This review reflects only my opinion of this movie and does not reflect Her Campus’s general opinion.
*****This review contains spoilers*****
Eternals opens up the Marvel Cinematic Universe to new heights. The scope of this movie is massive. The last big bad we saw in the MCU was Thanos, the genocide-happy Titan. After watching Eternals, Thanos is seen as child’s play. We are introduced to ten new main characters called Eternals who were sent by Celestials, planet-sized beings that have the capability to create galaxies, to help guide humanity on Earth. They have lived since the beginning of time, managing and guiding people over the years but never interfering unless specifically told so by their leading Celestial, Arishem. Arishem sent them to Earth to protect people from Deviants, evil creatures hellbent on destroying humanity. On this journey we meet:
Sersi: the main character of the movie, played by Gemma Chan, has the ability to manipulate matter.
Ikaris: one of Sersi’s love interests, played by Richard Madden, who has the ability to shoot energy blasts out of his eyes and fly.
Ajak: She is considered the leader of the Eternals, who is the only one able to talk to the Celestials and has healing powers. She is portrayed by Salma Hayek.
Kingo: Played by the hilarious Kumail Nanjiani, he is able to shoot energy blasts out of his fingers.
Thena: One of the fiercest warriors on the team, she has the ability to create any weapon she wants. Did I mention that she is played by the one and only Angelina Jolie.
Phastos: The engineer of the group, Phastos has helped society technologically advance. Portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry, he is also the first openly gay Marvel superhero.
Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh, played by Don Lee, is the strongest of the group, being able to knock out most of his opponents with a single punch.
Sprite: She has the power of illusion but is eternally stuck in a child’s body despite being the same age as the others. Sprite is played by Lia McHugh.
Makkari: She is the speedster of the group who can run faster than sound itself. Makkari, played by the wonderful Lauren Ridloff, is the first deaf superhero in the MCU.Â
Druig: Last but definitely not least, Druig has the ability to control people’s minds. He is played by Barry Keoghan.
SYNOPSIS OF MOVIE:
Despite being an action/adventure film, the beginning of this movie honestly felt like a romance. We follow Sersi and her mortal boyfriend, Dane Whitman, as she lives out her human life. After years of no Deviant incidents, the eternals have all separated and are living out their respective lives. They quickly come to realize that Deviants have made their way back into civilization after an attack takes place. Throughout the movie we see flashbacks of the Eternals watching society and helping it advance. Although, in one of the more Greek mythology-esque themes, they struggle being forced not to help humanity in the many terrible natural disasters, wars, and devastations that plague Earth. This is the main conflict of the movie, with some of the Eternals wanting to help society thrive and protect it from horrible happenings, while others are committed to not interfering (Arishem’s demand).
Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite help put the group back together. Along the way, we learn more about each character. Their first stop was Ajak, who was living in isolation in South Dakota. Upon their arrival, they found Ajak dead, her ability to talk to the Celestials now being thrusted into Sersi.
Sersi and Ikaris have a centuries-old relationship, even getting married at one point, but after Ikaris left Sersi out of the blue, she is struggling to trust him again. Sprite hates her appearance, wishing that she were able to grow old. Kingo has become a huge Bollywood star. Thena’s mind is collapsing and she struggles to remember who she is, having many unconscious violent outbursts. Gilgamesh has been living with Thena, helping her heal and remember who she is. Phastos has a family with a husband and son. Druig has been living in the woods with what it seems is a cult of people, all mind-controlled by him. Makkari has been living on their ship waiting for Arishem to announce they can go home. Over the years, she has stolen some of the most priceless artifacts. We learn that Druig and Makkari have a special relationship that borders on the line of romance.Â
On their journey to assemble the group, they fight Deviants. Everything hits a turning point when Sersi talks to Arishem and learns that they are not real people. They have been cloned over and over again for different planets in an ongoing fight between Eternals and Deviants. Arishem explains that Deviants were first created by Celestials to wipe out apex predators on planets, but they quickly evolved to wipe out all species, including humans. She also finds out that there are Celestials growing out of planets, essentially using these planets as breeding pods with the human population acting as fuel for the Celestial. This is called the Emergence. That is, the emergence of a new celestial from a planet. In their emergence, Celestials completely destroy the planet. Eternals were designed to protect the Emergence by protecting the human race, and to be killed off in the Emergence.
