I have sat and thought about this film since I left the theater and I am still adrift. It is certainly not awful, but I also wouldn’t put it in the great category - I am firmly in the middle of the road on the Eternals and really don’t think it deserves any fervor; be it rancorous disdain or impassioned love. It’s really a film of dichotomies that is somewhat vexing.
She was given latitude but it didn’t translate to brilliance. It’s different, but maybe not different enough. I could feel Zao in the expansive shots, the non-4 color palette, and the desire for emotional heft. On the other hand, the quips felt like punch-ups and the action was uneven; some worked well but others came off as blandly flat. The beauty of the vistas or lighting didn’t translate to wrought emotional heft or cinematic grandeur.
Perfunctory in some standard hero tropes and film beats but it also wrestled with being this oddly paced science fiction film about alien drone gods and their interaction with/desire to be human. Their symbiosis isn’t hit enough for it to be completely effective, but it is evocative enough to be felt. It is also hard to wring out the passion when so much of the character direction is “be subtle” or “downplay the immensity of human emotions” - they come off as aloof flesh automatons sometimes. The active villain and looming antagonistic threat was routine and a bit lame, if not looking poor being all weightless CGI. I will interject that the cosmic energy design and execution was legitimately cool, in my humble opinion.
The future set ups, I could say the immensity could make for some fun, but I didn’t really care for the (upfront) introductions. Conventional in that it is a setup for the next Marvel event, as opposed to the past few quarantine Marvel properties that did better at telling a rounded character focused story that allows for a springboard if desired. It unfortunately presented the film as a less-than-meaningful aside that performs its function to build the future rather than solidly say something satisfying in and of itself.
It does give different types of people or even hints at legitimate human sexuality, but these are low bars to clear to give praise. I appreciate the inclusion of so many races & cultures, sexualities and a deaf character (Lauren Ridloff as Makkari might have been my personal favorite, though her screentime is too limited) - a breadth of voices and expressions of humanity (even from inhuman characters) is vital and appreciated.
When I examine what stands out in my memory, I see these godly entities, apathetic in their appearance but with supposed emotional turmoil rumbling inside, statuesque against vast fruitful landscapes. That isn’t altogether accurate, but it isn’t confabulation either. All the actors and characters were solid but somewhat mild. Jolie shines in her big scenes, but she is given range of expression. Chan is capable but perhaps not as scene stealing as I felt was necessary to lead the film. Probably Bryan Tyree Henry as Phastos does the best job at blending the desire, dichotomy and growth between Eternal/human, at least in passionate empathy. That wouldn’t be a negative if it wasn’t the aim of the entire film for all.
The mythos creating and layout for actions & reasons made sense. It actually came off better on screen than I think it does in comics, as this is a group of characters and stories that was SHOCKING to hear they were adapting. What we got was quite different from most superhero films while retaining much of the tropes of such films. It expresses itself in a more methodical, quieter, and intendedly more humanistic manner, but that also muted its excitement and some of the pleasure of such films… I liked the film, and might even find a rewatch fascinating, but this is by far Chloé Zao’s worst film (go watch Nomadland and The Rider!). I appreciate trying something different from the director and studio, and I’m glad she got the payday, but I’m not sure it worked in all the ways everyone might have hoped for - myself included.
