‘Eternals’: A unique addition to Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel’s new release “Eternals” may have bombed with critics, but still has things to offer fans. PHOTO CREDIT: thedirect.com

“Eternals” explores the theological origins of this universe with a character-driven narrative that has received mixed reviews for its separation from the traditional Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) formula. 

Directed by Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), this film plays more as a piece of art delving into the morality of its characters as eternal beings, and just what their role is supposed to be in life on Earth. While their mission given by the celestial Arishem is delineated as eliminating all deviants on Earth so that humans can progress in their intellect and population, there is more beyond this that leaves the Eternals to reconsider their role in the universal project of creating life. 

The film takes place after the Blip –– the five-year time span where half of all life in the MCU was snapped away by Thanos –– when all of the life that had been vanished returns. This resurgence of population and energy allows for the emergence of the celestial Tiamut, which each of the Eternals struggle to come to grips with. 

“Eternals” does a lot of jumping around through time to help us understand the history of the Eternals from the early days of civilization in Mesopotamia to the present day. They protect humans from the deviants throughout centuries until they have sleign the last one. After this, the prime Eternal Ajak (Salma Hayek) tells the rest of the Eternals that they are free to live their lives as they wish before the emergence. 

We follow Sersi (Gemma Chan) as our main character in an ensemble movie, who is thrust into the position as the prime Eternal and realizes just what their mission actually is. She must regroup the Eternals to stop the emergence of Tiamut, and the movie shows the journey of getting them all back together again. 

The star-studded ensemble of “Eternals” includes: Ikaris (Richard Madden); Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani); Thena (Angelina Jolie); Makkari (Lauren Ridloff); Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry); Druig (Barry Keoghan); Gilgamesh (Don Lee); and Black Knight (Kit Harington).

A notable plot throughline of moral contention in this film is Phastos’ struggle with how his technological intelligence has helped humankind advance its weaponry.

A specific moment in the movie which touches on this — spoiler alert — is when Phastos sees the aftermath of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima at the end of World War II. You can see how emotional this makes him and how his morals change thereafter, as he gets married to another man and they raise a child together. 

Some downfalls of this movie include its lack of character development across the Eternals, as most of them seem static. I would love to see the story lines of Makkari and Druig more deeply delved into, as their romantic connection (?) towards the end of the movie seems misplaced as none of it is seen or developed before the ending. 

There has been controversy regarding the reviews for “Eternals” on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, as they have been “review bombed.” Insider describes the phrase as reserved for critics rating a film poorly for its inclusion of diverse representation. Diversity portrayed in “Eternals” includes the first openly gay family in the MCU, Makkari as the MCU’s first deaf superhero and heroes from different ethnic backgrounds. 

According to Insider, IMDB has since deleted the negative comments for “Eternals” being “too ‘woke,’” but the score remains a 6.9/10 on the site. As for the Rotten Tomatoes score, it resides at 47 percent on the Tomatometer and 80 percent for its audience score. 

Criticism of the film itself might also be drawn from the action in this movie, which was lackluster in comparison to bigger ensemble movies such as “Avengers: Endgame.” So if you’re looking for a traditional, big action MCU movie, perhaps turn to “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” which is now available to stream on Disney+.

Personally, I think that the movie’s strengths lie in its evaluation and exploration of what it means to be human and just how the MCU came to fruition. So, if you’re looking for something that veers outside of the usual narrative formula of the MCU that lends insight to its origins, check out “Eternals” in theaters now.