Following the Infinity Saga, we’ve ventured into some previously uncharted areas of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’ve finally learned more about the infamous Red Room, and we rode dragons with the Master of Kung Fu. Now thanks to Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, True Believers are transported to the very beginning of this universe and are introduced to the heroes that have been secretly protecting the human race for millennia.
Dispatched by the mysterious cosmic entities known as the Celestials at the dawn of our species, ten super-powered individuals from the planet Olympia are sent to Earth to protect its inhabitants from monstrous predators called Deviants. For centuries, the Eternals eliminated their foes without interfering with the evolution and development of humans. But when the Deviants return after thousands of years to wreak havoc once again, the team consisting of Sersi, Ikaris, Sprite, Kingo, Thena, Gilgamesh, Druig, Phastos, Makkari, and Ajak must reunite to save the Earth one more time.
Basically, Eternals is the MCU’s version of Muppets Take Manhattan. I mean, I guess you could also say it’s the MCU’s Lord of the Rings because of its massive scope and epic feel, but comparing it to the beloved Muppets movie that sees the group reuniting after some time apart to accomplish a goal isn’t wrong. It’s just that you’re more likely to talk about the expansive and extremely talented ensemble, the characters with a rich history that’s difficult to seamlessly squeeze into just one movie, and the fun action sequences scattered around to break up the long stretches of world-building and exposition. And while each of those aspects can be interpreted as good or bad depending on the viewers’ preferences, I feel like the good outweighed the bad in the case of Earth’s first superhero team.
A major factor that tips the scales in the direction of good has got to be writer and director Chloé Zhao. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind Nomadland took a huge swing with the 26th feature film in the MCU. Rather than rehashing familiar origin story tropes, which is a well that many have accused Marvel of going back to far too many times, Zhao changes up the formula when introducing us to the Eternals. Her keen visual eye delivers lavish backdrops and sweeping scenery from across space and time that really make scenes pop. And her script delves into some really heavy themes that question the natural order of life, what it means to be a hero, and above all, what it means to be human. This film delivers one of Marvel’s most mature tales to date without getting too dark literally and figuratively. And despite how introspective the story and themes get, Eternals doesn’t forget that it’s still a fun superhero movie.
The delicate balancing act of meaningful and enjoyable cannot be accomplished without such a stellar cast. As we said, at the core of this story, we have an extensive look at what it means to be human. Each member of the team exudes different aspects of humanity and challenges the audience to examine what the human experience means to them. Although, even without going that deep, the whole cast really shines.
There are a plethora of good things to be said about each performer, but some particularly stood out. Lia McHugh and Barry Keoghan demonstrated acting skills well beyond their years to bring Sprite and Druig to life. Kumail Najiani was incredibly charismatic and super likable as Kingo. (His powers manifest through literal finger guns. What’s not to like about that?) Whether it calls for comedy or heartfelt emotion, Harish Patel’s Karun is a scene-stealing MVP. And I loved to see Brian Tyree Henry and Don Lee represent for huskier dudes as Phastos and Gilgamesh. Characters with their body types are often relegated to sidekick roles, but these two were bonafide badass heroes. Marvel has always prided themselves in depicting “the world outside your window” (to varying degrees of success), but they especially get that right here with such a wide range of diversity. Representation in media is incredibly important and Eternals certainly did a great job of doing it naturally.
However, as we touched on earlier, there were still some kinks that could’ve been ironed out. While everyone in the ensemble was phenomenal, there were simply too many things going on with all these characters for the time allotted. A few teases to romantic subtext could’ve waited until the next movie. Some bits of exposition could have definitely been trimmed down (though it definitely wasn’t as bad as Thor: The Dark World). Overall, the movie could’ve been at least 15 – 20 minutes shorter. A few cuts here and there could’ve made the film tighter and more focused.
Despite these light criticisms, Eternals is fairly solid. Since the characters and their history aren’t very well known compared to Marvel’s top-tier characters, expectations were low and easily surpassable. Did it end up being the next Guardians of the Galaxy? No, but it’s still pretty good. Hardly one of the worst Marvel Studios offerings. It’s probably somewhere in the middle of the rankings. It also offered some interesting glimpses at the future of the MCU. Plus, it actively addressed some of the biggest criticisms of Marvel movies in general. Detractors definitely can’t say that the House of Ideas just does the same thing over and over again after this. (But they most likely will anyway.)
At the end of the day, Eternals probably won’t be your favorite comic book movie, but there’s a lot of things to like about it if you give it a chance. And you should give it a chance because Karun deserves it.
