The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting crowded.
Seriously, one wonders why these folks don’t bump into each other.
“Well hello there,” Thor says cheerfully, and he spots Ikaris (more on him in a moment) jetting in the opposite direction. “Whachu up to?”
Ikaris (Richard Madden) is unpleasantly surprised to discover that this particularly nasty
Deviant monster seems impervious to his energy blasts.
“Got a big, slimy monster to put down, which just emerged in the Arctic,” Ikaris replies.
“You, too?” Thor adds, before the other is out of earshot. “What say we compare notes over a few brews, after?”
“You’re on!” Ikaris shouts, as he vanishes over the horizon.
(Ahem.)
As envisioned by comic book luminary Jack Kirby back in 1976, Eternals existed on a cosmological, universe-shaping plain far removed — and quite separate — from everyday superheroes. (Think all-makers such as Odin and Zeus, blended with the arrogant amorality of Thanos and Galactus.)
But director Chloé Zhao — a recent double-Oscar winner, for last year’s Nomadland — was tasked with blending the Eternals with the rest of the MCU. The result — co-scripted with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo — still feels mostly like a stand-alone entity, although passing reference is made to the Avengers.
As is typical of so many superhero movies, the first two acts are thoughtful, engaging and character-driven. Zhao has a sensitive touch with inter-personal relations: no doubt the reason she was chosen to helm this ambitious slice of myth-making. And while the climactic third act maintains the emotional angst, it also descends into the usual, bombastic sturm und drang that overstays this film’s 157 minutes.
So: Bear with me.
For untold millennia, the massive Celestials — picture brooding, blood red, rock-encrusted, six-sunken-eyed beings the size of our moon — have created new civilizations by seeding planets throughout the galaxy. The Celestials “cleanse” a given planet of pesky apex predators, by sending monstrous Deviants to perform this culling; the Deviants then are destroyed by the noble Eternals, who subsequently (but subtly) help “shape” the rise of the dominant bipedal civilization.
(Seems a rather complicated way to do what evolution handles on its own, but hey: Who am I to argue with a Celestial?)
(There’s also a rather strong echo of the Transformers series’ ongoing war between autobots and decepticons, which diminishes some of this film’s originality.)
Here on Earth, a dectet of Eternals — forever unchanging or aging — has guided human development for 7,000 years. They’re led by Ajak (Salma Hayek), who has great healing powers, and is the sole conduit to communication with the Celestials; and Ikaris (Richard Madden), who possesses the powers of Superman, along with the ability to blast powerful cosmic energy from his eyes.
The others are:
• Sersi (Gemma Chan), a sensitive, thoughtful soul gifted with the power of matter transmutation;
• Thena (Angelina Jolie), a talented warrior who wields bladed weapons of cosmic energy, but who can be overwhelmed by long-ago memories;
• Druig (Barry Keoghan), intense and brooding, adept at mass mind control, even of his fellow Eternals;
• Gilgamesh (Don Lee), strongest of the group, able to create a cosmic exoskeleton that grants him powerful “Hulk smash!” fists;
• Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), self-centered, enthusiastic and snarky, who wields energy blasts (rather dull and redundant, actually);
• Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), a passionate thinker and technopath, whose carefully chosen inventions have helped humanity at key moments;
• Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), disillusioned and bored with life on present-day Earth, but nonetheless a formidable warrior gifted with super-speed; and
• Sprite (Lia McHugh), a born storyteller and trickster possessing the power of mass illusion, and frustrated because — for 7,000 years — she has been trapped in the body of a 12-year-old girl.
But here’s the thing: Although the Eternals have battled Deviant outbreaks since the dawn of humanity, they’re forbidden — by Celestial decree — to interfere in man’s tribal and, eventually, international wars with each other. Over time, this has become particularly frustrating for Druig, who knows he could end such conflict forever, via mind control…
… and for Phastos, who begins to wonder if we’re worth all this effort. (I sympathize with his frustration.)
Zhao and her co-scripters cleverly cross-cut between events in the here and now, and significant historical “hot spots” — Mesopotamia, 7000 BC; Babylon, 2500 BC; Southeast Asia’s Gupta Empire, 400 AD; the fall of the Aztec Empire, 1521 AD — that have required Eternal intervention against Deviants (and, by extension, furious action sequences).
These long-ago episodes gradually establish each Eternal’s personality, motivations and (in some cases) shortcomings: all key to what suddenly occurs in the present day. Believing the Deviants eradicated centuries earlier, the Eternals have separated and slipped into a series of clandestinely ordinary roles over time, moving on to new identities before their agelessness becomes noticed.
The narrative allows each actor to shine, although a few are defined by not much. Keoghan does little but sneer throughout the entire film; Hayek always sounds too forced and artificial, and never seems comfortable with Ajak’s portentous dialogue.
Much is being made of Makkari being the MCU’s first deaf character, which does Ridloff a disservice as an actress; she’s a sharp, plucky presence, regardless of her hearing status.
Nanjiani, entertaining as always, is the film’s comic relief. Kingo has become a flashy Bollywood star, whose every move is recorded by his long-time valet and videographer, Krun (Harish Patel, a total hoot). Jolie radiates smug power, and Thena’s sudden mood swings are an intriguing element.
In London, Sersi has fallen in love with ordinary fella Dane (Kit Harington), who works at the Natural History Museum. A late-night romantic stroll suddenly is interrupted by a particularly nasty and powerful Deviant, much to poor Dane’s shock. And this makes no sense, given that these monsters are believed long extinct.
Time to gather the gang again…
Madden, well remembered from Game of Thrones and the excellent 2018 miniseries Bodyguard, deftly blends Scottish charm with protective, take-charge heroics; in terms of on-screen presence, he easily dominates these events. Even so, Chan’s tranquil Sersi soon becomes the group’s most important member, a role she initially resists; Chan therefore has the most challenging assignment, in terms of character evolution, and she handles this shift reasonably well.
I wish Henry were granted more screen time; Phastos is a terrific character, and his presence as the group’s “soul” soon proves important. McHugh carefully ensures that Sprite’s impertinence never becomes obnoxious, and her forlorn frustration over her physical appearance is heartbreaking.
Although these events are mostly Way Out There, Zhao and her fellow writers cunningly work in barbed references to climate change and global over-population; rarely has birth control suddenly seemed so important.
The tech credits are superb. Production designers Eve Stewart and Clint Wallace, and costume designer Sammy Sheldon, rise to the opulent challenges of (in particular) Mesopotamia and Babylon. Needless to say, the special effects are sensational
Ramin Djawadi’s engaging score has the thematic scope and sweep of the work he did on Game of Thrones.
All this said, if Eternals were one of the first MCU entries, I’m sure everybody would be impressed and amazed. But repetition is the enemy of surprise; we’ve seen all this before — many, many times, during the past decade — and it’s impossible to shake the sensation of Been There, Done That.
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