Eternals

Thanks for my beloved Pink Floyd in the opening, but otherwise, please disregard this God-knows-what episode of the cancer of the contemporary film industry. In the monstrously overblown runtime, it all emotionally passes you by in a big arc and deals with uninteresting things that have no continuity within the Marvel franchise. Kevin Feige may have made good on his promise to give space to unconventional directors, but I still wonder at the unconventional Chloé Zhao for going in as a mere disposable craftsperson. (2022-01-29)

Eternals definitely brings something new to the MCU, but that excessive runtime is just too much. Thank goodness for Kumail Nanjiani, who injected some much-needed lightness and energy into the overly serious tone. Richard Madden, on the other hand, maintained the same expression throughout the entire film — Marvel’s attempt at Superman didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Eternals bit off more than it could chew, drowning in its own ambitious scope and digital mess without any memorable action scenes. The final sequence looks impressive but lacks the pacing to make it feel truly impactful. This movie would have been much better trimmed down to two hours for a more digestible experience. (2021-11-02)

Now I have no worries about the new MCU film phase. Yes, Shang-Chi received the same rating from me, but I did have a few reservations about it, but I can't think of a single complaint about Eternals. The film is surprisingly very much about the characters and the relationships between them, and that's the nicest thing about it. Of course, there are action scenes and they are great, but that's not the main thing Eternals has to offer. These are new and completely unknown heroes, of which there are quite a few, but thanks to the elaborate script and their representatives, they are not interchangeable and we get to know and understand them well. In addition to the characters, the film also miraculously manages to explain a completely new mythology, link it with what we already know, and offer a BIG promise for the future. The finale is one of the best we've seen from Marvel - something big, truly huge happens, but it doesn’t just happen "to make something happen," but rather is logical and entirely appropriate. Pure 100% satisfaction. (2021-11-04)

Breathtaking scale, action with beautiful exteriors and a monumental story about nothing less than the reason for the continuation of our existence in the universe. Eternals is an untraditional family team movie that spans about 7,000 years during one strange pregnancy. Zhao has given a serious face to Marvel, introducing powerful topics and bringing everything to a satisfying ending, which promises great things in his future movies. The actors are well-chosen, the correct types and even though the inclusion is flagrant and makes you ask yourself "why?", it can be overlooked and excused as bowing to journalists, because it does more harm than good to the story. Let’s go to Ajak first. She’ll know what to do. (2022-01-14)

I was completely indifferent to Eternals before its premiere, but in the end, it's surprisingly the first feature film from the MCU in a long time that I find at least interesting. For one thing, the motif of extraterrestrial beings overseeing the evolution of humankind for millennia and inscribing themselves in myths and legends is captivating, and I’d love to see something like that handled seriously outside the MCU. And secondly, I like the fact that the conflict underlying Eternals unfolds in morally quite ambivalent tones, which is not at all usual in this cinematic universe. I enjoyed it more when the characters solved these dilemmas, discussed them, than when they got into a fight with CGI creatures or with each other. But even the action scenes are among the best ones you can get. (2021-11-06)