The Eternals Review

Here’s my Eternals review which is now on Disney+ and is directed by Chloe Zhao and starring Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Don Lee and more!

I might be the only few people who liked the film but I also have to admit that there are a lot of things that didn’t sit well with me as a Marvel fan but worked as movie reviewer.

So the plot of the Eternals is straightforward, the Eternals were sent to Earth to get rid of the creatures called the Deviants. These beings were pretty much Celestial cyborgs that can love and feel but can’t reproduce and grow old. So they’ve been stuck on Earth on their mission for thousands of years already waiting for the Celestials to call them back. The group disbands after killing the last deviants but are forced to join together once more when a more powerful version of the Deviants surface. Then there’s the fact that their whole mission was a lie and that the world they had been stuck in is only days away from becoming the cocoon of a new Celestial.

For starters I liked the story of The Eternals but like most fans, I would also have to agree that this could have been perfect as a Disney+ series rather than a 2 hour + movie. That’s the inherent flaw of the film for me. They span across different times and and bear witness to a lot of things that have gone down in human history but they would rather “tell” these things rather than “show” them.

The film’s got tons of expositional dumps laid out throughout the movie but in this case I would turn a blind eye on it because those dumps are crucial to moving the story forward. At least it didn’t take them a long time with these dumps. Which kind of also aligns with the flashbacks this film loves to do.

the eternals

I honestly expected a lot of action for this film seeing how many characters they have but we didn’t get a lot. There’s an imbalance here and sadly we won’t be able to rectify that anymore. But with those few action scenes. They were all gorgeous too look at whether it’s the fight between Makkari and Ikaris or that first fight between the eternals and the Deviants which also showcases each Eternal’s power. I wanted more but alas, they gave us barely a handful.

Casting is impeccable with Angelina Jolie as The na to Gemma Chan as Sersi. They all look good in and out of their costumes.

So let’s talk about controversy. There were two things that made or may make people’s eyebrows raise. One is the very controversial scene where Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos says goodbye to his husband with a passionate kiss and the other Is a sex scene featuring Sersi and Ikaris.

The Phastos kiss shouldn’t be an issue honestly but we still live in a world where there are conservatives who don’t want depiction of a gay couple on movies and TV. This was also the reason Eternals was banned in some places in the Middle East.  It personally, it wasn’t offensive and made more sense to Phastos’ character considering how little screen time he had.

The sex scene between Sersi and Ikaris is trickier though especially since it’s obvious they took a great deal in shooting those scenes. So for me the intention was to always have it there. That’s fine and all. It this is a movie from Disney.

My take: I’m ok with this but if you’re reading this before you watch it with kids, be warned. It’s there. Even on Disney+.

The comedy and humor for Eternals is hit or miss for me. Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo is always funny and so is Karun. In fact Karyn’s involvement here is the closest we get to having humanity being represented in a discussion among gods. His role had more gravitas than Kit Harington’s to be honest. Plus his back and forth with Kingo was hilarious. I did find myself asking whether I should laugh or I missed the mark.

Another thing that grinds my gears was how they were portrayed as these all powerful gods on Earth then you watch them get taken down by their mortal enemies. How are we supposed to believe that they were going to actually be able to best Thanos especially when the mad titan already had the Infinity Stones? For me this was a glaring mistake hopefully this gets either retconned or tweaked if Marvel does decide to do a sequel.

The writing team also did a pretty good job crafting a story that goes doing flashbacks and for me, the way the story of the group breaking up worked well. Plus each member of the Eternals having something to do with human history was great like how Thena had inspired humans with the goddess Athena or how Phastos blames himself for what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

The Eternals is definitely breaking the mold for Marvel movies and whether the studio will stick with this newfound tenacity towards filmmaking or buckle from the pressure they got from fans is still up for debate. As a stand alone film, Chloe Zhao did a good job. But if you stick it into the overall narrative of the. Marvel Cinematic Universe, you can definitely see that it falters a lot. I wouldn’t consider “The Eternals” a bad film, but rather a misunderstood Marvel movie. The direction and the cinematography and even the action knew what it wanted to say to viewers its just that Marvel fans or movie fans in general have become used to the Marvel or the comic book formula. Plus there were a lot of things that weren’t really important. I have to agree with the general consensus that the film should have been a Disney+ show but it is what it is.

Verdict: 7/10

So what are your thoughts on Marvel’s The Eternals? Like it or hate it? Leave a comment below and follow me on Twitter at @thefanboyseo for more geek news and updates!