'Eternals' Review
PG13: Fantasy violence and action, some language and brief sexuality.
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 37 Minutes
Production Companies: Marvel Studios
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Director:Chloé Zhao
Writers: Chloé Zhao, Chloé Zhao & Patrick Burleigh and Ryan Firpo & Kaz Firpo
Cast: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, with Kit Harington, with Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie
Release Date: November 5, 2021
In Theaters Only
Eternals follows a group of heroes from beyond the stars who have protected the Earth since the dawn of man. When monstrous creatures called the Deviants, long thought lost to history mysteriously return, the Eternals are forced to reunite in order to defend humanity once again.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s business model of tapping beloved indie filmmakers to adapt whatever superhero in their extensive catalog has felt a bit worn out recently. Ever since Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther in 2018, there hasn’t been an MCU flick where the director’s voice or vision spoke louder than the superhero’s status… until now. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao –– ugh, that feels so damn good to say –– brings her signature vision to Eternals’ big screen debut with an ensemble piece that blends her quiet and minimalist style of filmmaking with this ever-expanding universe.
While many MCU movies lately have been on blue screen autopilot, being soundstage heavy with an overabundance of CG backgrounds that range in quality (cc: Black Widow, Shang-Chi), Zhao’s signature style of naturalism is thrown to the forefront. With Eternals, she delivers one of the most visually unique entries to date, mostly due to shooting on location, a practice that has proven to be foreign to Kevin Feige. Zhao integrates a refreshing sense of naturalism that brings a change of pace in creating a realistic atmosphere from a filmmaking standpoint. Similar to Dune, Eternals benefits from being shot on location, so as this globetrotting journey begins, you feel the grandiose spectacle of its adventure. They incorporate environments in multiple countries as the cinematography utilizes natural lighting and applies CG effects when necessary instead of putting the cast on a soundstage with a blue screen to run around in costumes. When the Eternals have to fight against their predators the Deviants, who hunt them down throughout the film, there’s a bizarre yet oddly fascinating expression of Darwinism that’s brutal due to most of the action set pieces taking place outdoors. Though it’s as formulaic as it gets by concept and design, the action sequences hold weight to them and are distinct due to the filmmaking method.
As the Eternals enter the Earth thousands of centuries prior to Captain America throwing his mighty shield, writers Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo are set with the challenge of introducing these immortal God-like alien beings — 25 movies and 4 series into the MCU — and giving them a place in this world of heroes. Instead of attempting to tie itself together with all the events of the Infinity Saga, Eternals achieves being self-contained enough to stand on its own without reminding you that it’s a Marvel flick. You only get a few fleeting references to the other known heroes and the event of “the blip” itself but its primary focus is on the Eternals.
While it’s touted to be an ensemble superhero epic full of action and celestial elements, the scope is used to serve, at its core, a globetrotting family drama. The narrative is of massive scale, for it spans centuries and many locations as Sersi (Gemma Chan), Sprite (Lia McHugh), and Ikaris (Richard Madden) trek across the Earth to gather the Eternals: Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Ajak (Salma Hayek), and Thena (Angelina Jolie). When their natural predator, the Deviants reemerge and track them down, they must stand united to fight back and protect the Earth for the first time in centuries. The story is focused on the Eternals’ familial unit, establishing each individual member as a person first, and the relationship they share with both humanity and their immortality. Much like Zhao’s other features, the film shines best when it focuses on the human relationships these characters share.
Eternals’ narrative structure is reminiscent of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel –– which is funny since the film makes a reference to Superman himself. It takes a Malickian approach to storytelling, bouncing between non-chronological moments in time to elaborate the intimate relationship the group had and their humanity throughout centuries. This is the first time in a long time that the MCU has been narratively ambitious in its storytelling. Whereas Man of Steel failed at showing the humanistic side of that God-like alien, for it was too busy trying to position Clark Kent as Jesus, Eternals excels at giving these Gods amongst men human traits despite their abilities. They have a mission and a set of guidelines to follow throughout the evolution of man, but when history begins to play out with wars, famines, and genocide, their morality and alliances are tested. The non-chronological scenes of the past piece together a vast jigsaw puzzle to show how this group that was once united broke apart due to their individual ideologies. Chloé Zhao does a fantastic job delivering this type of storytelling and themes of humanity that other superhero films couldn’t.
