Directed By Chloe Zhao

Starring – Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie

The Plot – Following the events of “Avengers: Endgame”, an unexpected tragedy forces the Eternals, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

Rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and action, some language and brief sexuality.

Marvel Studios’ Eternals | Final Trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

– Marvel direction. This is one installment that firmly earns the titanic scope in definition of its production name, thanks in whole to Oscar winning best director, Chloe Zhao, whose scope in scale makes for one of the more epic presentations in the entire cinematic universe. Shooting her film with a dominance for IMAX cameras, the landscapes and corresponding visuals constantly convey a magnitude of stakes that quite literally hangs over our characters at all time, all the while harvesting an imaginative color pallet that captures the range and diversity in the magnitude of world’s and on-site locations that makes the conflict feel twice the size of the immense price featured during “Avengers: Endgame”. Zhao also supplants an appealing versatility in her direction of action, which trades in shaking-camera schemes and rapid fire editing for swiftly cerebral movements that rattle or elevate within the confines of the environmental elements that they’re depicting. This prescribes unfiltered urgency to the movie’s many conflicts, but also captures the professionalism in technique by Zhao that lets the characters themselves paint the scene’s intensity, and not an unseen influencer whose movements are steering matters off-screen.

– Appreciated deviations. At the very least, you can’t really confuse this film for falling into the same buffet of tropes that have greatly diminished the appealing factor of the previous two MCU movies. How it masters this side of originality is in a series of unpredictable elements in the script that not only captures the magnitude of responsibility that each of these Eternals carry, but also drastically throws us off of the path of conventionalism, which has reared its head to formulaic measures after 27 movies. Some pertain to not every character making it to the ending of the movie, others involve character aspects that are respectfully refreshing, especially for a Disney-owned property. Some involve the mentioning of certain D.C properties, which possibly acknowledge these two worlds co-existing on-screen for the first time ever, and others even pertain to the movie’s exceptional antagonist, which constantly elevates before materializing into something deeply personal for those involved. It helped to make “Eternals” feel like anything other than an autopiloted installment, reminding us of the vast differences between this group and the Avengers, which is represented visually and thematically before our very eyes throughout.

– Selfless effort. Zhao allows each of her gifted ensemble the ample time necessary to flesh out the appeal in their distinguished characterization, but for my money it’s the work of Bryan Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, and especially Barry Keoghan who do the bulk of the utility work for the film’s nourishment. Keoghan’s cynicism in a group that is optimistic to a fault is a refreshing change of pace, and when combined with Barry’s signature dry deliveries outlines Druig as one of my favorite MCU characters over the past five years, easily. Henry’s Phastos being the technological genius that his character is, commands an underlining layer of empathy that stems from the responsibility of his inventions being the various downfalls for mankind, bringing with it a corresponding anger and bitterness that victimizes him in ways that Uncle Ben’s “With great power, comes great responsibility” materializes in physical form before his very eyes. As for Nanjiani’s Kingo, not only are we treated to the signature timing of his vibrantly comedic personality, but we’re also treated to the furthering in emotional emphasis that started in 2017’s “The Big Sick”, and has evolved here into something of compelling substance for Kumail, allowing his capabilities to transcend the limitations of genre-casting, while showing an allowance of depth that he constantly unloads to the tenderness of the ever-changing situation.

– Technical perks. It’s no surprise that Marvel has once again supplanted an Oscar favorite for intricacy in sound design, which audibly conveys the balance of heft and impact that the fantastical imagery often supplants. Call it the magnitude of the echoing, or the channeling of these unique gifts that surprisingly sound so unlike anything transpired in this cinematic universe, but either way there’s universal emphasis that helps deliver pivotal layering to conjuring something different, which in turn serves as the M.V.P to the film’s decorated action sequences. In addition to this, the special effects are much improved from “Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings”, and when instilled with Zhao’s impeccable direction, lend themselves to no shortage of palpable believability that are all the more impressive when you consider the exotic appeal of their revolting designs. Finally, the costume work and overall wardrobe maintains control in the luster of its colorful influence, which corresponds wonderfully with Ben Davis’ weathered cinematography, all the while emitting an originality in designs that are a proudly faithful antithesis to the comic book age that they felt such an influential element of.

– Nuanced moments. Most people watch an MCU movie for the gripping action set pieces that offer a high stakes escape from harsh realities, but for my money it’s the downtime in between that is most valuable in understanding character motivations, with “Eternals” being some of the best in this aspect. While I previously gushed about everything exceptional about the movie’s action, it’s these moments that I found myself most faithfully investing in, channeling with them an unbreakable link in chemistry between the cast, which in turn delivered on a naturalistic quality of earned humor. These are the moments when we’re reminded of the humanity in these immortals, outlining a deeper sense of tragedy within everything that sacrificed for the greater good that proves these gifts to be a curse of such, for being born into a world that they themselves had no possibility of choosing.

