Review of Eternals (2021) by Jluis_001 — 06 Nov 2021

My main concern regarding the Eternals had to do with the huge baggage they carried, and even for Chloé Zhao that turned out to be a barrier that she couldn't overcome.

There are too many explanations in Eternals and that slows the pace quite a bit, coupled with its long duration and lack of action, the film feels too irregular and its progress is stunted.

Yet I also have to mention the things that does right, and that is that, although it's still a Marvel superhero film, Chloé Zhao finally manages to shake up a bit the exhausted introductory formula for new characters that are coming to this cinematic universe.

Although it must be admitted that this is due to the complexity and scale of the story that is being told.

Marvel has opened a door as large as the multiverse by finally directly introducing cosmic entities that are simply larger than anything else the MCU has shown so far.

The possibilities are endless, you just need the ambition and the talent to exploit them.

The most solid point of this film is of course its cast. Even though the most important leading role falls to Gemma Chan, everyone involved is given the opportunity to show off.

Some to a lesser extent than others, but the cast is sufficiently balanced, although the shared humor came to feel too gratuitous after a while.

The visual is simply remarkable. I can't recall another MCU movie that can boast such excellent use of cinematography and lighting as this one.

There are a lot of visual effects, but only at some points the CGI and green screen are truly noticeable and not really problematic. Ben Davis' work is simply outstanding.

For the rest, I can only say that even with its problems, Eternals is yet another solid addition to the ever-growing MCU.

It knows how to balance its strengths and keeps the machinery greased and working.

It's still the same formula, but at least it has a little shake to it, and it doesn't feel so ordinary.

Predictable? Yes. Still entertaining though.

Now it is only necessary to see what plans Marvel will have for these characters considering the ending and the two post-credits scenes.

Time will tell.