The Eternals were originally created for Marvel Comics by Jack Kirby in 1976. It was a sweeping, cosmic, weird, and a bit psychedelic story of superhuman warriors that came to earth thousands of years ago and are nearly immortal. Because of their god-like powers and long life, they become the basis for many human myths in various cultures and civilizations.
This movie follows ten Eternals (Sersi, Ikaris, Thena, Gilgamesh, Ajak, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, and Druig) as they land on earth, battling Deviants as commanded by their… master? God? Director? Manager? … Arishem. They battle the Deviants for several centuries with several of them getting a bit disillusioned by the genocide they witness by conquistadors in south America. In fact, one has a full-out Eternal mental breakdown (they call it mind-weary, and what a perfect term for what many of us have gone through in the past year and a half).
They decide to take a break and
we pick up the story with Sersi in modern-day London where she is working at a
museum and dating a local named Dane Whitman. Sprite is hanging out with them
and seems to have told Dane just about everything about them because when a
Deviant randomly attacks them, he knows what it is, but he hasn’t believed her
stories up to this point. This attack
allows Sersi an opportunity for some exposition after they are rescued by
Ikaris. They decide to head off to check
in with Ajak, because if Arishem is their manager, she’s the assistant manager
and the only one who can talk with him.
This leads to a general rounding up of the rest of the team who is
spread out across the globe. Once rounded up, they have to take on the deviants
that remain all while unraveling their true purpose and deciding how they feel
about said purpose.
Hiring Chloe Zhao to direct this movie was a perfect choice. For such an epic tale, her direction and the cast manage to make each of the Eternals feel intimate and relatable. It is very difficult to make a movie with ten leads and ensure each of them is given enough development that the audience understands their point of view. Coming in at two and half hours, this movie certainly has the time - even if I thought it should not have. Of all the projects, this may have been the one that would have been better served by a Disney Plus show – you could have spent an episode with each Eternal, getting into their story, their powers, their state of mind, etc. Zhao spent more time shooting on location than some other MCU projects and it certainly does show. The movie is sweeping and gorgeous with impressive settings, costumes, and performances.
The movie may unofficially have ten leads but the true heart is Gemma Chan as Sersi. Her powers seem to be transmutation – changing one thing into something else. She’s the audience in and the one we spend the most time with. She has learned to love humanity despite our flaws and her quest to ensure our safety at any cost is epic.
Richard Madden as Ikaris gets the next most clock and his powers are Superman-like, flight, strength, and eye lasers. He is very serious about doing the job they were assigned and not question Arishem or their directives. He and Chan have known each other for years and I felt that benefitted the chemistry between them, both when they are getting along (is this the only MCU movie with sex on a beach?) and when their relationship is strained.
Angelina Jolie is perfect casting as Thena, the Eternal who
influenced Athena from Greek Mythology. Her power is creating weapons out of
nowhere with cosmic energy and using them with superior fighting skills. She’s the one who gets the mind-weariness and
while she is stoic for most of the movie, it requires an actress of her caliber
to pull off painfully withdrawn and reserved with just a touch of snarkiness
and engagement. Easily one of my
favorite characters.
Don Lee plays Gilgamesh, with super strength powers. He and Thena have an incredible friendship bond and take care of one another through battles and quiet times. His quiet power is fantastic and I love the sequence where he cooks for everyone.
Lia McHugh plays Sprite, and as you know from Interview with
a Vampire and several Highlander episodes – anyone stuck in a child’s body for
all eternity is pissed about being stuck in a child’s body for all
eternity. Her powers seem to be casting
illusions and sarcasm.
Lauren Ridloff has been one of the best things on the
Walking Dead for the last couple of years and here plays Makkari whose power is
super speed. Ridloff did get the
opportunity to teach some of her co-stars ASL and they use it a bit throughout
the movie. I would have liked a little more for her to do, or to learn more
about her character, but again – so many leads.
Barry Keoghan plays Druig and his power is general
mind-control? He’s the one who is the
most questioning of their mission parameters of non-interferences and
originates the ‘walk away for a bit’ response after witnessing atrocities. He
gives Druig a palpable frustration that at times felt like the right response and
at other times felt like a threat. I loved the relationship Druig had with
Makkari that was really more hinted at than developed.
Salma Hayek plays Ajak, the only one who gets to talk to Arishem. She watches over the other Eternals with her healing power and makes sure they all stay on task and do not go too far off the path. She glides through the movie with an effortless elegance that centers the group.
Brian Tyree Henry plays Phastos and his power is
engineering? Tools, weapons, ships, you
name it. He helps mankind evolve, which
he both relishes and reviles after seeing what they do with some of that
knowledge. Eventually when the rounding-up begins, he has settled down with a
husband and son and seems to be appreciating the quieter moments.
I mention Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo last because he stole every single second of this movie that he is on-screen for – which makes a decision Kingo makes late in the movie very puzzling. His power is literal finger guns – energy blasts from his hands. He has been excellent in a lot of things for a very long time (go watch the Big Sick if you haven’t) but my goodness, he is the best here. Kingo is an Eternal that loves being an Eternal. He has crafted a Bollywood star role for himself where he is just various offspring of himself so that no one questions how he had made so many movies for so long. He is charming, fun, engaging, and so watchable that when he is not on screen, the movie suffers. Also – Harish Patel as his valet is the best – providing some very human viewpoints on various scenarios.
Kit Harington is better here than he has been in anything else, giving Dane a likeability that makes me really excited for his (hopefully) future MCU appearances. Bill Skarsgard voices the head Deviant that begins evolving to the point where he can have a conversation.
Overall, the movie is lush and beautiful and while I really enjoyed it, I didn’t love it. It certainly feels different than any other MCU movie while still fitting into the overall framework. Two and a half hours is way too long for any movie, even one this gorgeous. I really do think it would have been better as a series so that you could spend the time needed with each Eternal, although, I would not have liked any of the non-Kingo episodes as much! As a random afterthought, I did love how anytime the Eternals encountered one another after a while, they tell folks around them, “These are my friends from college!”
8 out of 10
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