Written By Sarah Moreno
Superb performances from Angelina Jolie and Gemma Chan light the fire in Eternals.
Eternals is Marvel Studios’ 26th film in its interconnected universe, the MCU.
Moreover, this by far their most ambitious film to date.
Simultaneously, some complain Eternals ventures beyond the MCU formula too much.
Ironically, most of the MCU’s detractors whine that Marvel Studios’ releases are too much alike.
It’s an inaccurate description.
After all, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has little resemblance to Ant-Man and Thor: Ragnarok.
Writer/artist Jack Kirby created the Eternals.
They debuted in 1976 in The Eternals No. 1. Kirby was the co-creator of Captain America as well as the heart of the Marvel Universe.
Kirby and writer Stan Lee formed a legendary partnership in the early ’60s that launched the X-Men, the Hulk, and the Fantastic Four.
The Eternals, on the other hand, did not reach such creative and commercial heights in the comics.
Review: Angelina Jolie’s Heartbreaking Performance Elevates Eternals
Image: Marvel Studios
In fact, Marvel Comics cancelled the series after only 19 issues and one annual.
Nevertheless, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige believed in its potential.
Now that it’s out, does it succeed in establishing the MCU cosmic side? I believe so.
Here’s the rundown.
The Celestials basically created all life in the universe.
Arishem the Judge, one of the Celestials, sends out the Eternals to advanced intelligence lifeforms and protect them from the Deviants.
I don’t want to post spoilers so I’m going to just write about more about the performances.
Gemma Chan’s Sersi becomes the heart of the film.
She was sensational.
Sersi reveals she did care for humans, especially Dane Whitman (Kit Harington).
Her action scenes were thrilling and creative.
Richard Madden as Ikaris surprised me quite a bit. Madden did an effective job at showing emotions when the scene called for it.
There’s definitely chemistry between Madden and Chan.
Review: Angelina Jolie’s Heartbreaking Performance Elevates Eternals
Image: Marvel Studios
Without spoiling Eternals, Ikaris does not hold back in the third act.
Kumail Nanjing’s Kingo steals the show. He has good comedic timing. However, when he needed to show seriousness, he pulled it off.
Angelina Jolie as Thena: What can I say about her? She was great as usual.
Playing a warrior isn’t new for Angelina Jolie. On the contrary, Thena isn’t just a tough fighter; rather, she’s someone who’s losing their mind. Angelina Jolie is heartbreaking.
(Also, Eternals isn’t Angelina Jolie’s comics debut; she starred in 2008’s Wanted.)
I really liked Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos. He, by far, has the most relatable arc in Eternals.
Phastos does not want to protect humans after World War II. Afterward, he finds love and wants to protect his family. That makes him one of us.
That being said, here’s my overall thoughts on the film. Does it deserve the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score? No. Could’ve have been better? Yes. Was it too long? Not that I noticed.
Eternals opened to a massive $161.7 million globally at the box office. Reviewers and haters be damned; it’s not a flop.
Many Geekosity readers mentioned that the cerebral Eternals improves with succeeding viewings.
That being said don’t think too much about that RT score and judge it for yourself.
Related: Marvel Studios’ Eternals Explained
