Label Volunteer, Jay Bate, gives his opinion on the recently releases Marvel film ‘Eternals’. *SPOILER WARNING*
Before going any further, I do have stress my wildly unpopular opinion that Marvel films are just not that good. However, I was rather optimistic for this film after seeing the cast reveal! My optimism was capped after seeing the mixed bag of reviews Eternals was receiving. But was it as terrible as some fans and critics were implying it to be?
Honestly, I can say that I enjoyed Eternals for the most part! It succeeded in maintaining my interest, where most Marvel films do not, because of a well-established and interesting plot, with enough elements of surprise to keep my engagement.
I was particularly shocked when Ikaris (Richard Madden) was revealed as having maintained his loyalty to Arishem, and had killed Ajak (Salma Hayek) in order for the ‘Emergence’ and Earth’s destruction to continue as planned. These sorts of twists and turns were needed for the 2-and-a-half-hour runtime to pass quickly.
One thing that Marvel always does well is its action scenes, and it was no different here. The last fights where the Eternals all faced Ikaris had some great production and special effects to make it tense and enjoyable. I also have to compliment the casting! I felt as if everybody played their roles well, especially Barry Keoghan as Druig, and Harish Patel as Karun, who both killed their roles and, without them, the film would not have been as fun as it was. It made for a diverse group with great chemistry, and has to be commended there.
However, I have to be critical of certain aspects of the film. For instance, I believe it to be an issue when I’m gravitating towards other characters within the ensemble more so than the main character. I found Sersi (Gemma Chan) to be a rather boring character, and considering she was pushed as the next leader of the Eternals, I would have hoped for there to be more to her personality and character than her being empathetic and the ex-wife of Ikaris.
Parts of the plot were also uninteresting to me, especially when Sprite turned against the Eternals because of her love for Ikaris and her inability to be loved. I found it to be more of a teenage tantrum as opposed to a valid reason to betray your entire group. It felt even more pointless when Druig returned and knocked her out, and then she wasn’t seen again in the action sequences. If you really had to go in that direction with this character, she could have at least put up a fight. It felt comedic more than anything, which I do not believe nor should it have been the intention.
Overall though, Eternals is an exciting new step in this new series of the Marvel franchises. I do not understand why some people were so critical of this film, as it is not far removed from your typical Marvel movies. A great cast with an interesting plot and exciting action scenes; what’s not to like?
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Edited by Label Entertainment Editor, Uchenna Omo-Bamawo
Header designed by Assistant Head of Design, Molly Goldby
