If you haven’t been living under a rock since 2008, you’ve probably heard of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You know, that massive franchise of interconnected superhero blockbusters filled with one-liners, (mostly) forgettable villains, and a big-budget third act beatdown. I personally love Marvel movies, flaws and all, and most people tend to agree. Out of 26 films, not one has gotten overwhelmingly bad reviews - at least, until the Eternals. Eternals came out this November, with a 47 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and negative reviews accusing it of being uninspiring and confusing.
I have a bit of a controversial opinion - I loved the Eternals. It focuses on a group of immortal beings, sent to earth 7000 years ago to protect the population from the monstrous Deviants. Centuries ago, they defeated the deviants and went their separate ways, but when a deviant comes to London in 2026, the team must reunite to save the world. Most of the film follows Sersi, one of the Eternals, who attempts to find the others and stop the upcoming emergence (your standard Marvel movie end of the world fare). This takes a while - there are ten Eternals who rejoin the team one by one - but Sersi’s journey takes her all across the world. The flamboyant Kingo has become a Bollywood star, and his interactions with his valet provide a lot of the humor in the movie. Druig, an immortal burdened with the power of controlling human minds, has shut himself away in an isolationist community. All of the settings are so different and the characters introduced are compelling enough that it doesn’t feel like a drag.
The movie really shines when it explores the characters and their interactions with each other throughout history. They’ve been around basically forever, and had their hand in shaping history. Thena is known to the Greeks as their goddess of war Athena. The tech genius Phastos created much of human technology. Sersi’s creations are prized as historical artifacts. The Eternals build a family through the ages, and the character dynamics are really fun to see. There are romantic relationships (such as Sersi and Ikaris) and platonic ones (like Gilgamash and Thena’s deep bond). Although the movie has a large number of new characters to introduce, the flashbacks and time spent fleshing out each character helps give all of them a recognizable personality.
Eternals is the most diverse Marvel film by far, not only with regards to ethnicity, but also disability and sexuality. The super-speeding Makkari is the first deaf superhero, and is played by a woman of colour. Thena suffers from a form of mental illness the movie calls Mahd Wy’ry, and neither her struggles or heroism take a backseat during her journey. Finally, the genius eternal Phastos is the first superhero to openly be depicted as gay in a Marvel movie, an important and long overdue attempt at inclusion.
I won’t deny that the Eternals has flaws. It tries to introduce too many characters and span too many centuries at once, and ends up feeling a little overstuffed. Nonetheless, it has heart, compelling character relationships, and a desire to show an accurate and diverse representation of what a superhero should be. This movie is well worth the watch!
Image Source:
https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/marvels-eternals-now-showing-in-nigerian-cinemas/c107rbg/