The Eternals
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING WITH WALTER WILLIAMS
Super Fan Boys and Girls are not as kind to “Eternals” as I’m going to be.
Personally I think Marvel is returning to their Golden days with new films like “Ten Rings” and this one. After “End Game” Marvel needed to up its own game to try and keep up after setting the bar so damn high. They achieved this by introducing us to some never seen on the big screen before Comic Book Characters whose Universe is affected by other happenings in Marvel Cinematic Universe. The only thing is these Celestial Superheroes (using derivations of Greek Mythological Gods names) are only allowed to observe and not interfere with human wars (including Thanos).
The saga of the “Eternals” is truly Epic and opens thousands of years ago in Earth’s history, then keeps bouncing back and forth in time with subtitles for era and location, thank goodness. This flick focuses on a race of immortal beings who lived on Earth in the shadows, shaping its history and civilizations with the invention of the Wheel, the Plough and awkwardly the Nuclear Bomb amongst other things.
“Eternals” is being applauded for the MCU’s first ever Gay Superhero…an African/American male in a same sex relationship, who’s adopted a son. It’s all a sign of the shifting sands of times for this conglomerate…the Adult Males also share an on screen kiss. Some saying better late than never.
Another first is finally a Deaf Superhero, “Makkari” portrayed by real life deaf actress Lauren Ridloff. Every Superhero movie needs comic relief and Kumail Najuani as “Kingo” provided plenty of laughs. Watch out for his dance scene. He’s looking fit for a comic actor after going on a strict low carb diet and working out religiously for months.
Harish Patel as “Karun” adds to the fun as “Kingo’s” assistant with shades of “The Royal Tenenbaums”, “Kumar”.
There is good news for Game of Thrones fans because two of the stars from that series, Richard Madden and Kit Harrington, have leading roles in “Eternals”.
The antagonists in this Action, Adventure, Drama are called Deviants and the fight scenes with these CGI creatures are brutal.
There are also hints of “Lost Boys” and “Peter Pan” in the script with Lia McHugh as “Sprite” playing an elfish “Tinkerbell” type role to Maddens’ “Peter”.
The movie has a very worldly feel because of the various shooting destinations including Canary Islands, London & Los Angeles.
Sure there’s a lot of explaining to do for those who believe there are enough creation myths in MCU already. But let’s not get bogged down in goofs and detail, because in the words of singer/songwriter George Ezra, “why, why what a terrible time to be alive if you’re prone to overthinking it, why, why what a terrible time to be alive if you’re prone to second guessing it.”
However Pretty Shiny People I do have three of my own issues with this production.
Firstly, how similar are the powers of “Ikaris” to Superman…only thing missing is a cape. Which even gets referenced by a child in one scene.
The second is how all the actors playing these mythical Gods use their own native accents from Scottish to Irish, English to American etc and its never accounted for. And finally the giant Elephant in the Room is their interstellar space craft that’s shaped like a giant Tablet for reading Audiobooks on. Look I’m no NASA Space Engineer, but I do know a bit about aerodynamics and this huge rectangle has none.
Ignore the critics who say it needs to be serialised for Disney Plus and given more room to breathe. Make up your own mind about this 2 hour 37 minute marathon event at your local Cinema. Whatever you do, don’t leave before the house lights come on because there’s a couple of Easter Eggs you won’t want to miss.
Here’s hoping any possible sequel will answer all our questions and iron out some of the quirks and maybe give us spin off story lines with even more Superheroes and Villains.
“Eternals” has plenty of twists and turns and you won’t know which side to root for at times. Music fans listen out for a wonderful soundtrack which includes: Pink Floyd & Foreigner plus a score from Raman Djawadi…only his second time in MCU after starting with their first film, “Iron Man”.
All of this amazing movie is crafted by Oscar winning Director Chloe Zhao.
4.5/5*
