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Chloe Zhao trudges out of the intimate wonderland that won her two Oscars for Nomadland directly into the crunching footsteps of the planet-destroyer in charge, Eternals, a movie that's both more singular and traditional than anything we might have expected from an MCU entry. Zhao infuses Eternals with a unique, ethereal quality that is quietly beautiful, making this Marvel movie feel different than almost any other in certain ways. However, she's bending the Marvel framework to her artistic vision, and what comes out is something both fascinating and flawed.
An Unusual Marvel Experience:
Eternals could bring Marvel fans into unfamiliar waters, as the near-constant action and humor trademark to MCU films don’t quite apply here. The film tackles a sprawling cast and layers of mythology in 2 hours and 37 minutes, and in the end it seems to lose some structure as the final scenes feel somewhat rushed — even detrimental. Written by Zhao, Patrick Burleigh and teamRyan Firpo and Kaz Firpo picks up the story of immortal beings who have walked the Earth for thousands of years, guiding humankind through their wars and straining against malevolent enemies, called Deviants. Yet this sweeping, across-time structure burdens viewers with too much exposition all at once, making an uneven speed.
There was sagging halfway through the narrative, his slow information dump grinding the story to a halt. Some members of the audience may still be scratching their heads over plot particulars by the time it's all over. Even with those narratives falling a little short, Zhao created some gorgeous imagery throughout the film.
Zhao’s Signature Aesthetic Shines Through:
With D.P. Ben Davis, who shot Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel, Zhao creates a film that looks stylistically different from your typical superhero fare. Placing her stamp on the visuals, she applies naturalism and locates what she calls magic hour to locations set as far back in time as Babylon — though maybe not so far that a single dik-dik couldn't be found hanging out on the plains of normalcy to lend its majestic air. These moments are also hypnotizing as they give a time out and enjoy the serenity of the scenery. Zhao is also excellent at finding this quiet beauty through the film's imagery—from relaxed sunsets on Spanish beaches to dark storm clouds over modern-day South Dakota.
These are the touches that help make Eternals stand out. One sequence takes place at night in the heart of a torch-lit woods, which is visually striking but also gives Zhao’s aesthetic some time to shine. The sad thing about these moments of silence, is that they are brief. Marvel’s stakes-watching formula pulls viewers back into loud chaos with often forced battle scenes.
Groundbreaking Representation:
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The identity-fluid casting and character development is one of the film's strongest suits. Eternals also pushes Marvel into more inclusive territory with a refreshingly diverse lineup. Salma Hayek's Ajak and Gemma Chan's Sersi have a solid command as the leader of their team. Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and his husband (Haaz Sleiman) live with their son; they’re a sweet, relatable family unit. Then there's Lauren Ridloff who plays Makkari and adds some much needed diversity, her hearing impairment woven into the character as an ability.
Angelina Jolie as Thena, a sensitive character who has to deal with mental illness while being a warrior. McHugh has a distaff Sprite, bringing both charm and near depth to an androgynous eternal youth. These roles are a testament to the film's organic diversity, making it feel significant in comparison to other Marvel movies.
A More Human Side to Marvel Heroes:
Eternals does even violate the unspoken Marvel rule on sex. More than that, the MCU has crafted an actual love scene for the first time, giving it characters some humanity. For all of ten seconds, this moment marks a change, an indication that Marvel is willing to show its characters at their lowest emotionally. That type of intimate human connection is new and overdue for a cosmos in which romantic union tends to iuniversity e at the flirty level.
The Challenge of Balancing Scale and Emotion:
At its heart, Eternals is all about the romance between Sersi (played by Chan), a matter-transmuting character and Richard Madden's Ikaris, a powerful Superman-like hero. However, even with this love story, the heart takes a back seat to the action based demands of the film. As charming as Madden is, Chan shares even headier chemistry with Kit Harington, who plays her other boyfriend (mortal!!!) Dane Whitman. But this is Marvel, after all, where character development gets sidelined behind the spectacle more times than not.
Its ending culminates, as you may have guessed, in a giant, epic showdown. However, this climactic showdown is overproduced and lacks the film any hint of an emotional punch that it ever had — reminiscent of sci-fi big-budget movies with empty spectacles. Still, the film’s character-driven moments get subsumed by the machinery of a Marvel blockbuster
Supporting Cast Shines:
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The supporting cast — despite the complexities of creating characters that really fit into the Marvel template — is full of humour and depth. Kumail Nanjiani provides comic relief in the role of a flamboyant Bollywood star, and Don Lee is appropriately kind and grounding as his counterpart. Barry Keoghan, with his unsettling presence remains memorable. While everyone is great in their own way, the constraints of the MCU format leave them — much like Zhao — limited.
A Marvel Experiment Worth Watching:
Eternals might not hit all the targets, but it's a daring and expansive movie with a unique point of view within the MCU. The over-forced relationship formation paired with the longer-than-regular playtime and non-standard Marvel storyline structure as a whole may have felt like a turn-around for the viewers who admire Marvel's common formula. But for viewers willing to embrace Zhao's singular vision, there is plenty to admire — right down to the visual sumptuousness and historic representation.
Eternals might not be the home-run Marvel hoped, critically speaking, but it does at least build a bit of a bridge toward something different in the MCU. It is an admirable attempt from Chloé Zhao to marry blockbuster spectacle with a kinder approach. Eternals could wind up being an turning point in Marvel, if the future of the MCU embraces more experimentation and a wider variety of perspectives.
Hitting theaters on November 5 (but you already have your tickets, right?), Eternals opens in a level of the Marvel Universe that makes it well worth checking out whether or not you enjoy Zhao's previous work and/or superhero fare at all.
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