4/5 stars
Possible spoilers ahead
Two-time Oscar winning director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland 2020 and The Rider 2017) has pulled out all the stops in her first blockbuster feature. Eternals removes the familiarity of the past 13 years and cements a new superhero team into Marvel canon.
As with any Zhao film, the cinemaphotography is breathtaking. The shots are stunning, demonstrating the clear advantage of filming on location, rather than in a green screen studio lot. From Fuerteventura to Camden Town, Zhao wanted to shoot on location to add depth and a level of realism – which she pulls off beautifully.
The mildly dysfunctional ‘family’ is led by maternal figure and healer Ajak (Salma Hayek) with the cosmic powered team including fierce warrior Thena (Angelina Jolie), loyal soldier Ikaris (Richard Madden), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Mia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Makkari (Lauren Ridloff).
Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) also stars as Dane Whitman who avid Marvel comic readers will know as Black Knight. Eternals sets up his future in the MCU well, despite the character not having a lot of screen time.
From the off, we are thrown into the battle between the Eternals and the Deviants as the former attempts to protect Earth from the latter.
What follows is a present-day plot with intermittent flashbacks. In the present day, after the events of Avengers Endgame, we see how the team has split up. However, an old threat resurfaces, so Ikaris and Sersi get the team back together.
Meanwhile the flashbacks explore the group’s arrival on Earth and how they fought to protect mankind from the Deviants throughout different times in our history, such as Babylon (275 BC) and Mesopotamia (5000 BC).
Eternals introduces the first ever explicit gay character (Phastos) into the Marvel universe – an important decision that has caused the film to be banned in some Eastern countries. The comics are filled with characters who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community – the most significant being Wiccan and Hulkling – so it is refreshing to see that Marvel is finally taking the step to bringing more diversity to the big screen.
The first ever deaf character is introduced into the MCU also. Makkari is the speedster of the group and communicates with her teammates through sign language. She has a fun dynamic with Kingo throughout the film that provides some comedic moments.
For me, the only negative was the pacing of the movie. There were times when I was sat thinking that the plot wasn’t going anywhere, but it can be overlooked when you see the breathtaking shots and epic fight scenes.
As with any Marvel movie, stick around until the very end as there is a mid-credit and a post-credit scene that set up the future of the Eternals’ characters.
Eternals is now available to stream on Disney+. Subscription required.
Comments