Stumbling into theaters with the first critically divisive entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals is a surprising, exciting, if not misshapen attempt at a superhero film. This comes in a year with the overly forgettable Black Widow and perfectly fine Shang-Chi preceding it, with Spider-man’s biggest entry on the snowy horizon in No Way Home. Glancing at the previous films and the lack of potential with the upcoming entry, the Marvel Universe is in a strange position. While there are more attempts at showcasing some effort in designing setpieces or allowing a director’s voice and artistic values to shine, these movies are still plagued by studio notes. This is strange because they are showing us that it’s ready to take the next step, but is still beholden to brand identity. In Eternals this comes in the frame of poor screenwriting and character work in a movie that greatly benefits from the efforts of Chloé Zhao.
For the past 13 years, Marvel Studios has gone from being promising with Phase One, to being borderline terrible in the last few. In Phase One the emphasis was on telling a singular story to service the whole later, but it’s recessed into focusing on the bigger picture rather than the smaller. This has forced their films to adhere to a specific image of what they are to maintain brand identity amidst an era where everything backed by multi-millions looks the exact same as everything else. There are obvious exceptions to this, but it’s been a long time since a Marvel movie seemed to understand the significance of developing a slice of a story that’ll go on to fit later. Even something as great as Black Panther feels like it was made eons ago because there’s been so many MCU stories between February 2018 and November 2021. That’s how similar, stale, and stagnant this franchise has become. The bar is on the floor, has yet to be raised in years, but the money continues to pile on because they feel like an obligation. Missing out on seeing a virtually nameless character have their future in this universe foreshadowed feels criminal and alienating. For the worse, this franchise changed the foreseeable future of commercial titans in the theater, and forced more independent features to have to make an awards circuit splash to have a chance at earning multi-weekend runs. Many have been vocal about this subsection of Disney’s ownership, and it should continue, but with all of that being said, Eternals managed to make me forget about all of that for two and a half hours.
In a franchise that is seemingly hell bent on poorly lighting their films to the point of aggravation, Eternals is a welcome change of pace. For the first time since Captain America: The First Avenger, the camera and it’s sources of light feel engaged with the world and the characters that inhabit them. Their hair blows in the wind, ocean waves crash against the shoreline, lava seeps through rock and illuminates smoky caverns, the sunrise casts light on the morning dew in the Amazon. This, amongst a myriad of other examples, are a big reason why Eternals manages to be a step above most entries in the MCU. For all of the talk that every entry seems to get in regards to it’s cinematography, Eternals deserves it’s remarks because it’s more than the golden hour that made Kevin Feige realize movies don’t have to be ugly. This extends further with action sequences that look like the scissors were kept away from the camera, as it allowed the action to feel big, purposeful, and kinetic. Ikaris soars through the air with aggression and power. His beams humming into foes with a sense of ferocity. The camera captures abilities like this with a true sense of scope that allows the action to come alive instead of being chopped to death in the editing bay with a second unit team behind it. Zhao’s sensibilities from prior films Nomadland and The Rider, move laterally into the blockbuster landscape and beam with passion for the material. It’s the only superhero movie in the last 10 years that feels as passionate for it’s heroes as Zack Snyder does Superman and The Justice League. Which, ironically enough, are an extremely divisive take on iconic characters. Passion doesn’t outweigh its shortcomings, but it carries the film because there are so many movies out there like this that carry anything but artistic value in mind.
With the camera and Chloé Zhao’s eye harvesting any worthwhile material to transform into visual splendor, that means the script and character work aren’t worth much. Although Zhao had a hand in the screenwriting process and the foundation of telling this story, it meanders far too often, and is severely underwritten. Characters will often expel tremendous amounts of dialogue answering questions, the visuals being an extension of that, and it nearly lulls you to sleep. The movie constantly sidesteps to repeat information or say something so obscure it begs characters to ask questions to try and keep us in the loop. At the same time, much of this film, it’s relationships, characters, powerset, purpose, is underwritten. There simply isn’t enough information to make sense of the narrative or why something happened specifically to end up not resulting in anything special or significant. There are a few times when Cersi (played by Gemma Chan) uses her powers on the Deviants that make the rest of the Eternals question how she was capable of doing it. She responds with “I don’t know”, and it’s never fully addressed. She can just do it to service the plot, and this is a typical trope within the MCU. Many of their heroes since Phase One have suits, get out of jail free cards, or are written through the backdoor to make sense of the nonsensical. It’s lazy and tiresome considering they continue to get away with it this many films deep.
