Eternals (2021) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

There are heroes everywhere and we just don’t know it. I know don’t think that could’ve been anymore obvious through Marvel’s Eternals.

PLOT

The film follows the extraterrestrial species of the same name that come from Planet Olympia, created by intergalactic figures known as Celestials. In 5000 BC, ten Eternals were sent to Earth to eliminate the invasive threat known as Deviants. The group of super powered figures are: The leader Ajak who is capable of healing herself and others, Kingo who projects and manipulates cosmic energy that results in shooting beams from his hands, Thena who can manifest any handheld weapon she can imagine, Phastos who is a techno path as in using his mind and energy to assemble things, Makkari who has super speed, Druig who is capable of mind control, Sprite who can cast illusions, Gilgamesh who projects exoskeleton shields that enhances his strength, Sersi who is capable of transmutation and Ikaris, who can fly and summon lasers from his eyes. As time went until Deviants were wiped out completely, the team became close to one another like a family. Particularly, Sersi and Ikaris would fall in love with each other. By 1521, the Deviants have been completely dealt with during the Spanish Invasion. At that point in time, Thena gains a form of dementia known as “Mahd Wy’ry”, which is a psychological affliction that is a result from a vast amount of memories due to immortality. The affliction leads to one forgetting when exactly he/she is, which can lead to becoming potentially dangerous to others. When Thena acts out due to her condition, Ajak offers to erase her memories to cure her, but Gilgamesh offers to watch over her so that she doesn’t have to forget. With the mission complete, Ajak releases the team to go their separate ways and to not interfere with human conflict unless Deviants are involved. The main story takes place in the Post Blip Era. Sersi lives in London, works at the Natural History Museum and is currently dating human Dane Whitman. Sprite stays with her to keep her company. They have an unexpected reunion with Ikaris when a Deviant attacks. It is completely different from the rest as it is capable to heal itself like Ajak. Realizing that their leader could be in danger, they head to South Dakota to check on her where she last resided, only to find her dead. Sersi is posthumously chosen as her successor, which now makes her capable of speaking to the Celestial Judge Arishem (David Kaye). He tells her that the true plan was to prepare for an ‘Emergence’, which is which is destroy the planet to give birth to a new Celestial, after a seed had already been planted long ago. He further explains that this has been a cycle for centuries and Deviants were originally made to destroy apex predators and ensure the development of intelligent life. However, Eternals were then made from the ‘World Forge’ to hunt them down when they evolved and started hunting populations. After every emergence, Arishem would then study the memories of Eternals to study Deviants, later erasing them from those he creates and resetting afterwards. With Thanos’ snap being reversed, the planet has reached the right population for the Emergence to happen and awaken the Celestial named ‘Tiamut’. Having such love for humanity throughout her time on Earth, Sersi decides to reassemble the team to figure out how to prevent the planet’s destruction. First, they find Kingo in Mumbai, who has made a fortune as a Bollywood star, posing as a single lineage of actors. They find Gilgamesh and Thena in Australia, who recently survived a Deviant attack as well. They then go to an Amazon village where Druig resides. Sersi pitches that maybe he could use his power to make Tiamut dormant. However, all get attacked by Deviants and Gilgamesh gets killed by their leader Kro who gains his ability as well. Once their friend is cremated, Sersi and Ikaris find Phastos in Chicago, who has married his husband Ben Stoss (Haaz Sleiman) and adopted his son Jack (Esai Daniel Cross). With Phastos now involved, he agrees that the best way for Druig’s power to work on Tiamut is if they form a “Uni-Mind”, an energy construct which combines the power of all Eternals and amplifies it. All Eternals go to Iraq to find the starship the ‘Domo’. There, they find Makkari who has been living there this whole time. As Phastos prepares to link everyone together, Kingo and Ikaris admit to not being onboard with the plan. The latter is definitely against it because in reality, he is responsible for Ajak’s death. She told him first about the Emergence and he fed her to the Deviants when she admitted of wanting to prevent it. When Druig deduces what he did, Ikaris argues that it is their duty to let the Emergence happen. Sprite leaves with him due to her unrequited love for him. Kingo chooses to leave, not wanting to face neither Arishem nor his friends. When Thena motivates Sersi to move forward with the plan, Phastos makes bracelets out of Ajak’s communication sphere, which will help make the Uni Mind possible. Thanks to Makkari scouting the planet, the team heads to a volcanic island in the Indian Ocean where the seed of Tiamut is. Sersi, Thena & Makkari lend their energy to Druig so he could make the Celestial dormant, Ikaris intervenes by blasting him into a hole and destroying the Domo. When Kro appears, Thena kills him while Phastos and Makkari try to pin him down long enough for Sersi to use her powers to turn Tiamut into marble. Sprite does stab her with a dagger, but Druig appears and knocks her out before she could consider finishing her off. When another Uni Mind is formed, Sersi is able to turn Tiamut into marble before the planet could be destroyed. Ashamed of attacking those he cares for, Ikaris takes his life by flying directly into the sun. Sersi uses the last of her energy to grant Sprite the wish to be human, which loses her powers but allows her to grow up, ending her permanent childlike state. Two weeks after this, Thena, Druig & Makkari go to space on the now repaired Domo, in hopes to find other Eternals and tell them the truth of their purpose. As the others stay, Sprite lives with Kingo to go to school. Sersi is unable to reconnect with Dane as she, Kingo and Phastos are taken out of orbit by Arishem, he decides to evaluate the memories for all three Eternals, in order to decide a final judgement for Earth, sparing the planet for now. In a mid credit scene, Thena, Druig & Makkari encounter an Eternal named Eros aka Starfox who claims to be the brother of Thanos, and a troll named Pip (Patton Oswalt), who claims to help them contact the others as they have been unable to for a week. The film ends in a mid credit scene where Dane finds an enchanted sword that belonged to his ancestors and someone offscreen asks if he is ready to wield it.