In the final act of the movie, the Eternals decide to disobey Arishem and halt the Emergence. We also figure out that Ikaris was the one who killed Ajak. Ajak had come to Ikaris explaining that they needed to tell the others about the Emergence and stop it from occurring. In an attempt to silence her, he kills her. His betrayal creates a divide in the Eternals, with most taking Sersi’s side to halt the Emergence. This all leads up to a final battle scene between Ikaris and the rest of the Eternals. Ultimately, Sersi halts the Emergence by turning the Celestial into marble. Many of the Eternals leave Earth. Because the Eternals disobeyed the direct demand of Arishem, he takes the ones who decided to stay on Earth: Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo. The movie ends with the three of them disappearing.Â
MY REVIEW:
I loved this movie. I thought the visuals were stunning, the plot was interesting, the use of the Eternals powers were fun, and overall this movie did its job to further the scope of the MCU. ChloĂ© Zhao had a massive undertaking with just the scale of this movie. There was so much she had to fit in, and I think she did a great job. Eternals felt fresh. It strayed from the Marvel formula, but in the best way. We had hints of romance, drama, adventure and action.Â
That being said, Eternals was not a perfect movie. For starters, some of the dialogue was…interesting. I also think that the pacing of the movie was a little off at times. Switching between flashbacks and the present was a part of the pacing problem. Some of the choices they made with certain characters also felt off. For example, they sidelined Kingo in the final battle scene which was a mistake in my opinion. The whole subplot they introduced towards the end of the movie with Sprite being in love with Ikaris just felt unnecessary. The acting was pretty good for the most part, with Richard Madden especially shining.
Some of the highlights included Makkari and Druig. I went into this movie expecting Sersi to be my favorite character but I ended up falling in love with Makkari and Druig. Makkari is one of the best, if not the best, speedsters I’ve ever seen on screen. She used her powers in such a unique way, especially in the final battle scene against Ikaris. Druig was one of the most interesting Eternals. He was the first one to step up against Ikaris, stating that they should help people by interfering in the many wars throughout history. Makkari and Druig’s relationship was more enticing to me than Sersi and Ikaris. They had amazing chemistry, and even in the small amount of times we saw them together they completely stole the show. The two big plot twists in this movie elevated tension and created much needed drama. The final battle scene was also a highlight of the movie, incorporating each character’s powers in such an interesting way. Not to mention, the overall diversity of this cast is long overdue in the MCU.
I would rate Eternals as a solid 7.5/10.Â
What really blew my mind was the two after-credit scenes. I mean…Harry Styles was a complete game-changer. His introduction alone might bump up my rating to an eight (I am very biased). The second post-credit scene features Dane Whitman, Sersi’s other love interest who works at the Smithsonian, opening a chest. Inside the chest is a sword but right before he touches it, we hear the voice of Mahershala Ali as Blade saying “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” This introduces another beloved Marvel character formerly played by Wesley Snipes in the late 1990s.Â
Rotten Tomatoes’ critics bashed Eternals, scoring a 47% on the Tomatometer but an 80% audience score. I think that perfectly summarizes this entire Eternals debate. Film critics are mainly straight, white men. There’s not a lot of diversity in that arena of Hollywood, and Eternals is one of the most diverse casts we have ever seen in popular media. Most fans of Marvel are loving all the new faces and voices we’ve been getting from the next phase, but in this movie the main villain turns out to be Ikaris, the straight white man. Whereas, the straight white man in every other Marvel movie turns out to be the hero. People expect a specific pattern of Marvel movies and this movie does not follow that pattern. I understand that people may not love the film, but saying that it’s a bad movie is bogus, and likely based on the fact that it strays from the Marvel norm.Â
Overall, I highly recommend seeing this movie in theaters. I think Eternals is a super fun and visually-pleasing watch. It has action, comedy, romance, drama and adventure. Whether you are a Marvel fan or not, this movie can be enjoyed by all audiences. Be sure to catch Eternals at your local cinema!