The 26th film in Marvel Cinematic Universe is based on the comics by Jack Kirby. Directed by Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and co-written by Zhao, Patrick Burleigh (Antman & The Wasp), and Ryan & Kaz Firpo. The movie has an incredible cast that includes Richard Madden (Cinderella), Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians), Salma Hayek (Frida), Angelina Jolie (TWWMD, Unbroken, Maleficent), Kit Harrington (GoT, Seventh Son), Brian Tyree Henry (The Woman in the Window), Barry Keoghan (The Green Knight), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, M.I.B: International), Lauren Ridloff (The Walking Dead), Ma Dong-Seok (Train to Busan), Lia McHugh (Songbird).

Premise: Eternals is the saga of a race of immortal beings who have secretly lived on Earth – for over 7,000 years – and shaped its history and civilizations. After the return of half the population in Avengers: Endgame (2019) ignites “the emergence”, the Eternals reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

Review: I was waiting to see the movie a second time before writing this review, because yes I feel like I could watch this film at least a second time – before just skipping to the good bits, but a day later seems to work as well.

There’s no denying that Eternals is a beautiful movie, a lot of the shots are stunning. The cinematography, locations, costume and set designs work extremely well in creating beautiful images worthy of the best nature and travel documentaries out there. The potential for screensavers is huge throughout.

The same can be said for the action sequences that are amazing but for some reason most of them lack the bit of the excitement and worry that such scenes tend to evoke in viewers. The reason might be two fold, one most of the action is self contained, happening in some remote places, a convenient time of the day, or in the past, so the amount of people potentially in danger is highly reduced and the ones that are fighting for their lives, are often the eternals themselves, who given their name and the nature of what they are doesn’t seem like they really are in danger despite what’s happening to them. No matter how big the action set piece is, the stakes seems low because the people in harm’s way are either the Eternals, a small group, or people from a distant past.

The story is slow and the flow is little weird, which doesn’t help. The slower moments doesn’t hinder the movie but again the high stakes in the movie are not really felt. The movie also has emotionally charged moments that work well enough on their own but don’t quite mesh with the whole.

The cast and their characters are good, and they did a great job with what they’re given. The visual effects on their powers is a big plus and doesn’t take away from their performances. Makkari is my favorite and I we had more of her in the movie, she’s captivating and her character’s powers look great. The same can be said for Ikaris’ flying, or any of the other Eternals’ powers.

The Eternals is as I suspected with the trailers more intellectual than action packed, which is fine but it’s also a bit too chill, low energy.

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