In Defense of Eternals
Please note: The following article contains spoilers for the Marvel film Eternals.
Marvel’s Phase Four officially concluded with the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Phase Four provided us with much content, especially in 2021. The new phase was supposed to start in 2020 but was pushed back to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why so much content was released in 2021.
Overall, Phase Four has received mixed reviews from both fans and critics. Some, like WandaVision, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, were regarded as standouts, while others, such as The Falcon and The Winter Solider, Black Widow, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, were regarded as letdowns. Unfortunately, another one of those letdowns was Eternals.
Eternals, released on November 5, 2021, had gotten mixed reviews and did modestly at the box office, taking in $402.1 million. It is also the lowest-ranked film in Phase Four, with a 47% Rotten Tomatoes score, though it should be noted that the film did suffer from review bombing. Some even consider the film to be the worst Marvel film. In addition, many took issue with the story, characters, and runtime. Due to these factors, it is still being determined if the film will get a sequel. Though recent reports say the characters will come back and a sequel is being developed, we are still waiting for an official announcement to confirm this.
The film certainly has its faults, and issues must be addressed if a sequel is to be developed. However, I do not think it deserves all of the criticism, nor deserves the title of worst Marvel film — that belongs to Thor: The Dark World. In defense of Eternals, there are numerous aspects of the film that were being overlooked by the bad elements that we should stress.
Gemma Chan’s Sersi
Sersi was a great character. She was one of ten eponymous heroes that needed to be introduced in the film and, by extension, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, she was the film's main protagonist and the character we got the most insight on. Her character focuses on working with her superhero/God group to stop the birth of Tiamut from destroying Earth and humanity. She is the Eternal with the closest relationship with humans, seeing the good in them and wanting to live among them. It’s why when the twist is revealed that the Eternals were planted on Earth to defeat the Deviants to help the birth of Tiamut, she is the first to say that they must do something to save humanity. This also explains why when Ajak (Salma Hayek) is killed by a deviant because of Ikaris (Richard Madden), she designates Sersi as the prime Eternal, knowing that her love for humanity would lead the group to save them.
While many might have found it cliché or debatable for her or any other character to want to protect and defend humanity due to our history, Sersi’s nature makes it so refreshing and convincing that it never makes you want to roll your eyes. That is thanks to Chan’s performance, which ultimately gives her character a sympathetic and kind-hearted quality that I feel is not seen much in superheroes, let alone female characters. While her character did not need the “epic” love story with Ikaris (more on that later), her character was ultimately strong, and I hope to see her return in the MCU, whether that be in the sequel or some other project.
Visuals
Marvel films are not known for looking beautiful or cinematic, mainly because most of these films have to rely on CGI. Films such as Avengers Endgame, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Doctor Strange have used a lot of CGI to accomplish what they needed to do. While Eternals still uses CGI, compared to the rest of the MCU, there is less of it because of the focus on on-location filming as opposed to special effects. This is thanks to Chloé Zhao, the director, being able to get perhaps the most creative freedom that a Marvel director has been given. As a result, she opted for more on-location filming, which lends the film to have more beautiful shots and an overall great look. You can see the difference between on-location filming vs. special effects. This is also where Zhao’s distinct style comes in with these gorgeous shots, and it’s evident that she had the most control; this shouldn’t come as a shock if you are familiar with the Academy Award-winning Nomadland and her other films.
The set design for the film was also great as well. The shot where they showed the team saving and living in Babylonia was stunning and made you feel like you went back in time and were in Babylonia. I also loved the design of the Domo, their spaceship, as it felt in tune with the Eternals group. It looked ancient and beautiful. This has to do with the design being inspired by religion. I also loved how the team’s powers were highlighted with gold markings as it showed once again how ancient and immortal they are, as well as being able to differentiate the power colors from Marvel heroes (Wanda/Scarlet Witch with red, Agatha purple, Doctor Strange and Sorcerer Supreme Wong with orange), not to mention that they also looked beautiful. Other films such as Shang-Chi and The Legend of Ten Rings, and Black Panther come to mind with such attention to detail, stunning sets, and visuals, but they differ because of the stories each film tells. Overall, this was Marvel’s most visually pleasing film to date.
