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 Eternals 

Rate this film:
A 13%  13%  [ 1 ]
B 25%  25%  [ 2 ]
C 50%  50%  [ 4 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 13%  13%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 8

 Eternals 
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KJ's Leading Idiot

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Post Eternals
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Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Chloé Zhao, who wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo. It stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. In the film, the Eternals, an immortal alien race, emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

In April 2018, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced that a film based on the Eternals had begun development, with Ryan and Kaz Firpo hired to write the script in May. Zhao was set to direct the film by late September, and was given significant creative freedom with the film, which resulted in filming on location more than previous MCU films. Zhao re-wrote the screenplay, which Burleigh was later reported to have also contributed to. Principal photography took place from July 2019 to February 2020, at Pinewood Studios as well as on location in London and Oxford, England, and in the Canary Islands.

Eternals premiered in Los Angeles on October 18, 2021, and will be released theatrically in the United States on November 5, as part of Phase Four of the MCU. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals and performances but criticized its exposition, pacing, and runtime.


Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:08 am
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Extraordinary
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Post Re: Eternals
... definitely not the worst MCU movie ever lol. Sure, it has problems but overall I thought it was a solid watch.


Thu Nov 04, 2021 1:35 am
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Post Re: Eternals
Definitely had promise but the execution is abysmal here. Needed to cut like 5 characters, since like only Cersei, Ikaris, Sprite, Thena and the scottish guy were important, and they needed more development. Plot was interesting but needed less exposition and more character development.

Probably among the worst of the MCU, easily worst since Captain Marvel. Might be worse than that on a technical level, but at least I can applaud the ambition here since Captain Marvel was so lazy.


Sat Nov 06, 2021 11:19 pm
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Post Re: Eternals
This, for me, was one of the best Marvel movies I've seen in years. I really thought it was great and the first one that felt like there were real emotional stakes since maybe Winter Soldier. I also loved that there were no dumb attempts at humor. It was gorgeously made and I liked all the characters and the world-building. It really didn't feel like a Marvel film at all, which is probably the biggest praise I can give it. Also major props for the hugely diverse ensemble and progressive moves for this genre such as an LGBTQ character with an actual plot as well as a deaf superhero, was really cool to see. It's the first one in a while I could see myself watching again. Not sure why the critics were so harsh here. A-


Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:52 pm
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Post Re: Eternals
Why has almost no on reviewed this lol.


Mon Nov 08, 2021 8:12 pm
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KJ's Leading Idiot

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Post Re: Eternals
So I watched it last night and this was dreadful. I can understand the swings it took on the genre but it also feels like a non-MCU movie. It was funny to think that a movie about Eternals has the highest amount of deaths in MCU lol. The acting is good, visuals are great (though rushed and somehow very dark at times). The central conflict is not handled well because there is so much of world-creation it misses the characters and those flashbacks take you out of the omvie and make them incoherent. Didn't love the direction here, Zhao was definitely not the right choice for this kind of movie.

C


Mon Nov 08, 2021 9:50 pm
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The Kramer
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Post Re: Eternals
Someone please tell Harry Styles to get the hell out of here.


Tue Nov 09, 2021 10:53 pm
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KJ's Leading Idiot

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Post Re: Eternals
Flava'd vs The World wrote:
Someone please tell Harry Styles to get the hell out of here.


Indeed wtf? :funny:


Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:58 pm
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The Kramer
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Post Re: Eternals
Was that Blade's voice at the end? It sounded like a really cool guy who was probably wearing sunglasses. Is he Jon Snow's uncle?


Wed Nov 10, 2021 12:33 am
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Post Re: Eternals
Eternals is a bit of a mess, but I think it all comes together well by the end. I wouldn't put it at the bottom of my list, but it's in the bottom tier. Still, for such a weird and (quite frankly) unnecessary project, the results are solid.

I was late (I know, shame on me) and missed the opening scene, but I'm guessing there was enough exposition from the rest of the movie to make up for it. If anything, really, they should have just plowed through all the flashback scenes (except for the one that involves a twist) right at the beginning, similar to what Shang Chi did. I liked seeing the Eternals in this famous historical settings (and honestly thought that's what the whole movie would be), and Chloe Zhao uses her gifts to give authenticy to Babylon, the fall of the Aztec Empire, Hiroshima etc... but it did hurt the pacing to go back in time any time something interesting started to happen in the present. Also hurting the pacing was the smart Deviant, who ammounted to absolutely nothing. I get you need some cgi bad guys to dispose of while we wait for the real villain to emerge (I saw you the entire time, Homelander), but having them talk about how the deviants and the eternals were the same served no point if they weren't going to follow it up with an alliance.

