Eternals: is it as bad as the internet suggests?

SPOILERS AHEAD

Eternals has been somewhat slammed by critics since its release, garnering the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any MCU film. Online reception of the film has been extremely mixed, with some people hailing it as one of the best MCU films to date, while others decry it as one of the worst. I was sceptical going into the film. I found the marketing to be lacklustre, and none of the trailers really excited or interested me. I was intrigued by the cast, though, and figured I'd go and see it anyway. It is a Marvel film, after all.

Ultimately, I came away from Eternals a bit disappointed. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I just felt a bit indifferent about it, to be honest. There was something lacking, but I can't put my finger on what. I think the film tried to do far too much; there were so many potentially interesting characters that got side-lined due to lack of time. It is quite long, clocking in at about 2 hours 40, but with more than 10 characters to introduce and flesh out, the film does struggle. For example, I would've loved to have seen more of Makkari, Druig, and Thena. Kingo, too, who just seemed to disappear at the climax of the film, which I found quite strange.

Ikaris and Sersei - played by Richard Madden and Gemma Chan respectively - are supposedly the main 'couple' of the film. They have absolutely no chemistry with one another, though, and there is nothing interesting or compelling about their relationship. I actually felt that nobody, barring Lauren Ridloff (Makkari) and Barry Keoghan (Druig) & Angelina Jolie (Thena) and Ma Dong-seok (Gilgamesh), really had much chemistry with one another. I love the found family trope, but this just felt more like a mishmash of strong personalities rather than anything close to a family.

The dialogue, at times, felt a bit clunky and messy to me. Again, that could be a consequence of the film trying to do too much and going in so many different directions at once. It just, like the Eternals themselves, didn't feel very cohesive. It is extremely different from anything else in the MCU, but not in the ground-breaking way it was purported to be. Shang-Chi was different, but also familiar enough that it was recognisable. Eternals feels like it could exist on its own, outwith the MCU entirely. I'm not saying that different is bad, but when something is supposed to be part of a long-running, established franchise, yet feels so disconnected from said franchise, there might be a problem.

The film's climax is strange; the Eternals are all fighting one another as well as fighting to stop the destruction of the Earth. This moral quandary was potentially interesting but was dealt with in such a superficial way that it ended up not having much emotional weight. It is a bit of a weak argument to hinge the entire plot upon, in my opinion. It is also strange that these people are thousands of years old, and yet are still so petty and allow themselves to fall victim to meaningless arguments and misguided rhetoric. Fair enough, I suppose it establishes their humanity, but they are not human and have no reason to act that way.

Now, it wasn't all bad. Not by a long shot. Some of the characters, though painfully underdeveloped, were compelling and really won you over. Thena's storyline was extremely interesting - she could've had her own film, or even show, which would've been beneficial for exploring her condition further. Her bond with Gilgamesh was beautiful and provided much of the film's emotional core. Angelina Jolie does a wonderful job portraying her, and commands your attention in every scene that she is in. Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) was a lot of fun, despite the aforementioned disappearing act. And, as I said, Druig and Makkari were exceptional together. I would've loved to have seen more of them, and to have explored their individual personalities and relationship.

Eternals lauds a diverse cast and some representation that has been lacking in the MCU thus far. Makkari is deaf, as is her actress, and uses sign language throughout the film. Other characters also sign to her, and these exchanges are affirming to witness. Phastos, another of the Eternals, has a husband and a young child. Prior to Eternals, the MCU's only canon queer representation was a throwaway sequence in Avengers: Endgame in which a male character talked about dating a man, and the confirmation of Loki's queer identity in the show that came out this year. With Phastos, it is nice to see a queer character that is central and important to the narrative, who is also in a loving relationship and has a frankly adorable child.

This is supposedly the first step towards wider representation in the MCU; I will believe it when I see it, honestly. But, for now, this is an improvement, and it is important for marginalised communities to see themselves represented on screen. I'm loathe to praise Marvel just yet, given how barren their representation was before and how long it has taken, but we shall just have to wait and see.

I also really loved the costumes that the Eternals wore. I believe each one was hand-painted rather than being CGI, which is really cool when you see how intricate and detailed they are. I liked the cinematography for the most part, although sometimes certain locations didn't come across quite as well on camera, making them look flat and uninteresting. Other scenes were quite beautifully done, though, so I suppose it balances itself out.

The credits scenes were interesting and gave a suggestion as to where the Eternals will go next. The introduction of Blade into the MCU is exciting, and I'm looking forward to seeing Mahershala Ali take on the role. The other credits scene, involving Harry Styles as Thanos's brother Eros, had been spoiled for me prior to seeing the film, which was unfortunate. However, it was still cool - if very strange - to see him suited up, red hair and all.

Ultimately, Eternals wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It was, for me, mediocre. I'm going to see it again this week, so maybe my opinion will change. Either way, my favourite MCU film is still, and probably always will be, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. What about you? Eternals aside, what is your favourite film in the MCU?