Representation
Eternals contains a diverse cast, something that fans and critics have been demanding of Marvel for a long time. Though it is long overdue, it is great to see a lead cast with different races steering the film. We also have Marvel’s first deaf and gay superheroes, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) and Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), respectively. Though Makkari is the first, she is not the last, as Maya Lopez/Echo (Alaqua Cox) from Hawkeye is also a deaf superhero/anti-hero in the MCU. Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) was also shown to be hearing impaired in the tv show, which has been left out up to this point and criticized by fans; this allows him to be more in line with his comics counterpart. Phastos being the first official LGBTQ+ character in the MCU is also important because Marvel had said before that some characters (e.g., Valkyrie) were meant to be part of the community but were never adequately represented. We also get the MCU’s youngest superhero with, Sprite (Lia McHugh).
Representation was behind the scenes as well. The film was awarded the Reframe Stamp for having a gender-balanced production crew. Overall, the film is also one of many projects in Phase 4 that better reflect this aspect; hopefully, Marvel will continue this in later phases.
Themes
Because this movie tells a different superhero story, it also contains different themes. Out of all the Marvel movies to come, Eternals takes a deep look at humanity and has the immortal god beings question the role they play in our lives and, when the time comes, whether we are worthy of being saved when the truth comes out about their mission. There are also questions of power and free will as the group encounters these issues to figure out how to save humanity or let Tiamut be born, thereby destroying Earth and humanity. While some themes have been addressed in previous projects (e.g., free will in Loki), Eternals takes a more mature approach. While the approach is not the usual Marvel standard, that makes it great as we get a more insightful, somber way of seeing these themes played out instead of the action-packed, fun sort of way.
Despite some redeeming qualities, the film has faults. While there were many, here are some.
“Epic” love story
The love story between Sersi and Ikaris was supposed to be an element we were perhaps rooting for or could be convinced that they were madly in love. Unfortunately, nothing about the epic love story convinced many that these two truly loved each other. If anything, there were questions as to why they even were together. This starts with their characters. Sersi truly cares for humanity, wants the best for us, and will do everything she can to protect us. On the other hand, Ikaris does not care about humanity, as he never participated in any of their activities and only cares about the mission. Even when he did join with the humans, it was only because of Sersi. Otherwise, he didn’t care about humans and was ready to let Tiamut destroy Earth and move on to the next mission Arshiem would give him. It makes it much more mind-boggling that they ended up being together for 5,000 years, with it evident that they have different views on humanity.
The love story also didn’t work because there was not much screentime for this relationship despite them being together for 5,000 years. The need to focus on the narrative and the other characters took away from this subplot. As a result, there was not much time for the film to go more in-depth about their relationship, which is why it suffers. Even with the screen time that they got, it was not effective. There was no chemistry between the actors, and it felt forced. Not even the much-discussed sex scene between them convinced the audience. Additionally, at the climax, when it’s Sersi vs. Ikaris, we get a love montage of their time together. Ultimately, Ikaris’s love for Sersi stops him from completing the mission. There was no payoff with this because their story did not work, which led to the ending making no sense. Though Zhao and the screenwriters deserve the credit for attempting to tell one of the most mature romances that the MCU has seen, it just didn’t work.
Sprite’s Lia McHugh
The character of Sprite was another issue in the film that many panned. Sprite, the Eternal, stuck with looking like a child, was quite annoying, which is unfortunate because the movie was setting her up for a good character arc. Even though she is just as old as her Eternal peers, she is stuck with looking like a child and has been that way for thousands of years. As a result, she can never experience what other humans or her peers have experienced, such as romance. She even says this to Sersi when she figuratively and literally stabs her in the back during the third act scene. Also, you can feel for her because wouldn’t you be angry that while everyone else is growing up, enjoying life, you are stuck looking like a child despite being very old and not being able to experience any of it because you look like a child? So Sprite’s decision to turn on her peers and help Ikaris finish their true mission makes sense.
So what is the problem, then, you ask? Well, she is annoying. She tries to make quips, like almost every other Marvel character, and they rarely land. The jokes, acting, and writing were mainly why they didn’t work. But the biggest issue is that the movie has her character have this unrequited love for Ikaris, which makes no sense, not to mention it is weird. Sprite had a pretty good character arc, and the film decides to throw a curve ball and say she always loved Ikaris, and that is one of the reasons she sides with him when he’s dead set on finishing their mission. So why did they feel it was necessary to have Sprite be in love with Ikaris? What was it supposed to do for her character? It felt tacked on and unnecessary, especially because it’s never addressed again after the big revelation. Ikaris and Sprite don’t discuss it, and Sersi neither seems bothered nor discusses it with Sprite. There was already so much going on in this film, especially with sub-plots, that this was yet another and most unneeded. And after everything she tried to do to stop Sersi from stopping the destruction of Earth, she still gets her wish of not being immortal and aging like a regular human being. It’s something she didn’t deserve by the end of the film. I don’t know what I would have made her fate, but giving her what she most desired would not have been it.
