Starring: Gemma Chen, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayak, Don Lee, Kumail Nanjiani, Harish Patel, Lia McHugh, Barry Keoghan, Lauren Ridloff, Kit Harrington. Voices of Bill Skarsgaard, Harry Styles, Patton Oswalt, Mahershala Ali
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Runtime: 157 mins. Reviewed in Nov 2021
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc
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A different adventure from Marvel Studios. Ancient heroes come to earth to protect humans against monstrous Deviants but have had to conceal themselves for millennia. Present day crises mean they have to re-group to save the human race.
Once upon a time or, once upon an eternity, Celestials created our universe (with acknowledgment to Greek mythology). They also created a special group, Eternals, who could be sent to different planets to safeguard the populations there, eventually coming to earth 5000BCE, seen helping in Mesopotamia, in Babylon, defending the humans from gigantic complex monsters, the Deviants. This all comes from the imagination of Jack Kirby and his Marvel Comics, brought to the screen, with a budget of $200 million by Chloe Zhao (not at all like her Oscar-winning Nomadland).
For those who are intrigued by these premises and the delving back into mythologies, the advice would be: go for it. For those less intrigued, it might take some time to warm up, or, for some, the whole proceedings might seem a bit too silly. And the running time is over 2 ½ hours with some hostiles obviously enjoying remarking that the running time seems eternal. (At times, it does, and at one stage a character says we need some action scenes – but, while there are many conversations and analysing the situations, the many action scenes sometimes need a breather.)
And, then, we are in present-day London, sharing the experiences of Gemma Chan’s Sersi, her boyfriend, Dane (Harrington) and the sudden appearance of the dashing hero, Ikaris (Madden keeping his Scots accent). There is an earthquake in London, reverberating around the world – and after centuries of absence, The Deviants are back.
So, Sersi and Ikaris are Eternals, illuminations frequently appearing on their hands, in their faces, over their bodies, superhuman powers – seen, often, in deadly combat and high special effects with The Deviants.
It seems time for the Eternals to reunite for their Celestial mission – although, they, and we, discover that all is not clear, Celestial ambiguities, betrayals, and the announcement of the Emergence, which means the destruction of the human race to make way for a bigger and better world population. Which of the Eternals is for this, who is against?
Much of the central running time of the film shows Sersi and Ikaris travel the world to find where the other Eternals have been living all these centuries. Some of the Eternals are engaging and likeable, others not so much. This reviewer liked Gilgamesh (Don Lee/ Ma Dong-seok) making big pies in outback Australia and guarding the catatonic Eternal, Thena (a blonde Angelina Jolie). Interesting and engaging is Kingo (Nanjiani) who has become a Bollywood star and director, seen in a dance routine, and always accompanied by his valet, the rather roly-poly Karun (Patel) making a documentary with his camera at the ever ready, no matter how drastic the situations. And, after a flashback to Hiroshima, we are introduced to Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) wracked with guilt because of his contribution to the Trinity project. (And some curiosity with him because he is a gay character leading to the banning of this film in China.) The leader is Ajak (Hayek).
Not so keen on Sprite (McHugh) who never grows up and is often very petty. Nor do I warm to Druig (Keoghan). Later, we meet the mute Makkari (Ridloff), genial, who can travel at light speed around the world. All in all, a diverse range of characters.
Which means then that the latter part of the film consists of the battles, special effects, Deviants, betrayals and choices, discussions about the human race and whether it is worth saving, condemnations of its faults and follies, but acknowledgment that humans have love and warmth and potential.
Of course, this is the first film and it is promised that the Eternals will return. (And, yes, good things come for those who wait, especially those who wait during the very long and detailed credits, for the post-credits tantaliser, this time with Kit Harrington opening a chest daring himself to take out the sword of Blade…)
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