REVIEW: Eternals

With a star-studded cast and a unique premise—immortal beings coming to Earth and watching over its people, when a global threat arises—this film has the makings of an immersive, biblical drama full of philosophical conundrums and unique character arcs.

While it certainly has its moments, however, I left the theater a bit underwhelmed, far unlike my experience with most previous Marvel movies.

It’s certainly a pretty film to behold—undoubtedly the most cinematically beautiful and different from any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s past films. But despite solid performances, most of the title characters felt insignificant and the villains, weak.

Director Chloe Zhao is an excellent storyteller, as illustrated with her film Nomadland. But here, that incredible artistic vision lacked the heart it needed to tell the story in an effective way. Instead, it felt hollow and unimportant—even when the stakes were among the biggest ever explored in a Marvel film.

Such was even the case in the beautiful, centuries-long love story between Ikaris (Richard Madden) and Sersi (Gemma Chan).

Angelina Jolie (Thena) was unique and commanding, as were Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo)and Bryan Tyree Henry (Phastos). All incredible actors, these three stole the show whenever they were on screen (along with some supporting actors who pop-up throughout the film).

All this to say that even through this film wasn’t what I’d expected, it’s still one I would happily watch again (no surprise there). I had high hopes for this movie, and while I’m a bit down on it, I’m not *eternally* disappointed.

It’s the most non-Marvel-feeling Marvel film made so far, and I absolutely can appreciate what they were trying to do. I hope they take bigger swings like this, because it could help develop the MCU and allow for new stories to be told.

That said, this film won’t work for everyone, but in my view the reason comes down to the story, not the acting.

The bottom line: Will watch again; I expect general moviegoers and casual Marvel fans will have a split view on this movie. 6/10