Review: the sprawling staccato "Eternals"
Sunday, November 7, 2021 at 10:58PM by Nathaniel R
Why am I here? What is my purpose? Who am I… really? These are essential questions in life and if you stop to think about it, they’re also the backbone of practically every superhero origin story. A hero discovers their gift. Grapples with how to use it and what kind of person they are and what kind of hero they can be. With great power comes great responsibility. Etcetera. The reaction to Marvel’s Eternals suggests that it’s the first “spiritual” or “existential” superhero film which is, quite frankly, the opposite of the truth.
Where did this impression come from? Perhaps it’s only that most superhero films asks these questions in a less “I’m asking these questions!” kind of way. Or, even when they're obvious about the questions, they quickly jump back into the action setpieces. Eternals wants to be more of a sober meditation but it can’t reconcile the weightiness of contemplation with the weightlessness of frequent CGI action setpieces...
Icarus and Sersi are in love. They are the first and last Marvel superheroes to have sex because the sex scene took place 1000s of years ago.
The basic premise goes like so: Eternals are immortal godlike beings who serve Celestials, other immortal godlike beings, and are assigned to a planet to protect it from The Deviants (beasts so deadly they can sometimes outmatch the gods). Otherwise the Eternals aren’t supposed to interfere. (There are many flashbacks to ancient history in which they do interfere making the awkward exposition scene about their rules and why they didn’t interfere with Thanos's snap a particularly clumsy bit of Marvel-Machine nonsense!)
These particular Eternals are praiseworthy for being the most diverse group of super heroes we’ve ever seen on film. Their superpowers though are considerably more homogeneous. They all are super strong. They all are immortal. They all seem to be able to either shoot lasers or manipulate energy in some way. So let’s take them in the order we enjoyed them most: super fast Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), mind-controlling Druig (Barry Keoghan), warrior goddess Thena (Angelina Jolie), super strong Gilgamesh (Ma Dong-seok), Superman like Icarus (Richard Madden), inventor Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), energy manipulator Sersi (Gemma Chan, the ostensible lead of the film), illusion-master Sprite (Lia McHugh), healer and team leader Ajak (Salma Hayek), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and wise-cracking Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani). Why is Kingo last? Well, he gets a musical number as a Bollywood star and I wish I could say it was a highlight (i live for musical numbers in film!) but Nanjiani’s winking 'isn't this silly?' performance felt vaguely insulting since Bollywood stars are infinitely better dancers than this.
it's fun to see Angelina Jolie back in action - she was a screen superhero before they took over the screen
Did I forget anyone? This is a crowded film as the frequent tableauxs of the heroes all lined up constantly prove.
But back to plot (ever so briefly). These particular Eternals have been with us for thousands of years and have basically retired from super-powering when the Deviants suddenly reappear. But why? The team reunites to face their old foes only to have the rug pulled out from them in a very existential “have we been doing life wrong?” kind of way. Cue epic chaos and fate of the world stakes because you always have to get there in superhero films.
The action scenes are solid and even exciting at time. The delicate calligraphic visual effects in some quieter scenes are truly beautiful. Makarri and Druig, who communicate in sign language, have expressive chemistry. Thena and Gilgamesh, another key pairing, get a meaty tragic arc that is the film’s most successful of the film's many attempts at deeper feeling.
it's hard to feel anything about a giant unmoving supreme being that is a key character in the film
It’s not that none of the movie works. It’s that none of it works for very long. (And the constant flashbacks to previous eras don't help with its lack of momentum, which is a pity since the general arc is touching)
Director Chloe Zhao’s previous pictures have an effortless grace and organic quality. With both The Rider and Nomadland, it’s as if the movie was always there, a living thing as three-dimensional as its protagonist, waiting for the camera to discover it but never aware of the camera, either. All in all they give fascinating vibe. Eternals, curiously, has the exact opposite feel; It is effortful at all times and as inorganic as blockbuster movies get. Any feature film, but especially massive sprawling ones, should be able to contain dozens of moods and tones and kinds of scenes; the best movies always multi-task. Eternals never does anything but one thing at a time. “Now we’re doing a posed tableau for the camera” …“It’s time for an action break” …“Exposition Scene” …. “Sex scene (a Marvel first but unfortunately free of heat) ” … “Let’s throw in a JOKE” … “Quick action break”… “Time for another pose.” “More exposition” “Massive action set piece” “Insert ‘character’ scene here.” “Did we mention the exposition?” ."Repeat"... and finally “End Credits Scenes: 'Next Time on the Marvel Cinematic Universe'…”
Given the lurching staccato quality of its storytelling Marvel's Eternals proves not just immortal but endless. C-
Action, Chloe Zhao, Eternals, Marvel Studios, superheroes
Reader Comments (7)
I watched it last night. Such an endless bore. And the interior scenes are so dark you can hardly see the faces of the actors.
I just saw it and while I enjoyed it. I will agree to the fact that it was seriously flawed as I think it wanted to be more than just a Marvel film which I have no problem with. I think the problem is that it wanted to be a Marvel film and an art film of sorts and it didn't mesh well. I think it spent too much time on exposition and trying to get all of the characters together and not enough time in just establishing them as a whole.
I liked parts and I think its a good effort at something grander, but it is very long and the final act is all a bit much. Still, I prefer its ambition to the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies or Thor The Dark World among others.
The one thing at a time critique strikes me as maybe a challenge someone like Chloe Zhao had. Her films have always been written by her, so I wonder if she just has trouble thinking through all the layers in a story developed by someone else? That's an incredibly difficult skill for a director and there are only a few directors who regularly do both. Maybe she's better off sticking to directing things she's written herself.
Looking forward to seeing this, and whatever is next from her.
Eternals is a messy movie but I enjoyed it. I have watched all of the MCU movies (have not re-watched them, I'm not a fanboy) and they follow the same formula, therefore, sooner or later, you're bored out of your wits. When I watched Black Widow I thought "why do I keep spending good money on mediocre movies?" Shang-Chi made me feel the same way.
And then Eternals comes along and it's somehow off-beat when you compare it to all of the other Marvel movies. Thor: Ragnarok is probably second.
Saw it and liked it, but it's definitely a complicated film to take in. I appreciate that Zhao and co did try to do SOMETHING different, but I also think servicing 10+ (new!) characters over 7000+ years is just an IMPOSSIBLE task. My biggest issue for me was the lack of momentum. IT seemed we were still on Act 1 after 75% of the movie's runtime.
That said, I'm so glad you mentioned the expressive chemistry between Ridloff and Keoghan. I *loved* their characters and together, as brief and seldom as it was, they were magic.
I do have to disagree about your thoughts on Kingo (his banter with his valet was a highlight for me) and especially on Kumail's "winking 'isn't this silly' performance" because I think he was just channeling lead Bollywood actors (see Shah Rukh Khan) who do the same thing.
Ryan -- yeah, maybe i'm too harsh on him. I did like his interactions with his employee. And yes Act 1 is forever. I'm like "get to the story!"