THOUGHTS

The best way to discuss of this film is through laying out the pros and cons.

PROS: I was able to see this film twice as of writing this, once in a standard theatric screening and the other through the IMAX format on Disney+. I originally did grow worry of how ambitious it would be to introduce a new group of heroes at once since it was already a gamble like Guardians of the Galaxy. I chose to give it a chance anyway because new heroes is the only way this franchise can remain fresh. So within both viewings, I am once again surprised to say that I enjoyed this film. I think that despite its flaws, Director Chloé Zhao was able to make another interesting entry to the MCU for being completely different from the original formula, proving not chapter has to look the same. I’m not gonna call it amazing like The Avengers or Black Panther, but this is far from terrible like Green Lantern. Aside from Ramin Djawadi’s fascinating score and badass fight scenes like the Deviant Amazon ambush, my personal favorite of the bunch, we get a brand new perspective of a hero’s journey. It starts a conversation of one’s hope and humanity, if the things that we do are worth it in the long run and understanding what defines us as human. Since this is a superhero movie, it obviously says that each decision we make is worth it. If we don’t make mistakes, there is no chance to evolve as a better part of ourselves. It then explains that what makes us human is the experiences we go through. Like any ensemble, we wouldn’t get this without the most colorful characters we’ve ever seen. It sounded risky to introduce ten super-powered characters at once, but it worked out just fine as it never felt overstuffed because each character had a chance to shine. I was surprised of the decision to introduce such powerful characters so late into the series, but it comes to show that patience is a virtue since we don’t want a mess like Inhumans. Going into the cast, I have to get this out of the way when I say Ikaris was the best character of the whole movie. I feel this way because Richard Madden portrays him as one who cares for his loved ones, but is more of a dutiful soldier instead of his own person. His loyalty blinds him so much that he is willing to kill his family to ensure success. I don’t condone his act of suicide but I understand his reasoning; He couldn’t live with himself when he knew he was wrong in his heart. He was more of a corrupted person than a bad one because his good intentions ruin his decision making. I don’t expect him to come back because again, there is no way he could bare being with his friends after such regretful decisions. In her second chance making a mark in the series, the first was playing Minn Erva in Captain Marvel, Gemma Chan makes Sersi a memorable character for being the most caring for Earth. Her affinity motivates her to protect it because she understands that the ‘greater good’ doesn’t justify such a sacrifice. I think Ikaris fell for her in the first place because of how she had more empathy and compassion unlike him. He wanted to express that deeply, but knowing the truth of the mission held him back from doing so. She is one of the three Eternals to be punished by Arishem because it was her idea to prevent the Emergence. Since I respect her so much for her decision, I hope she survives this situation with the others chosen to be in her predicament. Kumail Nanjiani makes Kingo a relatable character for being enamored with fame and lucky for him, he got to enjoy it for generations and never tire of it. He is relatable for wanting to be neutral in the conflict; he has side of belief but refuses to fight his family for it, which is why he is chosen for punishment by Arishem. Karun may be a minor character in comparison to the others, but Harish Patel made him memorable for being a joyful supporter to Kingo and the other Eternals. He has the most realistic reaction of their true purpose. He knew that if he was gonna die, he wasn’t gonna waste the last minutes of his life at home doing nothing. So seeing him stay with Kingo until he decided to leave was logical because he got to be part of an unforgettable adventure like the movies his friend had starred in. And seeing him document his time with three different cameras in preparation was indeed the funniest part of the whole movie for me. Brian Tyree Henry made Phastos another standout