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Is Eternals as good as The Avengers and does it hold a candle to the franchise? Read our Eternals Movie Review And how to watch Eternals movie in Chile to find out all.
The world, as we know, it is over. After snapping his fingers, Thanos exterminated humanity leaving the door open to future possibilities of superheroes and parallel galaxies to decide how to salvage whatever is left on the blue planet. In Eternals, the fight is not so much to resurrect life on earth as it is to protect it from the evil forces called Deviants. Unlike The Avengers and what they set out to do, the 10-member team of Eternals has one single reason to exist – protect humanity and lead their evolution. However, the plot isn’t as simple as it may sound on paper.
An all A-list star cast that boasts the biggest ensemble put together post-Avengers, Eternals has Salma Hayek leading the pack as their spiritual leader Ajak. She is the all-seeing Oracle who guides her fellow superheroes and ensures they don’t stray. But, stray they do.
Angelina Jolie, who plays Thena, has the most complex and diabolical character among the Eternals. What makes her interesting is that her fight is not so much with the evil Deviants but her own mind. Richard Madden plays Ikaris who is the Alpha of the group, while Lia McHugh plays Sprite, a woman trapped in a girl’s body. The other Eternals – Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan) and Sersi (Gemma Chan) – provide everything from comic relief, love plot and diversity to this Marvel adventure.
But, is Eternals as good as The Avengers and does it hold a candle to the franchise? The answer is a solid – no!
To begin with, Eternals has a run time that exceeds two and half hours, only second to the almost three-hour runtime of Avengers: Endgame. The issue is not so much with the length but director Chloe Zhao’s struggle to weave in as many backstories and subplots as possible to give the A-list star cast its due. As a result, some characters, despite coming across as lacklustre, get more screen time than the others. We get to see Sersi and Ikaris brood over their failed relationship, but Makkari and Phastos don’t get enough screen time to let us in on their past-life experiences.
Visually, Eternals is stunning. No frame is without imagery, and the action scenes, especially the opening montage, are stunningly choreographed. That said, when it comes to building up characters that hold interest and subplots that you can actually invest into, the film falters.
Chloe Zhao’s attempt to tick the diversity and inclusivity boxes seem a bit contrived. Yes, we support a gay superhero, and it’s about time LGBTQ representation feels organic in an MCU movie, yet Phastos’ love story with his partner doesn’t get the screen time it deserves.
Eternals tries to be everything but ends up coming close to being nothing. The comparisons to Avengers only make the experience worse. However, there are fleeting references to Avengers and every time you hear a familiar name you can’t help but plaster a big wide grin on your face.
Eternals could have worked had it spent as much time in the writing room as it did in the VFX studio. For fans of the Marvel franchise, Eternals is no Avengers, don’t go walking in with too many expectations, and you might have a decent time. Eternals has an army of superheroes but not one worth cheering for. Maybe next time?
Will “Eternals” Be Available on Streaming Platforms?
Like “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Eternals” will be available only in theaters for 45 days after its release, heading to Disney+ at some point after that time period. There is no officially set date for when the film will become available to stream Eternals on Disney+, and “Shang-Chi” won’t arrive on Disney+ until 70 days after it first hit theaters.