– Lasting impressions. As to be expected with an MCU property, there are not one, but two post-credit sequences to finish off this effort, and while they are deep cuts that only hardcore fans of the comic will interpret and tickle with accordingly, they do more than an exceptional job of painting just where this franchise is headed with respects to the rest of the cinematic universe. The first one is definitely more surprising, especially considering the casting that a pivotal character receives, which I can see many others hating with fury, but I found perfect in the traits of this particular character. The second one required me to do some digging, but when I figured it out, it not only filled the holes of a couple of lines of throwaway dialogue during the film, which were initially confusing on their deliveries, but also adds layers to one particular dynamic, which is a supporting arc in this film, but feels designed as a leading arc in an inevitible sequel. They’re easily the best post credit scenes since “Avengers: Infinity War”, and give us a little more luminated light down the path of ambition that prove no semblance of imagination will be spared for phase four of this franchise.

NEGATIVES

– Disjointed script. Easily the biggest problem of the film, and one that creates no shortage of corresponding faults with it, is the storytelling device, which often feels like it has shoe-horned the first two films of this franchise together into one convoluted effort. This begins and ends with sifting through two various timelines in this group’s history, which on a surface level sounds like an awesome way to introduce an origin story to this universe, but ends up being an arduous task that over-complicates the execution while breaking my investment to the story. This is most problematic during the opening act, where we’re thrust into the current day of our protagonist, without understanding who she is, or why she’s there of all places. From here, it continuously cuts back and forth at the most abrupt moments in timing, which in turn clutters the consistency of the movie’s pacing, that sometimes feels overzealous with energy, and other times feels like a sluggish with stilting. It’s very much a film that earns every minute of its 152 minute run time, if even just for the amount of information contained in its script, but the end result is an editors worst nightmare of frustrating coherence, creating a story that you can follow, but not one you’ll necessarily invest in because of the frustratingly jerky movements.

– Obvious dialogue. There are four screenwriters credited with the gargantuan beast that is this screenplay, and where that becomes a problem is in the deposits of exposition, which constantly pause our storytelling for various flashbacks or visual cues to convey greater meaning. This is where the creativity is limited by this being an origins story, because our lack of knowledge for the characters hinders our ability to ride and invest frequently into this world, instead requiring audible hand-holding, which is convenient to the point our characters literally ask and answer every question in my head that pops up spontaneously at any given moment. In addition to this, the banter between them is occasionally a little too on-the-nose for my taste, or reliant on stock superhero dialogue that starts with lines like “When you love something, you protect it”, and ends with one character saying to another “I’ve always loved you, you’re the light in my life”, four different times throughout the film. It reeks of first draft efforts that hinder the accessibility in the vibrancies of the personalities assembled for this effort, and would’ve proved more natural if improvisation was used to fill in the gaps during these interactions.

– Ineffective themes. To the movie’s credit, there is an attempt at injecting the film with a benefit of endearing social commentary that pertains to the idea of good actions saving a troubled world. This is especially more timely relevant now than ever, but undercut dramatically in the movie with a devotion to its run time that doesn’t have enough opportunity to faithfully explore it. The idea itself is introduced a couple of times throughout the narrative, mainly in Icharus’ ensuing subplot, but is only articulated with these instances depicting mankind quite literally destroying itself, and proving the Eternals to be a necessity to their survival. The problem is the Eternals themselves aren’t allowed to get involved in anything other than a Deviant invasion, so that leaves the humans shrouded in the inevitability of doom, which isn’t exactly the feel good narrative to a world beyond the screen with more divisiveness today than at any time in the history of this planet. It leaves the transcending qualities of the screenplay feeling limited at best, while obscuring the takeaway message that blanks on psychology.

– Unfinished ending. (MINOR SPOILERS HERE) My final grade dropped an entire point during the climactic resolution, which feels unfulfilling to say the least. The big hinderance here certainly comes in the sequel-baiting, which not only oversteps boundaries to set up matters for the franchise’s second chapter, but also does so while leaving matters unresolved with this current and initial effort. Some characters disappear without follow-through, others avoid death despite the fact that we literally watched them dissolve before our very eyes, and others are even allowed to disappear, despite the fact that they initially promised doom to all who opposed them. Because the film sets up an awesome antagonist for its sequel, I wish it would’ve concluded matters here with a resolution reflective of their grave importance. Without it, the Eternals feel no more special than the Avengers, especially considering one obliterated their enemy, and the other let him walk away (END OF SPOILERS).

Side question – If the Eternals have the capabilities to heal their body at a molecular level, then why is Makkari deaf? It would seem only possible if it’s her choice to be deaf in the first place, and that logic feels problematic during a couple of key interactions that outline it as a hinderance of sorts for her personally. Is this explained better in the comics?

My Grade: 6/10 or C+