because he is the most reserved of the group. He cares about this planet as much as Sersi because all he wanted was to set the right path of evolution for the human race. When that went awry during the ‘45 attack on Hiroshima, he lost hope. But then that hope was regained when he found love through Ben and Jack. His time with them helped him understand the meaning of life once again, realizing that mistakes are part of evolution. Another cool thing about him was how he was brain and brawn because with such an intellect, he uses it to his advantage in the battlefield. He is the third Eternal to be punished because he made technology possible to stop the Emergence. As said with Sersi, I hope he and Kingo get out of this alive. Breakout Lia McHugh leaves a memorable impression because like Ikaris, Sprite has her own set of complexity. Because of how her physical appearance makes her resemble a child, she has been incapable of enjoying life like the others have, not being treated as an adult she is inside. Her anger blinds her from the decisions she would make. I don’t condone her stabbing Sersi but she forgave her anyway because she understood where her anger was coming from. Now that she has her wish, I hope that she gets to make the best of her new life. Without speaking a word due to being deaf, Lauren Ridloff gives the most emotion as Makkari. She was a delight to see for never having hate within after all the bad she has seen, maintaining her compassion like Sersi. She was a badass of her own right for proving to be the fastest in the MCU thus far and seeing her at full speed rather than slow motion was a delight. Barry Keoghan was another standout because he has a realistic perspective in his predicament. He distanced himself from society because he disliked the destruction humans caused towards one another and was ordered to not intervene. In that kind of pickle, he has the right to lose hope. But that unspoken love for Makkari kept him going. There was an obvious sense of intimacy between them because she always helped him find the brightness in humanity. But it never went anywhere for so long because they didn’t have a strong foundation of trust. Now that they’re together again by the end, I think there is a possibility of them to build that trust. Don Lee made Gilgamesh a likable figure because his biggest strength was his kindness. Seeing him devoted and patient when watching over Thena proves that he would do that for everyone he cares about, making his death all the more tragic. Growing up, I always wanted to see Angelina Jolie play a superhero due to making entertaining action films prior, and playing Thena was a genius choice. With this role, she proved that the most fragile can overcome the odds. So seeing her overcome her dementia to defeat Kro was very empowering. However you portray her relationship with Gilgamesh, you appreciate him even more because she wouldn’t be able to make it this far without him. As for the last of the main Eternals, Salma Hayek makes a mark with Ajak in her given time for making her the most wise and maternal. As a leader, she knew what was best for them all and enjoying life. It makes me smile to know that the Avengers inspired her wanting to prevent the Emergence because it comes to show that the right path of evolution came around as she hoped, that they became as heroic as her and her family. Seeing her demise was another unfortunate moment to witness because compare her powers to Ikaris, her chances of surviving were slim. What matters at this point is that she will always in the hearts of her family spiritually. With so many new characters, one had to be sidelined within the bunch. So I wasn’t offended that Dane Whitman had to be that character. In his minimum screen time, I think Kit Harrington leaves a good impression on the character by portraying as one who is easily accepting of his surroundings, which explains how he accepted Sersi’s backstory and absence so quickly. The magical sword he finds in the post credit scene is the Ebony Blade that’ll grant him his abilities as the Black Knight, another protagonist we’ll be excited to see kick a lot of ass in the future. And lastly, I don’t want to overrate Harry Styles’ cameo as Starfox, but just off of looking the part, he straight up owns the charm the character is partially known for, which excites me to continue seeing him in the franchise’s future.

