Plot Summary – The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.

★★★★½ 

Watched on 08 Nov 2021

I’m either completely brainwashed by the MCU or my mind is subconsciously trying to be contrarian but either way I’ve got to say I had a really great time with this film. Right off the bat, I want to say that in no way is it perfect and I completely understand why people didn’t like it. But somehow the combination of elements in this film just made it a really enjoyable time for me and that outweighs the ‘objective analysis’ aspect when I review a film. This is unlike anything else I’ve watched from the MCU and I’m really glad about that. I hope that this does well in the box office so that Marvel keeps taking risks like this. No matter what people say, I think they can agree that it does experiment a lot more than what Marvel usually puts out. The biggest win for me is the sheer diversity of the cast and it’s not tokenized or hamfisted. It’s done with love and meticulousness. Two of the funniest characters in the film are South Asian and I really really appreciated that. You don’t realize how important representation is until you get it and feel what it’s like. The concept of the film itself is so intriguing and I genuinely loved the tone of the film. While this was a big complaint for a lot of people, I felt like the fact that it took itself fairly seriously while having the trademark Marvel humour made it such a refreshing watch. I think Chloe Zhao’s direction really makes an impact on the film because some scenes are absolutely gorgeous and the emphasis on natural locations and colours is something that really shines in the film. In addition, for me, the most impressive thing was the themes and nuances below the surface of the film. It really has something to say about humanity and has nuanced characters who are genuinely unpredictable. Some of the twists in the film were actually shocking and I thought it did a good job of balancing its huge cast. The actors all did a good job but the standouts were Barry Keoghan and Brian Tyree Henry. I must admit that the script for the film, in particular the dialogue, was poor. Some of the lines were very cringy and sometimes the story didn’t flow in a cohesive way. Basically, they threw a lot of shit at the wall, and for me, most of it stuck, but the overall canvas isn’t the same for everyone. Rather than recommending this film for merely its quality, I’d recommend you go watch this film to form your own opinion on it. It’s a good experience and if you don’t like it then that’s fine too but I think it is worth a visit to the theatre.