Mid-tier Marvel – Film Review

OUT of all the people you would have expected to direct a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, did anyone expect Chloe Zhao? Thought not.

The indie darling responsible for ‘Songs My Brother Taught Me, ‘The Rider’ and ‘Nomadland’ wouldn’t be the first choice for this particular genre, yet here she is with
‘Eternals’.

So… the story is that eons ago, a big mechanical thing in space (which looks like a red Iron Giant) sent a group of people called Eternals to Earth to fight things called Deviants who were threatening the planet. They do so but ended up staying on Earth.

Seven thousand years later, the Deviants are back and so correspondingly, Cersei (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden) and Sprite (Lia McHugh) get the band back together to fight off the new threat.

Critics who saw Eternals before I did have been planning the film and, while I can see some of their criticisms up there, the film isn’t really all that bad.

It’s not that good either, mind you. At best this is mid-tier Marvel.

A Star Wars-like opening crawl explains the plot before the obligatory character introduction so, alongside the previously mentioned three we have leader Ajak (Salma Hayek), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Druig
(Barry Keoghan), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), all facing off with a Deviant in Mesopotamia and each getting their moment in the sun to show off their skill.

The film flits between present day and time periods in Mesopotamia, Babylon, and Tenochtitlan which gives Eternals a grand sense of scale which isn’t lived up to at times.

There are moments when Eternals is more interested in moral quandaries rather than getting on with the plot at hand.

Zhao also allows enough time for characters to breathe but only a few are properly fleshed out; it does feel like a collaborative effort for the most part although some, particularly Makkari, are short changed.

Ditching her usual cinematographer, Zhao has regular Marvel lenser Ben Davis on board to give the film its expected Marvel gravitas and her elegiac style does shine through, so we’re treated to a beautiful looking film as well as a lot of unnecessary face close ups and hand holding showcasing Zhao’s trade in stock.

The script has some truly tender, earnest moments, a good dose of humour (especially from Kingo) and unfortunately a lot of strained, mechanical dialogue – leading to
a lot of stiff eye-rolling exposition.

All that said, I can say I was never bored by Eternals, yet never truly invested in the usual world-saving stakes which come with a Marvel movie.

By Paul McElwee