All that being said, there's still so much to like about Eternals. Perhaps there are too many characters, but I really liked them all and felt like they had enough unique powers, personalities and relationships that it was easy to keep track of everyone. Gemma Chan's Sersei is your typical conflicted hero, but her powers are so cool and I loved seeing her in action. The movie could have used some more humor, but Kumal and his valet provide some huge laughs in important moments. "Did you get that?" "yes!" had the entire theater in an uproar. The deaf speedster is adorable, and her final fight with Homelander is super dope. The gay black guy also has cool powers, and his arc about regaining faith in humans through his family was great 10-second character building, though watching his Sin is likely to send me to Helheim. The only ones I didn't love (but still enjoyed watching them fight) were Jolie and Gilgamesh, but only because I kept expecting something big to happen with them. Still seems weird to cast an A-lister in such a small supporting role, but I guess her role will expand sometime in the future and hopefully she gets to cut Harry Style's head off at some point.

The cinematography gets much love from me too. The way they frame the characters against the gorgeous backgrounds is pro work. That will give the movie some major rewatchability even if you disagree with my previous paragraph.

So yeah, could it have been better with some tighter editing and writing? Absolutely. Is what we got still a very high quality moviefilm worthy of being part of the MCU? Absolutely. B+


Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:57 pm
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Post Re: Eternals


Wed Nov 10, 2021 6:05 pm
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Post Re: Eternals
I enjoyed it. Being mostly separated from the ongoing story in the MCU was a plus here I felt, and it also happened to work well with the actual story being told here. Love the MCU and all, but having a side-story for a change was refreshing, not unlike the Guardians of the Galaxy films (yes, they're more connected, but pretty loosely overall). The story of them largely observing humanity throughout its history was cool to watch. Glad they were very hands off, because any interference would have created a lot of issues with this entire universe.

And this was probably more of a character development issue, but I liked how most of the Eternals didn't quite feel human. Obviously they're not, but so many times do non-human characters feel or behave human-like when they're not. You got the sense that most of them were adapting or adjusting as best they could over the centuries, and hadn't just started to act like humans where they were no different on screen. (I hope that makes sense.)

And as Flava'd mentioned in this review, the cinematography here was excellent. It went a long, long way in making most of the backdrops look authentic and filmed on site, and not obvious CGI. Eternals is going to look much better than most MCU films (or just heavy CGI films in recent years) in the years to come.

Only major complaint was the Deviant story. Probably should have just kept them as just monsters than the other side of the coin of the Eternals. Because despite them revealing that they're the same and seemingly setting up a story there, it went nowhere? And if the ones in the film did unthaw from the ice, it doesn't seem like a stretch that more could later on, right? I didn't like how they were handled overall. But their appearance, abilities and actions were similar to the Eldrazi in the Magic the Gathering lore, so while I doubt this was a reference (assuming the comics they appear in predate Magic), it felt like one to me! Thinking on this now... maybe the intelligent one should have taken over/absorbed Tiamut's energy (since they all share/consist of the same energy), thus foiling the Emergence and become the big baddie the Eternals had to defeat?

I'm guessing Kit's character is related to the upcoming Blade movie. Could look it up, but I'll wait to see when the movies comes out (or be spoiled online before then).

Anyway... B/B+

Quick question: Is there a specific reason Thena isn't just Athena? Pretty sure Athena is an open source name, so the actual Goddess Athena character must exist in the Marvel comics? I got the impression Thena (who is referred to as the Goddess of War in the film) inspired the Goddess Athena though, so I'm sort of confused. I guess it could be both. Marvel has a Goddess Athena, but the MCU isn't using that one, so was fine comparing the Eternal Thena to "Athena" in this universe.

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Tue Jan 18, 2022 1:00 am
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Post Re: Eternals
This is quite a mess, the premise is kind of cool, but I don't think it's turned into anything fun and well it feels like a poor man's X-Men actually. There are several problems, one of them being a lot of miscasting. I don't actually know if the actors are the problem, or the material they had to work with, but of the Eternals I only found that Jolie really worked, the Indian assistant was good too. It felt to me, that they were more concerned with checking boxes, get a team of every race and shape in there, more so than allowing for a more naturally creative team and chemistry among the cast was lacking too. I didn't hate the film however, in a vacuum there is some nice cinematography, music, humor and mythos to the film, but it just doesn't come together in a satisfying way. Perhaps this is the worst MCU film so far, but I don't have good memories of Thor 2 either, so I'd still rank that below.

