ETERNALS (2021)

ETERNALS (2021)

Tagline: The end was just the beginning.

(Action, Adventure, Punching Stuff) [PG-13]

We have watched and guided. We have helped them progress and seen them accomplish wonders. Throughout the years, we have never interfered... until now.

I am not going into the backstory on this one, you will have to watch the movie if you want all that, but essentially this movie follows the story of the Eternals. They are a group of being sent to earth 7,000 years ago to defend humans from the threat of “Deviants”. “Deviants” were created to destroy apex predators, but evolved out of control. After staying dormant and just living fairly normal lives the Eternals have been forced back into action after the “Deviants” reappear triggered by the millions of people are returned to earth, after Thanos is defeated (AVENGERS: ENDGAME). This signals the start of the “emergence” and if you want to know what that is… you are going to have to check this thing out.

First off this movie is not near as bad as some fans and critics are making it out to be. I am guessing there is some backlash against this thing because it’s not “progressive” enough for some people, but it could also be that in at least 1 sense, this isn’t your typical MARVEL movie. It is however VERY, MARVEL so don’t walk in expecting a bunch of superhero outfits lifted from 80’s B-movies and 2.5 hours of talking with not much else going on. Instead, we get about 2 hours of talking with not much else going on. It sounds like I am kidding, but alas, I am not.

This movie is rich with storyline and surprisingly fun adding just the perfect amount of humor at the right times. There are a few characters in here that I could not wait to get back on screen after they were just on it for a bit. My favorite character in this movie by far isn’t even one of the Eternals. It’s basically Kingo’s assistant Karun (played by Harish Patel). This dude kills it the entire movie and it was a delight to see him getting into so much of it. Kingo is also pretty freakin awesome in this especially if you have a soft spot for Bollywood like I do. He is played by Kumail Nanjiani who is best known for MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL. 

Set wise and regarding the cinematography, everything is just really solid in this. I do wish we had gotten some more exciting spaceship sets, but I guess you’d expect a ship built 7,000 years in the past to be simplistic. I also kind of love that part of this movie happens in South Dakota, it’s one of the greatest and underrated states in America. The action sequences were a little on the low side in this movie. Just go into it knowing we are getting more of a good storytelling movie here and less a nonstop action romp. 

Regarding the cast I guess this thing is considered “diverse” but as it turns out the entire cast was all human. They all seemed to be breathing and all had all their appendages. SO, so much for hitting the diversity quota, I guess. I was thrilled to see that Gemma Chan was in this as Sersi. She was superb in the TV show "Humans". This is actually her second Marvel film. She was also in CAPTAIN MARVEL. Angelina Jolie is fantastic and really bada-s in this as Thena. They do some extra stuff with her character in this that I found very interesting, but I am not sure it was needed plot-wise outside of just adding depth. Salma Hayek is solid, Brian Tyree Henry is awesome in this. He is best known for being the conspiracy theorist who was right in GODZILLA VS KONG. I also really like Lauren Ridloff who played Makkari. Probably my 3rd favorite character in the movie. So yeah – this cast was pretty solid and more importantly for me the characters were either relatable or likable. 

Design-wise I really wasn’t down with the Deviants and they just felt a bit ripped off from other films, except they had like a million stinger link arms all over them. I like my creatures to just have a few crazy things hanging off them, when it gets to be just a bunch, it starts looking silly. I really don’t know how to describe it, it just felt done before. Also, in the movie, the Eternals spaceship is called Domo. It’s one of the least interesting things about this movie and just looks like a giant metal slice of pizza. I do wish we had gotten some more creative designs in the areas I’ve mentioned. It wasn’t enough to ruin anything for me though.

Overall this is a very solid 5 out of 7. Yes there is a ton of dialog and we get a pretty good glimpse into all these characters, but the storytelling is sound as is the execution. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL STUDIOS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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