After all the hype since its continued delays, Eternals had high expectations to shine as a stellar entry in Marvel Saga. Unfortunately, it meets those expectations with a boring, nonsensical, and reckless affair.
Despite being beautifully shot with absolutely breathtaking visual effects and attention-to-detail, the story is ultimately let down by Chloe Zao’s inability to stick to a particular cohesive plot. The movie has its twists and turns and tries to tell a compelling story but loses its way with constant divides in time. There’s really no reason it needs to be as long as it is as we find it hard to attach with any of the characters because of these constant time jumps back and forward.
There are a lot of characters, and whilst each does get some breathing space to develop, the sheer number meant that there wasn’t much time to connect with each individual. And despite a very extended run time, some plot points seemed to simply appear and disappear in quick successions. Indeed, the story appeared told to allow for stunning cinematography and effects over creating a relationship with the characters. The highlights of the film were Angelina Jolie’s stoic-but-warm-hearted warrior take on Thena, who had a damaged charisma worth relating to, and Kumal Nanjiani’s welcome comedy relief in an otherwise emotion-driven cast.
Overall, Eternals was a breathtaking watch visually but despite its cinematic scale, felt nonsensical and a step backward in Marvel’s run of relatively enjoyable rides. You can admire Chloe’s vision but the execution just didn’t feel right. A major misfire for me.
K- Score: 58%
STW: 10/30, D: 12/25, C: 8/8, E: 2/5, PVD: 12/12, A: 6/10, S: 8/10
