Eternals from Marvel Studios introduces an exciting new squad of Marvel Cinematic Universe superheroes, a group of ancient aliens residing on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy compels them to emerge from the shadows to fight humanity’s most ancient foe, the Deviants.
Thanks to the creative freedom given to the Oscar-winning director, Chloé Zhao, the new MCU movie was nothing like any of its other franchises. This opportunity gave her enough room for maneuver in creating a story about people, memories, and the boundaries between God and man. Although it is not much related to the Avengers worldview, it is interesting to find out how each character is connected to various Greek mythology tales. Here, Angelina Jolie‘s Thena becomes the Greek divinity Athena during a round of scenes in ancient Greece. Zhao even throws out the myth of Icarus that we know of and turns it into a great story made by a mischievous Eternal centuries ago.
What was impressive about this beautiful film was that it was refreshingly diverse. Looking at the cast of characters alone, we could tell the producers recruited various stars from many nations. The characters even speak in different accents from countries around the world, including Scotland, Ireland, England, South Korea, Mexico, India, and the United States. And, of course, such inclusiveness goes beyond the color of skin or the language that’s spoken. It extends to embracing sexuality and gender by presenting a black gay character in the narrative. In addition, the ultimate magic used at the end of the movie is called ‘Uni-mind,’ and the way Chloé Zhao looks at the world is constantly expressed with these magical terms, its cast, accents, and even in the soundtrack.
For the action scenes, it was definitely mesmerizing, but we’ve seen better before. The movie shows Ma Dong Seok‘s Gilgamesh punching and smacking a Deviant, yet some of the sequences seem to have been carried out with minimum effort, with some CGI looking a little off. Moreover, the scene where the first gay hero stands amid the debris of Hiroshima felt a little weird despite its hidden message and its intended meanings. Nonetheless, the movie deals with many incredible topics, including family, memories, bonds, and the flaws and strengths of humanity.
And yes, Eternals has two credit scenes, one before and one after the final credits. If you are unsure whether to �stay �and �watch the credits or not, I strongly recommend watching it because you’ll find someone very surprising in one of them!
Grade: B+
