Movie Review: Eternals (2021)

Eternals (2021) co-written and directed by Chloe Zhao

Many millennia ago the Celestials sent a group of heroes called the Eternals to Earth to fight against the Deviants, a group of monsters who threatened the growth of civilization. The fight had been ongoing through human history, ending with the death of the last deviant in the 1500s. In the present day, new Deviants have shown up and are hunting after the Eternals, who have tried to blend into human society. They never grow old, so they've had to use various schemes to keep living among humans. The group reunites to fight against the only enemy they are are allowed to confront. Naturally, things get more complicated.

The movie tries for the Marvel formula of action centered around world-threatening situations. The characters are mostly based on (or maybe they were the basis for) Greek mythology, with Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and others. They all use "cosmic energy" though they have different skills and different fighting styles. The action scenes are typical superhero fare. Their relationships are a bit complicated and with a large cast of new characters, the movie takes a lot of time to develop them...probably too much time considering how little we find out about them. Much of the movie has the characters telling why they do or do not like each other, do or do not like the humans, and do or do not like the Celestials. At least they agree on their dislike of the Deviants. The movie has a very serious tone that is only occasionally lightened by Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, an Eternal who has made a Bollywood career for himself as a long-line of fathers and sons starring in movies. The rest of the characters have fairly unhappy lives and they are not as interesting as other Marvel heroes. This probably would have worked better as a TV miniseries so the character development would feel less compressed and unlikely. The big fight at the end was rather ho-hum, lacking any clever tactics or noble self-sacrifices. Sure, the visual effects are amazing throughout, but a good movie is not made of great visuals alone.

Not recommended--this is Marvel's first cinematic dud.

Book Review: The Eternals Vol. 1 by Jack Kirby

The Eternals Volume 1 written and drawn by Jack Kirby

Humanity discovers it is not alone on Earth. In pre-historic times, the Celestials came to the Earth and created three races of men. First are the Eternals, an undying people who have superhuman powers and have been mistaken through the ages by mere mortals as gods like in the Greek pantheon. Second are those mere mortals, humans who live and die and have rather normal lives. Third are the Deviants, a genetically unstable people who become more and more monstrous with each generation. They have been mistaken for devils and other horrors from folk lore. The Celestials are returning to check up on their work, forcing the Eternals out of hiding on the surface world and the Deviants out of hiding from the underwater cities (the main one seemingly being the lost city of Atlantis). Typically the Eternals and the Deviants fight each other, but will they have to unite against a common enemy, their creators?

The storytelling is a bit choppy, jumping from one plot line to another. The imaginative homes of the Eternals and the Deviants are fun to see. The characters are not that interesting and seem a bit overpowered. For example, Sersi (she claims Homer spelled her name wrong) can rearrange the atoms of any being, thus she can make men into pigs at will. Somehow she has a hard time fighting the Deviants. The story didn't get to the big confrontation between the earthlings and the Celestials but I am not interested enough to continue on. Maybe the movie will be better.

Not recommended--there's a lot of creative ideas here but they don't gel together as a convincing whole.