The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.

Review

“The Chairman” – Before I am accused of bashing Eternals for no good reason, let me say that I actually liked this movie and the performances of some of the cast were excellent but I can’t help being slightly let down by what I can only describe as a truly ambitious endeavour.

Eternals is a complete breakaway from the Marvel movie formula, there are no glowing beams in the sky and no one single lone hero with a god-complex (yes, I do see the irony of saying that here). The direction of Chloe Zhou is more than competent, but it may have been the script or the unwieldy subject matter that’s having me feel that movie missed the mark.

Things I didn’t like:

Villain (s)

When introducing a villain with a Thanos level threat, you need to take the time to build this character with ominous foreshadowing and making clear their motivations. Eternals gives us the “why?” but doesn’t spend the time (it doesn’t have) to make us care about the “why?” at all.

Notice I haven’t said who this villain is, this would be a major spoiler, so no. My lips are sealed.

Too Much, Too Soon

As I walked out of the screening I had this feeling we saw part three in the Eternals saga, and not the first movie we have been introduced to these characters. There is a common complaint of the DCEU that here are too many concepts and characters being squeezed into such a small package, and this is the first time Marvel Studios can be accused of committing this act.

You aren’t given the time to care about these character or care what happens to them when it does, the Eternals are not mainstream comic book icons so you don’t really come into the movie with any baggage this also means that you are not familiar with any of their off-screen motivations.

Things I did like:

Barry Keoghan, Lauren Ridloff & Brian Tyree Henry

Druig (Barry Koeghan) is my favourite thing in this movie, his cynical disposition is the “most 2021” outlook I have seen this year. His manipulation powers are utilized to their utmost, and hopefully we see more of him in the future.

Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) the speedster with all the heart in the movie, it’s pity she doesn’t have that much screen time as her interactions with Druig is some of best bit to hold on to here.

Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) the mechanist of the team, providing humanity with the technological blueprints for all the things we hold dear. The “most human” of the Eternals we can related to the struggle he goes through, unfortunately he has about 15 minutes of screen time.

The writing for these three characters is something that should’ve been carried over to the rest of the cast, I would certainly have cared about their outcomes more than I ultimately did.

So, after all that, should you go see this movie? Even with all its flaws, yes. My suggestion is to turn down your hype-dial before going to the cinema. 6.5/10

And another thing, this is not the worst MCU instalment and it’s not even close. Thor: Dark World I am looking at you!

Remember to be safe out there, wear your mask and get vaccinated to protect everyone around you.

Let us know what you think of the movie and leave a comment.