CONS: Despite my my ongoing respect of its direction, there way too many things I disliked throughout, making me understand why a sequel isn’t being rushed. For starters, the flashbacks take place prior to the 20th century were so chopped up throughout the film it felt nauseating. I think that arc should’ve been shown in order and went from there. To get it out of the way, I do not like Kro at all because he just becomes useless to see. Bill Skarsgard does a good job making him sound menacing, as does the impressive visual effects, but he doesn’t back it up because we don’t even understand his motive once he kills the Eternals and we don’t even understand how he is able to find them. He has an interesting motive, but it’s hard to be invested in his perspective when he’s hardly there. He’s just ten times more bland than Malekith from Thor: The Dark World. It’s even cool when he shares his powers to the others, but why did one get wings? Ajak didn’t fly and Ikaris didn’t die until the climax. Going into the story, am I the only one who thought it was weird to see London civilians still go out to party after an earthquake? I get that Sersi would because she doesn’t know it’s Deviant related, but it’s hard to buy that the Blip made Earth calm about situations like that. And did that student notice Sersi turn the artifact to sand when the earthquake happened? The sand landed on her, so I can’t believe she’d ignore it despite being relieved to stay alive. I’m also thrown off on how Sprite told Dane so much of her and Sersi’s past yet we never see that exchange. I honestly thought that’d be funny to see. And aside from the bus driver, was the bus empty when Sersi turned it to pedals? Because that’d be pretty messed up if some bystanders were in there. I don't want to hate on Sersi, but was it really wise to lure the deviant out to the public rather than prevent casualties? Of course she’s trying to protect Dane, but thats kinda selfish when you think about it. Phastos makes a lot of cool stuf, especially making a device that can track Deviants. My problem is that is why didn’t he detect the last batch being frozen on ice? You really can’t excuse that since his technology is 100 times more advanced than what Earth could ever do. This even brings up another question about how did the missing oil workers not hit the news or at least a public search? If that happened, the news of the deviants would’ve been announced quicker and maybe Ajak would’ve avoided Ikaris’ devotion of the cause with the others getting involved. It is smart of Ajak to wipe Thena’s memories completely, but why can’t she keep a few to maintain her friendship? It’s not like 100 years can trigger a million more before. I do respect Karun ordering for production of the film ‘Legend of Ikaris’ to halt when he and Kingo are told of Ajak’s death, but shouldn’t that have been Kingo’s decision? I mean there is no actual clarification on what kind of authority he has on set. If I’m going to question about Arishem is the decision to punish three Eternals. I don’t want these heroes to suffer, but I don’t understand the decision to call out three out of what’s left. And I’m all about free will, but what would be the point to give that to Eternals if they’re assigned with one task? If this is to avoid another Deviant fallout, that should’ve been clear as well. I understand that this is MCU canon and has to reference the franchise as much as possible, but how exactly does Kingo know Thor? Did they meet on Asgard or Earth? This scratches my head a lot since Thor basically travels as much as the Guardians of the Galaxy. I then keep wondering why didn’t Makkari stay with Druig due to the unspoken intimacy they have for each other? Sure she would be a little bored and would want to explore, but it feels confusing not spending time with someone she cares so deeply. It is a big surprise that Ikaris is responsible for Ajak’s death, but what made him so sure that she would want to prevent the Emergence anyway? I mean it was smart of him to think of the possibility but also overthinking it after knowing her for so long doesn’t add up. It is nice for Makkari to be useful by finding the source of the emergence, but why didn’t Sersi already know that? Considering that Arishem told her almost everything, it’s kinda weird that he didn’t tell her that too. I then get livid of how did Druig get to Sprite in time after Ikaris ahead blasted him in such a deep hole on the island. Makkari didn’t know he was okay yet and she was busy fighting Ikaris, so you can’t say she helped him get there, nor does he have her powers. Also, why does Sprite have to go to public school when she knows pretty much everything that has happened in this planet? She could be homeschooled and Karun would be a teacher. That would be a little realistic. And lastly, it is cool to know that Mahershala Ali’s Blade as the offscreen that talks to Dane, but I deeply don’t think that this was the best way to introduce him. We could’ve gotten his uncle who is the predecessor of wielding the Ebony Blade, so this was pretty forced. These characters do better alone and I don’t think it makes sense for them to team up.

In short, Eternals is still an immersive superhero film for being as cautious as possible with world building and making more memorable characters than ever. If you’re still onboard with the MCU at this point, don’t hesitate checking it out.