryan Tyree Henry's Phastos as well as the first deaf superhero in Lauren Ridloff's Makkari, and a superhero who suffers from mental issues with Angelina Jolie's Thena. The cast is indeed wonderful and unique, and Zhao does a great job at giving each one their own (albeit brief) story so that you feel at least a little connected to each one, and undoubtedly you'll have a favorite once you leave the theater (for me, it's Makkari, but I'm also semi-biased because I absolutely adore Lauren Ridloff from her work in "The Walking Dead").
The storyline itself sets up for a huge cataclysmic event that you'd expect would be, in the words of Mysterio, "an Avengers-level threat," but as is with the problem with the MCU, you never see any of the Avengers around. Of course, when you're dealing with basically eternal beings, a man tossing around a "tin can frisbee" or someone shooting arrows wouldn't be much help anyway, which also leads to another MCU problem - why the Eternals didn't help in fighting Thanos in the first place? The answer given is a rather blanket one and doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the fact that it's due to their objective to not interfere with humanity yet they did it time and again, but yet here we are. Getting more into the "Emergence" would give away key plot points to the film, but suffice it to say the story is very grand in nature, and yet Zhao also makes it very personable with each Eternal's thoughts on the matter.
The action sequences are expertly shot with Zhao's own unique way of doing things, which again makes it more personable than epic. While the Eternals do fight side-by-side, such as their first encounter with the Deviants, there's other moments where they're split up and have to fight more independently, such as the battle in the woods, which is easily one of the best. This all culminates in the typical final act epic battle that's a little different than most Marvel final battles, but it doesn't mean it's any less exciting.
The main issue with the film - again, "rock and a hard place" - is with the Eternals themselves. While Zhao does excellent work at establishing each one as their own unique character, there's not enough time to fully flesh them out. Disney could've done a Disney+ series where each character got their own episode to really introduce them to the world at large and it would've worked a lot better. The film's two main leads are Sersi and Ikarus, who are supposed to be in love but you don't feel the particular chemistry between Gemma Chan and Richard Madden, and that's also due to their differing ideologies. Sersi loves humanity (we don't really find out why), while Ikarus doesn't much care for them (again, we don't really find out why). Chan gives a strong performance as Sersi, but she doesn't really stick out more than wanting to save humanity, while Madden is easily one of the strongest Eternals with obvious ties to Superman (which, oddly enough, is name-dropped in the film, meaning that the likes of Batman and Superman exist within the MCU but as characters and not actual people) but doesn't showcase much emotion.
The remaining cast does well in their supportive roles, but many of them just hold to their tropes. Salma Hayek's Ajak is the spiritual leader of the group who disperses wisdom but nothing much else. Kumail Nanjiani is easily the scene-stealer as the fame-hungry Kingo, who turns to being the world's most famous Bollywood actor after the Deviants were supposedly destroyed, and who travels with the rest of the Eternals with his personal driver who's also documenting the journey. Lia McHugh's Sprite is an eternally-twelve-year old who yearns to be an adult, but we don't really sense that urgency until the plot demands it. Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos is pretty much known as the first same-sex superhero but also has his own powerful moment in a heartbreaking flashback. Lauren Ridloff shines as deaf Eternal Makkari who could easily beat Quicksilver in a race, while Barry Keoghan's Druig is one of the strongest mental Eternals with the ability to control the minds of humans, and who could've easily used that power for evil, but still struggles with wanting humans to do his will.
Then there's the special relationship between Gilgamesh and Thena, which is actually more heartwarming and connecting than Sersi and Ikarus. Don Lee is a famous Korean actor who makes his American debut as Gilgamesh, the strongest Eternal with the power to literally punch out any foe, but his tough exterior is marked with an inner sensitivity that shows with his relationship to Thena. Angelina Jolie is no stranger to action epics, and she easily fits into that part of the role as Thena, the proverbial goddess of war (just drop the "A"), but she's also given a deeper story in the sense that she suffers from a mental illness that causes her to lash out at her fellow Eternals. Only Gilgamesh is able to bring her back from the brink, and the two spend their time on Earth together throughout history. Their bond and connection is strong and compelling, and easily the heart of the film, told through the expert acting and directing.
While "Eternals" does suffer from pacing and story issues, it's easily not one of the worst MCU films and doesn't deserve the negative criticism from the critics, as it gives birth to a whole new world of superheroes that will easily usher in an exciting new phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Score: A
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