ETERNALS REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

With her previous films, The Rider, Songs My Brother Taught Me and Nomadland, which won three Oscars, Best Picture, Best Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Director, at this year’s Academy Awards, Chloé Zhao has established herself as a unique filmmaker. Because of this, expectations were high for her latest film, Eternals, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, prior to its release in cinemas, Eternals received a disappointing response from critics who praised the visuals but found flaws in the script, narrative structure and character development. Following its release earlier this month, Eternals has become the most divisive film set in the MCU. Despite this, I was still hopeful that I would find something to enjoy in Eternals.

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces a team of immortal and powerful beings, known as Eternals, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind‘s most ancient enemy, The Deviants. 

The premise is simple, however, Zhao’s execution is far from it. One of the criticisms aimed at Eternals was the way the filmmaker decided to tell the story of the Eternals by frequently cutting between various points in history and present day. However, I didn’t find this to be an issue as the setting was made clear through text reminding viewers what the location and year were. Making Eternals was always going to be challenging as the film has to provide background for the characters who have never appeared in the MCU before and tell their stories in the present day. With The Avengers, viewers knew who the main superheroes were as most of them, including Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, had had their own stand alone films. However, that’s not he case with Eternals. One critic did suggest that it would have been better to have introduced the characters in their own introductory film, however, I think there have been too many origins films in the MCU and they’ve become boring and predictable. This is why I can understand the decision to introduce the Eternals in one film. 

Although most of the characters are lacking in backstories, this didn’t bother me as much. The opening sees the Eternals battling the monstrous Deviants and captured each of their powers in an exciting, action packed sequence. While a lot of the films in the MCU focus more on thrilling action, I liked that Zhao focused more on the characters and telling their story as it made for a more interesting watch. Eternals benefits from the performances delivered by its talented cast. While I think that they all impressed with their performances, for me, the standouts were Gemma Chan as Sersi, who is chosen to lead the Eternals. Richard Madden brings charm as the Superman-like Ikaris who can fly and shoot lasers from his eyes. Kumail Nanjiani is amusing as Kingo who has found fame as a Bollywood star. Angelina Jolie delivers a moving portrayal of Thena who struggles to control her powers. The rest of the cast, including Barry Keoghan as Druig, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos and Lia McHugh as Sprite, are equally as impressive despite having limited screen time. 

One element of MCU films that are either hit or miss are the humour. Although films such as Iron Man and Thor: Ragnarok are arguably two of the funniest films, the attempts at comedy hasn’t always worked, fortunately, that isn’t the case with Eternals. Most of the humour, unsurprisingly, comes from Kingo who has a personality similar to Tony Stark’s and is accompanied by his manager, Karun (Harish Patel), who frequently films the Eternals in action. What I liked most about the humour in Eternals was that it was subtle and didn’t feel out of place.

A common issue with superhero films is that they’re feel too similar, with the director having hardly any creative freedom. Prior to the release of Ant-Man in 2015, Edgar Wright, who is known for his comedies such as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, was set to write and direct but his ideas were rejected by the producers. This led to Peyton Reed directing Ant-Man and the result was a good but unremarkable addition to the MCU, however, I think that it could have been funnier if had been made by Wright. It is a shame that Zhao, who has a unique vision that is evidence in all of her previous films, has probably only been hired as she’s a well known name now following her success at the Oscars and the marketing team can be used to describe her as “Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao“, in the trailer. However, those expecting Eternals to be as moving, thematic and heartfelt as her previous films will, most likely, be disappointed as it’s more of a superhero film than character based drama. I do think that Eternals had the potential to be an epic and unique addition to the MCU but it falls short.

As with all of the superhero films, Eternals has two post credits scenes that are both worth watching and hints at the future of Marvel with an interesting casting choice.

Although it is one of the most flawed and disappointing films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chloé Zhao‘s Eternals benefits from the performances delivered by its talented cast.

7/10