Marvel's Eternals
Eternals, the newest instalment in Marvel’s ever expanding cinematic universe, attempts to tackle complex philosophical ideas all while also introducing a large cast of new characters.
Directed by Chloé Zhao, who is widely known as the first woman of color to win a Best Director Oscar for her film Nomadland, the film held a lot of promise. Since its release, however, the question of whether it fulfilled its potential is up for debate as many claim that the movie bit off more than it could chew.
The film revolves around a group of Eternals, or an immortal race with various individual powers, and undertakes the hefty task of giving a sufficient amount of screen time to introducing each of the ten characters. The star studded cast consists of Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Salma Hayek as Ajak, and Angelina Jolie as Thena. The Eternals most focused on by the movie, Sersi and Ikaris, were oddly uninteresting and simplistic for beings that had been around for thousands of years. Others, like Sprite, who deals with the thought-provoking misfortune of looking forever like a child, or Phastos, who at one point loses faith in humanity after the technology he created to help humans ends up being used to kill, were not given quite enough screen time. Though with this many Eternals, it was understandable that despite the nearly three hour runtime of the movie, many of the character backgrounds lacked the development needed to make them memorable.
The plot also fell flat in a similar way: there were many glimpses into fascinating ideas with potential for a riveting film that, unfortunately, were devoid of satisfactory delivery.
The story explains that the Eternals were sent to Earth thousands of years ago to protect the planet from an invasive alien species called Deviants. The Eternals obtain this task from a Celestial (beings that were around before the dawn of the universe) by the name of Arishem. We learn that although the Eternal’s mission is only to kill all of the Deviants and to not interfere with anything else, they live alongside and guide the human race in their development. By the year 1521, all of the Deviants are gone, and the Eternals, lacking a response from Arishem, argue over their role in humanities advancement and whether or not to interfere, ultimately leading them to go their separate ways. The rest of the movie takes place in the present day, after an unexpected turn of events drives them to reunite.The Eternals deal with questions about their immortality affecting the relationships that they have with each other as well as humans, the worth of the greater good, and the responsibility that comes with their god-like position. As exciting as this premise may sound, the execution was somewhat surface level.
Despite this, the movie did have highlights and there is merit to watching it. The cinematography, for one, was stunning, capturing the vastness of space and the marveling cities of ancient civilization. This film also had a few Marvel firsts, such as the movie franchise’s very first deaf superhero, first sex scene, and first on-screen gay couple. As much as the movie may fall flat in some areas, its ambition in taking on complex topics and going in new directions is wholly respectable. It definitely gives viewers something to think about.