The ensemble is full of diverse and impeccable performers who inhabit their roles so powerfully. While you have the likes of Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Angelina Jolie, and Kumail Nanjiani present, this is Gemma Chan’s show. Talk about Kevin Feige apologizing for wasting Chan’s talent in Captain Marvel. He made her the lead in an MCU movie and she’s astounding. She’s the empath who sees the hope in humanity and has to fulfill a destiny that is unbeknownst to her. Due to the film’s extensive runtime being dedicated to exploring each member of the team with depth and dimension, everyone gets their time in the sun. Everyone is gonna have a new favorite Eternal in power and character, and for me, it’s Barry Keoghan as the brooding, mind-controlling pacifist Druig. He oozes raw emotion whenever he’s onscreen. I also enjoy Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, who is great comedic relief and has the most entertaining character background.
I normally don’t care about costuming in a superhero movie but man, the Eternals’ attire throughout the centuries is so astronomical and classy that makes them truly look like Gods. There is a variety of amazing costuming for everyone as they adopt the attire of the cultural areas they settled in throughout time and it helps elevate the grand scale of their eternal lifespan.
I got to my press screening late because I was coming from a production gig in upstate NY. So, I bolted to the theater and thankfully, a second screening opened up and it started right when I sat down. While I was exhausted from both working a long shoot and hauling ass from Grand Central to Times Square, I had no idea what the runtime was. The movie is 2 hours and 37 minutes long but I didn’t feel the length. I will admit the film suffers from major pacing issues, being a bit too convoluted for its own good where it features extensive scenes of world-building exposition to set up whatever’s planned for future movies. That being said, I found myself completely immersed, both visually and emotionally, in the plight of the Eternals’ journey.
This might be the most mature MCU movie to date in tone and storytelling. You could say it’s geared towards adults because… you know… it has a sex scene! But the sound of the formulaic gears is still too loud. While it’s distinctly a Chloé Zhao movie, the worst attributes of a Marvel movie that are formulaic and trite seep their way through the film and it disrupts its pacing. The film features great natural comedic relief from Kumail Najiani, who is as exuberant as he is beefy, and he never steps out of place nor stops the film to deliver a joke. The screenplay does that itself with random moments meant for a stupid joke that comes at inappropriate moments. I know there’s gotta be that one executive who loves quips in the same way producer Jon Peters loves spiders. Whenever the film hits a unique and groundbreaking point of realism, you hear somebody behind the scenes go, “Oh no, this is too serious! We’re losing the kids! Throw in a random and abrupt joke that will disrupt the sanctity of the scene and the tone.” All you want to do is pull that dude aside and be like, “What are you doing? This is the chance for your brand to finally have the maturity it desperately needs. DC is outpacing y’all these days with boldness and risks. Be like them! This is ironic because several years ago they wanted to be like you.”
Eternals is the first great entry in the MCU since Black Panther that manages to be its own beast while still being part of its universe. Outside of a few mentions of events that occur in the MCU, Eternals does a stupendous job being a standalone project while still existing within the MCU. This is the first post-Endgame entry that I can happily call a great movie while seeing the franchise finally evolve in maturity and take bold risks in its storytelling. Chloé Zhao’s masterful and personal direction makes this self-contained ensemble small in scale and huge in scope, delivering ambitious themes of humanity in a biblical, and sometimes Shakespearean, fashion that other superhero films haven’t been able to achieve. This is the emotional richness I’ve been yearning for from the MCU post-Endgame. More of this, please, Marvel. I’d love more of your biblical space operas.
