Reviewing Marvel's Eternals

Five years ago, Thanos wiped out half the world's population. Then, with a snap of their fingers, people brought them all back. The sudden re-emergence of the missing population provided all the energy needed for the emergence to begin.

And, there you have it, the problem. But that is just half the story. The rest of the story is about the newest characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Eternals came to Earth circa 5,000 B.C. to protect humanity from the Deviants, a race of animal-like creatures bent on destruction. When they came to Earth, they stayed amongst humanity for thousands of years, defending the world and those that called it home.

After defeating the last of the Deviants, they disband on Earth and await further orders from Arishem, the Judge. Marvel fans will remember Arishem, created by the legendary Jack Kirby, for 'Eternals' #2, released in 1976.

Welcome to a stellar, all-star cast in the making, as this ensemble does not fail to impress. With the likes of Angelina Jolie as the fiercest of warriors, Thena, Salma Hayek as the leader of the Eternals (on earth) Ajack, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, and Gemma Chan as Sersi, the Eternals is a powerhouse casted group of superbeings like nothing we've seen. Add in Richard Madden as Ikaris, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Ma Dong-seok as Gilgamesh, and a list of accomplished performers, and there's plenty of showmanship for this film to tap into.

After seeing some early reviews and some questionable complaining by fans I was intrigued to see the movie even more than I had been as we waited the past year for its' release. While the review site Rotten Tomatoes was reporting that this scored the lowest of all the MCU movies, something didn't feel right. As of Wednesday, two days before its' official release date, there'd been thousands of negative reviews online.

For the ultra-conservative fans, I'm going to briefly comment on the first MCU gay kiss. If you take this the wrong way, then you can feel free to give me a bad review or not comment. The gay kiss amounts to two fathers who raise a child together kissing goodbye before one, an Eternal living amongst us, goes off to save the world. It's such a minor part of the movie that it feels like a natural thing to see between two people who share a life and love one another. There have been deeper "gay" kisses shared by some of Hollywood's biggest stars, like Ross kissing Joey on Friends because of a role he was trying to get ready for. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, distasteful about this in the year 2021.

When the Deviants turn back up in the present day, finding Sersi and Sprite in modern-day London, the Eternals begin to seek out their friends after centuries apart.

Being forced to ban together again, to stop the Emergence, the Eternals learn the truth about their true purpose on Earth, their true mission, and themselves as the world they love stands at risk. As the true enemy becomes the very Celestials they once served, the team fractures before the true heroes they were meant to be, find their way to the climatic ending that is as epic as anything we've seen Marvel treat us to on the big screen.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the movie is seeing how well funny man Kumail Nanjiani does as he becomes a member of the MCU. Somehow, Nanjiani manages to keep that special something that has endeared him to fans for years and mix it, as he embraces the role of buffed-up superhero. Harris Patel, Nanjiani's (Kingo) sidekick, and valet gets drug along for this superhero ride that takes us from Mesopotamia to modern-day earth, even being the butt of a joke that he's like Alfred to Batman.

All in all, with the exception of the movie having a somewhat slower rollercoaster ride feeling than previous Avengers-style movies, Cloe Zhao manages to bring us into the action, deliver the right amount of story to keep things from feeling boring, and then takes us right back into more action as we learn about the Eternals. From a mythic, thousands of years old love story, to the pangs felt by Sprite, the thousands of years old young teen that can't age, the Eternals seem meant to suffer as much as the Avengers as they experience their growing pains.

Eternals opens with a $71 million dollar opening weekend, despite flat reviews and an ongoing pandemic that is keeping large crowds at bay.

Overall opinion. Compared to the best and worst of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I'll give this four out of five stars. Eternals isn't perfect. It's different than anything we've seen yet, including Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It was, however, a completely enjoyable, intriguing, and engaging introduction to what is to come in the MCU's future.

Oh, make sure you stick around for the two after-credit scenes if you go check it out in theaters. We get introduced to one of the newest characters and hear what may be another member in the Phase 4 plan at the very end.