Eternals
Marvel Studio’s Eternals is an ambitious film about an immortal group of warriors sent to Earth by the Celestials to protect humanity from the evil apex predators, the Deviants. Spanning over 7,000 years, Eternals takes the audience on a journey to a post-Endgame world, where an event known as ‘the Emergence’ begins to take hold on Earth. The team must band together after spending centuries apart to face their most ancient enemy once again.
The film, directed by Chloé Zhou and based on the comics written by the legendary Jack Kirby, feels entirely different to any Marvel film we’ve seen before. As the second longest MCU film (a whopping 157-minutes run time), Eternals details the extensive lives of a 10-person immortal family, as we are taken on a journey into each character’s in-depth backstory and their lived experiences throughout human history. While the film is mostly set in the characters’ past adventures, these regular flashbacks to key moments in existence (Hiroshima, Babylon, Mesopotamia) are all pivotal in understanding the relationship between Earth, humans and the Eternals. This only adds to the gravity of what the team are fighting for and what is at stake if they fail.
The strongest element in the film is the all-star cast with Salma Hayek (Ajak) and Kit Harrington (Dane Whitman), as well as Lia McHugh (Sprite), Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos), Ma Dong-seok (Gilgamesh), Barry Keoghan (Druig) and Lauren Ridloff (Makkari). Stand out performances included Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie) and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), whose relationships, spirit and humour show you what it means to be human.
At the heart of Eternals is the human emotions that shine through these immortal beings; going one step further than any Marvel film has, capturing the full extent of humanity. The film contains a number of ‘firsts’ for the cinematic universe in terms of representation – making the MCU a pioneering force in the world of comic-adaptations.
Throughout the film, the team are forced to decide whether to continue on their mission or risk it all. However, Eternals manages to continue to draw the audience in at every moment, and like every super hero film, we just have to hope that they manage to save the world.