Eternals – Won’t last long in memory

Marvel

The Marvel cinematic universe began in 2008 with the blockbuster Iron man. From that day onwards Marvel has only grown leaps and bounds with every major release. Eternals is yet another addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. With a power packed star cast one really expected this to be one of the finest Marvel movie but  even with the best ingredients chef may sometimes cook a disaster, if his heart is not into cooking.

The Problem with Eternals

So, what exactly is wrong with Eternals? To be honest the movie in itself is not poor. The VFX is brilliant, the actors have all done a commendable job, and even the plot is very intriguing. What the movie lacks though is a human connection. What made the MCU movies appealing to the audience compared to the DCEU is that every movie, including the Guardians of Galaxy and Thor was somehow connected to the earth. And the connection was not just to the planet but to the real world and real places. The Avengers scores over The Justice League (or shall I say The Jostice league) not just in content but because it is set in the real city of New York. These real-world connections make all the Marvel movies very relatable to even a non-comics viewer.

This is exactly where the Eternals fails. There are a few side human characters but that human connection lies vastly unexplored which makes the emotional drive of the Eternals to revolt against Arishem not relatable.

Direction

What makes a superhero film entertaining is the pace. We are so used to seeing the superhero movies run at a very rapid pace with action sequences coming one after another. Eternals’ slow pace and specially a very laid-back ending is another reason the film did not do as much as it was expected to. I guess Director Chloe Zhao could not get out of her own style of cinema (Nomadland).

Acting

The casting in this movie is absolutely perfect. Every actor playing eternals creates an  impact with his/her screen presence except for Salma Hayek. Quite frankly, she has been wasted in a role which could have been done by any actor. Neither did she have any major impact on the storyline and the fact that she gets killed is actually a long-term loss for the MCU. While all the actors have done a fairly good job, the show stealer are just a few.

Angelina Jolie as Thena has portrayed the emotional conflict in a very subtle but impressive way.

Kumail Nanjiani has been a treat to watch and provides a little bit of comic timing which is missing in the movie in general.

Don Lee as Gilgamesh has put in the most impressive performance in this movie. I have always maintained that, if the death of a character in a movie makes you feel a lump in your throat, then that actor has done a job worthy of a salute.

Final Word

Eternals is a different type of movie altogether. It is not recommended for casual fans of Marvel Cinematic Universe but if you are into the vast written world of Marvel Comics, you are going to have a great time searching for easter eggs.