C-


Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:06 am
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Post Re: Eternals
Corpse wrote:
Quick question: Is there a specific reason Thena isn't just Athena? Pretty sure Athena is an open source name, so the actual Goddess Athena character must exist in the Marvel comics? I got the impression Thena (who is referred to as the Goddess of War in the film) inspired the Goddess Athena though, so I'm sort of confused. I guess it could be both. Marvel has a Goddess Athena, but the MCU isn't using that one, so was fine comparing the Eternal Thena to "Athena" in this universe.


She's called Thena because the character in the comics was called Thena. The Eternals were mostly given names that reference mythical beings, not directly named after them. Thena = Athena, Sersi = Circe, Makkari = Mercury, Ikaris = Icarus, Phastos = Hephaestus. This was no doubt done in part because the Olympians were already a thing in Marvel when the Eternals were created, and they wanted the distinction.

The connection to Athena is still there in the comics though, with Thena originally being called Azura, but changing her name to Thena due to her similarity to the Grecian goddess, for whom she served as an Earthly representative at least for some time.


Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:56 am
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Post Re: Eternals
I'm gonna watch this again soon, but more and more every day it bugs me that these folk did nothing about Thanos. I know they say "we stay out of human wars" but doesn't that directly contradict their mission of beefing up the number of humans for the host celestial to feed on? Makes no sense! Unless Ajak was just lying and letting humans die in mass on purpose so they'd never hit the required amount and thus Earth would not be destroyed?


Tue Jan 18, 2022 12:51 pm
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Post Re: Eternals
the lesser evil wrote:
Corpse wrote:
Quick question: Is there a specific reason Thena isn't just Athena? Pretty sure Athena is an open source name, so the actual Goddess Athena character must exist in the Marvel comics? I got the impression Thena (who is referred to as the Goddess of War in the film) inspired the Goddess Athena though, so I'm sort of confused. I guess it could be both. Marvel has a Goddess Athena, but the MCU isn't using that one, so was fine comparing the Eternal Thena to "Athena" in this universe.


She's called Thena because the character in the comics was called Thena. The Eternals were mostly given names that reference mythical beings, not directly named after them. Thena = Athena, Sersi = Circe, Makkari = Mercury, Ikaris = Icarus, Phastos = Hephaestus. This was no doubt done in part because the Olympians were already a thing in Marvel when the Eternals were created, and they wanted the distinction.

The connection to Athena is still there in the comics though, with Thena originally being called Azura, but changing her name to Thena due to her similarity to the Grecian goddess, for whom she served as an Earthly representative at least for some time.


Perfect explanation. Thank you!

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“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.”
“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
“You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.”
"Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."


Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:38 pm
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Post Re: Eternals
Flava'd vs The World wrote:
I'm gonna watch this again soon, but more and more every day it bugs me that these folk did nothing about Thanos. I know they say "we stay out of human wars" but doesn't that directly contradict their mission of beefing up the number of humans for the host celestial to feed on? Makes no sense! Unless Ajak was just lying and letting humans die in mass on purpose so they'd never hit the required amount and thus Earth would not be destroyed?


This was explained actually, they said wars lead to developments, which lead to population growth. But allowing the blip to happen was totally contradictory for sure, it's a bit of plot hole that would just not make sense, unless they had the foresight of knowing it'll be reversed.


Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:14 pm
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Post Re: Eternals
Boring.

Worst Marvel movie. I admire Zhao and Marvel taking a chance on one another, but it didn’t work.

Also kind of hilarious how Kumail Nanjiani’s character just checks out before the final battle. We all need to combine our minds into one. Gotta go!

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Wed Jan 26, 2022 3:27 am
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Post Re: Eternals
Meh

C+

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Wed Jan 26, 2022 11:15 am
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Post Re: Eternals
I thought it was beyond mediocre as well. To me biggest gripe is Gemma Chan as the central character. She lacked the charisma to pull it and movie was dull despite having scenes across thousands of years. I feel this is a better fit as D+ series than a movie.

Anyway I doubt we will see sequel in big screen. Characters would probably appear in other MCU movies.

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Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:24 pm
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