With an amazingly diverse cast, an award-winning director, and what promised to be a good story — this should have been a solid victory for the Marcel Cinematic Universe. Director Chloé Zhao employs her notable aesthetic imprint in this release, but her efforts weren’t enough to set an even tone for this new phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The result is a blockbuster that feels incomplete yet beautiful but fails to find its stride.
Marvel Studios’ Eternals features an exciting new team of Super-Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.
I did not like this movie as much as I hoped I would. Don’t get me wrong it’s beautiful, visually. It has moments of intrigue but overall as a new story in the universe, it was very lackluster to me. With a runtime of over 2 and a half hours — this movie was a bit messy and rushed. Directed by Chloé Zhao with Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, and Don Lee — there was a lot that needed to be balanced.
The sheer balls to release so many new characters at once was quite ambitious but ultimately a downside for this project. With an ensemble cast of this size, there’s a duty to give everyone ample time to shine and be of importance and necessity and this still felt like a boys club movie. My displeasure has nothing to do with its diversity as many message boards are claiming in response to middling reviews online — that’s actually one of the selling points. It was a very muted story compared to earlier phases in the MCU. Even Shang-Chi (LOVED IT) was at a different pace than previous entries.
@MyFavesBeDead writes on Twitter: “they carried eternals” with the following picture (see below) attached — no lie.
I have to agree with this — their performances were stellar and quite notable in advancing the script or the overall narrative on the screen. #LaurenRidloff was my standout player. Her performance and the chemistry she added to each scene she was in was palpable. I hope to see more of her in thr universe.
@shangswilson writes on Twitter: “this is an absolutely insane shot….. choé zhao really did that #eternals“
This is the first MCU release to feature more than a playful attraction between its characters. There is actual sex in this movie. I know, right?! We also get to see a gay couple with child, an interracial relationship, a male-female bond rooted in respect, and someone choosing to live freely absent their birthright. So many poignant themes in this beautiful entry into the MCU.
All of the actors featured in this film demonstrate that they’re up for the hurdle of establishing these complicated figures within the excitement of the MCU engine. Frustratingly, they—and Zhao—can only do so much.
Only in theaters on November 5th.
