Marvel Studios’ newest film, Eternals, is an immersive and impressive experience that belongs on the big screen.
The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.
This film is not perfect, but what Director Chloe Zhao has managed to accomplish is nothing but extraordinary. With all the themes presented throughout the film (morality and free will just to name a few), and with the many characters that are introduced, it is an incredible feature. This is by far one of Marvel’s most ambitious movies yet, and it’s certainly its most beautiful, both visually and poetically. Eternals makes a giant leap from the typical Marvel formula that we all know, Zhao provides refinement with her delicate, introspective touch in every part of the film; from the soft evening sunlight over the fingertips of two people to the enthralling, epic action sequences. The intoxicating score, the breathtaking cinematography, the gorgeous visuals, the use of real-world natural locations whenever possible, and of course, the outstanding performances from the cast – only the best from Marvel Studios.
However, as I said before, this film is far from perfect. There is more than one flaw, but ultimately each one can be broken down to the issue of having too much story, and not enough to properly tell it. Eternals could have easily been written as a Disney+ series, why it wasn’t I don’t know. Had all the strengths of this film been conserved, and the story expanded without losing all those qualities, this would have surpassed any Disney+ show so far. Introducing an audience to 10 brand new characters in one movie, and expecting us to really get invested in all of them, was probably too much, even for the Oscar-winning director. For what it’s worth, and what was given, this film was the best that it could be. There were moments where I felt Marvel could have dug a little deeper to finally break through those sometimes immovable boundaries of the superhero genre and explore more mature, dynamic themes. However, the time restraints on feature-length films don’t really allow that.
Overall, Eternals certainly shows that Marvel is ready and willing to explore new themes and try new things to break the repetitive formula of superhero movies. Shang-Chi dipped its toe into new, fresh, and different waters, but Eternals plunged in head-on. My only hope is that this trend continues with future Marvel movies. It will be interesting to see what happens when we meet these characters again. They carry themselves with a sense of grave and regality, but we have only scratched the surface on the weights of their burdens.
Marvel Studios’ Eternals is now playing exclusively in theaters
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments.