There are also times throughout the movie where characters will disappear for near half-hour segments. Boasting an incredible runtime of 157 minutes, there is enough time for the movie to take the longest route to its conclusion. There is no sense of urgency or excitement built around the narrative or plotting, and I think that’s a mistake in a movie of this length. Towards the end it’s revealed that key information was kept close to the chest, but it feels like it’s cheating. Rather than giving the audience the option to lean forward and see where the story goes next, we’re rather waiting (arms crossed, eyelids heavy) for something to happen to develop the narrative and characters for two hours.
I say all of this with some frustration, but Chloé Zhao granted me the ability to forgive it’s shortcomings. There is something she chooses to do that MCU films have sorely missed, and very few superhero movies have accomplished in this era. It’s as simple as allowing the camera to tell a story. It’s too bad there was enough dialogue to spew, because she does wonders with framing scenes and structuring sequences. For the first time in the history of the MCU, the final act isn’t a letdown because of her approach. Since the beginning of film history, the last act is the culmination of all the themes that were sprinkled throughout the movie. The MCU has seemingly forgotten this and exchanged it for bombastic, disorienting setpieces with no rhyme or reason to any of it besides being big, loud, and visually soupy. These setpieces never settle down or allow time between characters to ruminate on their journey to that moment, and it’s a disservice to much of the talent that has been involved in these films. That is until an Eternals finale that is certainly fueled by action, but it all looks and feels purposeful to service a grander idea like all good movies do.
Much of the film’s runtime is spent talking about a variety of interpersonal relationships and how they share that with the exterior around them. Whether it’s with people or the world, the Eternals are driven to serve the purpose that their creator, Arishem, has given them. Their purpose is to rid Earth of Deviants and protect humanity from their influences without getting involved in any of their conflicts. Once all the Deviants have been eradicated, their purpose becomes hazy and unclear. Their story then begins to ask them to no longer look outward towards their nonexistent foes, but to look within to discover what comes next. With these seeds planted, and Arishem casting a shadow worthy of taking over your entire cinema screen, the Eternals separate in an attempt to find what purpose remains on their journey. The shadow that’s been cast by the presence of Arishem forces these characters to ask questions about themselves and the relation towards each other and their environment. With Arishem essentially being God, the Eternals are asked to live their life in his name and act in honor of him. That is to support and endure everything he asks of them in their time on Earth. When he begins to ask too much of them and plunges the world towards “the Emergence”, the Eternals, the history they have on Earth, the emotions that have emerged, and relationships they have with each other becomes a source of conflict. Zealots are born in the face of this reckoning, and leaders rise anew. This is why Eternals ends up working. Not that it’s existential, but it maintains a semblance of meaning not typically found in these movies.
In the finale, when the Eternals are fighting amongst themselves, amidst a cataclysmic event that’ll destroy the Earth, they are fighting within the palm of their creator. As Arishem rises through the Earth, Cersi and Ikaris discover their purpose and what emotions led them to this point. As the designated leaders by their formers and peers, Cersi and Ikaris come face to face with their God prepared to hit the reset button and essentially erase their memories. They recollect, remember and feel the parts of themselves and their connection that have lived on for eternity. At this moment, Eternals wraps up these questions of what living for eternity means. What did these characters learn about themselves? The people they pledged to protect. The parts of themselves they lost to history that eroded the bonds they built. For an MCU movie, of all movies, to be able to spell this out not with dialogue, but with the camera being attached to these characters is incredibly rewarding.
It’s a testament to Chloé Zhao, her skill as a director and writer, and overall love for the people she tells stories about that makes Eternals a good movie. In a sub-genre so infatuated with iconography, exterior world building, sequel teases and retrofitted prequels, Eternals taking it’s time (and boy does it take time) to tell a story about living an everlasting life burdened with wisdom and might under the umbrella of faith is the type of superhero movie this franchise desperately needed. It doesn’t always work, and the script is in shambles, but Zhao sets this film on fire with her distinct sensibilities that takes care of her characters and what their memories mean to them.