Phastos and Hiroshima
Before the movie's release, many were already talking about this scene and how they felt annoyed that Phastos was either responsible for or somehow played a role in this crime against humanity. Even though the scene does make some sense for the character, it still drew controversy because many felt that we were putting a black gay character in an unflattering light; because LGBTQ+ characters are still being portrayed in unnecessary and unfair ways, some found it frustrating that Marvel’s first official gay character was being seen this way. While that viewpoint is valid, my biggest issue with this scene was how it was depicted and what it meant.
For context, it shows Phastos and Ajak looking at the destruction that the atomic bomb has done to Hiroshima, Japan. Phastos, horrified, puts some of the blame on himself that such destruction happened since he wanted to progress human technology and finally loses faith in humanity while Ajak tries to comfort him.
For context, it shows Phastos and Ajak looking at the destruction that the atomic bomb has done to Hiroshima, Japan. Phastos, horrified, puts some of the blame on himself that such destruction happened since he wanted to progress human technology and finally loses faith in humanity while Ajak tries to comfort him.
The problems I had with this scene start with how they depict Hiroshima. The scene only shows Phastos and Ajak being the only two within the destruction. The scene makes it seems that there were no survivors when in reality, there were survivors, many of whom are still alive today. Though I doubt that anybody seeing the film does not know the history of this atrocity, the way this scene was filmed with just the Eternals, immortal God beings, is trying to reframe this critical moment in time and not for good. It takes away the truth of what happened to benefit the film, which is different from how it should be done, making it problematic. For a movie with mature themes surrounding humanity, it should not have robbed the truth about Hiroshima.
The other issue was how it showed Hiroshima when, unfortunately, two Japanese cities were attacked with the atomic bomb, the other being Nagasaki three days later. Regardless of why they did not discuss the bombing of Nagasaki does not matter as, once again, we are not showing the truth.
Of course, Eternals is not the only film accused of using this approach to benefit the film. But I hope that moving forward, movies will find a better way to discuss atrocious real-world events that can fit their films that also tells the truth, and if not, they should not do it at all.
Runtime
The length of the film also drew some criticism. The film’s runtime is 2 hours and 37 minutes, currently being the third longest Marvel film. Because this was the first time that audiences were introduced to this team and because their history is almost as long as human history, it makes sense that this film will be extended. However, that doesn’t save the movie from being criticized for the runtime. Despite the film giving us a good story, it did not provide us with everything just because there was too much it needed, and what we got could have been better. For me, the film was too long as well. By the time we got to the traditional third-act fight, we still had about 30-40 minutes of the film left. The mid-credit cutscene introduced us to Eros (Harry Styles), Thanos’s brother, and was pretty exciting though the post-credit cutscene wasn't.
What could have cut down the runtime is if Eternals was given a prequel Disney + series with an episode focused on each member. If this had been done, it would have cut down the need to go around the world to where everyone was and what they were up to, which took a significant amount of time. In addition, it would have allowed for more character development, so when the film was released, this would not have been the first time meeting these characters. More focus also would have been devoted to Sersi and Ikaris’s relationship, allowing the audience to be more convinced of their love story.
Eternals was a film that was a big departure from the Marvel formula in many ways. From the story and themes to the characters and visuals, it broke the mold of the MCU in many ways. However, those risks came with faults, some more glaring than others. As discussed, the film has its ups and downs. As a result, many considered Eternals not up to the usual Marvel standard, and some even consider it the worst Marvel film. While it wasn’t Marvel’s best, it certainly was not the worst, and it is unfair to call it that just because it didn’t follow the Marvel standard. If anything, it should get praised for not following the tried and true formula and aiming for something different, even if it didn’t work out as intended. Eternals was the middle of the pack, not the best, but not the worst. If you haven’t seen the movie, I recommend you give it a watch, and if you have already, give it another look.
Additional Links for further reading:
Marvel’s ‘Eternals,’ ‘Hawkeye’ Earn Recognition for Disability Representation (Exclusive)
Chloé Zhao Reckons With ‘Eternals’ Dividing Fans: Its Style ‘Made People Uncomfortable’
Eternals' Hiroshima Scene Shows The Danger Of Marvel's Real World Retconning
Eternals’ Hiroshima scene was personal for the writers, and Chloe Zhao fought to keep it