Review - Eternals (2021)

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and I just got home from seeing the newest film from Marvel Studios: Eternals. Based on the cosmic superhero team of the same name created by Jack Kirby, this film has been dividing a number of critics over the last few weeks leading up to its mainstream release for the general public. But, is all of the film's criticism warranted, or is there something that the critics missed that Marvel fans can pick up on? Let's find out as we discuss Eternals.

       So, the movie focuses on the Eternals, a race of immortals created by the Celestials, and their millenia-spanning quest to protect the humans of Earth from the monstrous Deviants. The present day storyline, set some time after the events of Avengers: Endgame, informs the viewer that due to the Avengers restoring those that Thanos erased from existence, an event called "the Emergence" is about to happen, and it's up to our heroes to find a way to stop the Emergence and save the planet Earth. 

      Okay, so there are a few things that I thoroughly enjoyed about the movie. First off, the dynamics between the members of the Eternals was definitely a lot of fun. Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Don Lee, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Richard Madden, Barry Keogan, and Salma Hayek we're definitely enjoyable. I think my favorites among the Eternals we're definitely Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos (who is the first openly LGBT superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Gemma Chan as Sersi, and Angelina Jolie as Thena. Don Lee definitely had his moments as Gilgamesh, as did Lia McHugh as Sprite, Barry Keogan as Druig, and Richard Madden as Ikaris, but the ones I mentioned as my favorites were definitely the ones that most stood out to me. I also enjoyed Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, who marks the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kit Harington was okay as Dane Whitman, but he didn't have a ton of screen time.

       I also enjoyed the massive scale of the movie. Director Chloe Zhao, who won an Oscar for her film Nomadland, definitely did a great job in conveying the mammoth sized scale of the movie and its multiple time periods. My favorite sequence of the film was definitely the sequence set in ancient Babylon. In addition, I definitely chuckled as few times at some of the jokes and gags in the movie, that definitely added some much needed levity to the picture. 

       However, there are a number of things I did not like with this movie, and one of them is the Deviants themselves. While they had a few cool designs, they never felt like much of a threat. I mean, compared to other foes like the Chitauri or any of Thanos' forces, heck even the Ultron drones felt like a more legitimate threat when compared to the Deviants. Also, while I enjoyed the scale of the film, I definitely think that the fi felt a little too overstuffed with its size and scale. Also, I definitely wish we'd gotten to see just a bit more of Salma Hayek as Ajak, who felt a bit underutilized in this movie. 

      But the one thing that I absolutely hated in this movie, the one thing that felt like a major "screw you" to the Marvel fans, was a pair of deliberate name drops of DC's two most iconic superheroes Superman and Batman. I mean, how was that overlooked? Did Marvel just think that we wouldn't notice a deliberate mention of two DC heroes? The quick Star Wars reference I can forgive, because Star Wars is at least owned by Disney, but this direct reference to DC was just too much for me. 

          Now, there were two post-credits scenes that certainly help build into the future of the MCU, but I don't want to spoil them here. So, go check the movie out and see for yourselves just how cool the post-credits scenes are. 

       Overall, Eternals isn't the best film of the MCU, but it's one that I certainly enjoyed. I might have to check it out a second time in order to properly gauge an opinion on the film. But for my initial thoughts on it, the movie was fine. I give it a rating of 3.95/5. It's not unwatchable, but Marvel has done far better in the past, and I hope that they can do much better in the future. Anyway, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.