Eternals, which is currently playing in theatres around the world, has a lot to offer. After all, it is the second-longest Marvel Cinematic Universe film of all time, trailing only the epic saga finale Avengers: Endgame, with a running time of 156 minutes (including credits). Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, and Kumail Nanjiani star as ten immortal beings in the film Eternals. Its history stretches from 5,000 BC in Mesopotamia to modern-day London, and from the conquest of Spain in the 15th century to the Gupta Empire in 400 AD. There are a few lore and exposition dumps scattered throughout the game, but they are insufficient. Eternals begins with a three-paragraph opening crawl reminiscent of Star Wars, but more tragic, in which we learn how the Eternals came to be, who their primary adversary is, and what their purpose on Earth is.
It’s simply too much for Eternals, which buckles under the strain despite its two and a half hour length. It’s as if you were thrown into Avengers: Age of Ultron with no prior knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To be fair, Marvel tried an ensemble film with Guardians of the Galaxy. Except for the fact that two of the film’s five central characters were a talking tree and a snark machine in James Gunn’s film. Eternals introduces us to ten humanoid characters for the first time. It’s a difficult road for any writer-director, even if they’ve won an Academy Award. Chloé Zhao, the director of Eternals, previously won Best Picture and Best Director for her work on Nomadland, a drama starring Frances McDormand.
Worryingly, Eternals never feels like Chloé Zhao. This could be due to the fact that this is the first time we’ve seen a Zhao film on this scale. Prior to Eternals, Zhao was well-known for his lyrical explorations of rural America, which he made with non-actors whenever possible. This gave her work a grounded, realistic, intimate, and documentary-like quality. Eternals is far from it. It’s a Marvel superhero film set in an immortal world. They are unlikeable, and the film features planet-sized giants, giving it the feel of a Marvel Studios production. While Zhao continues to shoot on location during the golden hour, Eternals features epic vistas and is visually stunning, with some of its settings having a tangible quality. All of this, however, is only on the surface.
Arishem, the Prime Celestial, created the titular beings, according to the Eternals’ opening crawl. Consider Arishem to be a supergod who only participates in planet-level debates, which makes sense given the size of the Celestials. Arishem charged our Eternals with defending Earth from the Deviants, which are monstrous, ugly-looking beasts that are essentially apex predators. They were told not to get involved in any other human conflict. According to more expository narration, Eternals arrived on our planet over 7,000 years ago and have lived in secrecy ever since, having split up centuries ago due to a tragedy.
Sersi (Gemma Chan from Humans) works in London’s Natural History Museum and has the ability to transmute any inanimate object. We have Ikaris (Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden), who can fly and shoot beams from his eyes and is essentially Marvel’s Superman. As Bollywood’s most famous film star, Kingo (Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani), who possesses the ability to fire blasts from his hands, has chosen an unusual disguise. Sprite (Lia McHugh from The Lodge) takes on the appearance of a 12-year-old and has the ability to create realistic illusions. Phastos (Atlanta native Brian Tyree Henry) is a computer wizard.
Makkari (Lauren Ridloff of The Walking Dead) is essentially Marvel’s The Flash due to her superhuman speed. Druig (played by Dunkirk’s Barry Keoghan) has the ability to take over large groups of people’s minds. Gilgamesh (Don Lee, Train to Busan) is the most powerful of the Eternals, with a fist that can stop almost anything. Thena (Angelina Jolie), who bestows the title on the Goddess of War, is capable of conjuring weapons out of thin air. Ajak (Salma Hayek), a healer, is the only one left. Ajak also serves as the group’s “Prime Eternal” (a mother figure to the others) and is able to communicate with Arishem.
