An ancient race of alien superheroes reunite to avenge the
​death of one of their own and defend mankind once more.

ACTION/SCI-FI

Eternals (2021)

Directed by Chloé Zhao

Written by ​Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo

Starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie,
​Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Bryan Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Ma Dong-seok, Kit Harington

Based on characters from Marvel Comics

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Connor Eyzaguirre

November 7, 2021

8/10

In the entire run of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Iron Man to Shang-Chi, no film of theirs has been as divisive and admittedly off-putting as Eternals. The Eternals aren't as well-known as Captain America, Doctor Strange, or even the Guardians of the Galaxy. On top of that, the trailer gave the impression that the film would be way over everyone's heads. Then the critics condemned it, calling it Marvel's worst movie and a complete misfire. As a lifelong Marvel fan, and a lifelong comic book movie fan, I can honestly say they were wrong. Eternals is a Marvel movie on a far grander scale than we've seen yet, but it's still loaded with memorable characters, great performances, and brilliant teases of what's to come.

For thousands of years, a race of alien warriors called Eternals have been guiding mankind's evolution and protecting them from an evil race of creatures called the Deviants. On the orders of a Celestial named Arishem, the Eternals are ordered not to interfere with humanity unless it's Deviant-related. After destroying them all, they go their separate ways and end up connecting with people. At a hefty two and a half hours, Eternals manages to widen the edges of the MCU with a further cosmic reach than anything we've seen yet. Plus, the two post-credits scenes introduce several new major players in future projects.

While I enjoyed Eternals for the most part, I understand why others may not consider it a Marvel win. The bar has been set insanely high many times, after all. Eternals is a lot to digest, but I appreciate everything it brings to the table. Visually, it's stunning, and much like Nomadland, Chloe Zhao's eye for cinematography outshines almost everything.