Eternals Rate and Review the Eternals

[pr0xyt0xin]

Just got back from seeing it. Without spoiling, I would say. . . I enjoyed it, but I can absolutely see why it generally reviewed poorly. It has a lot of big ideas and interesting ( or potentially interesting ) characters, but its kind of cold and clunky in a lot of ways. It feels like a movie that really, really wishes it could be a full season TV show, or maybe two seasons- there are numerous spots where they use character and plot and exposition shortcuts.

My current review would be a 6/10, but a reasonably forgiving 6/10 provided you go in expecting and wanting weird philosophical cosmic comic book stuff.

That is exactly what I went in wanting.

 

[Spider-Fan]

"I think general audience members are dummies who dont like to use their imagination."



"Iron Man 2 for example is very much actors just screwing around and having a lot of banter. This reminded me more of something like Solaris."




Oh...

We really are closing in on "This film was too smart for you that's why you didn't like it" territory, aren't we?

Krypton, nowhere did I say that. I simply said the movie made a specific stylistic choice with the way the actors were directed. If it didn't work for you, that is fine. You enjoy what you enjoy. I say this all the time. But you realize you are being equally dismissive with a post as you are accusing me, right? Because the inference here is you disagree with me therefore I am stupid and being condescending. Which I am doing neither, but I feel like you are.

Also, I replied your other post after this one, and deleted it. I am just addressing it here. Once again, I know I am repeating myself a bit, but the gist of that reply is I never said this movie was 2001 or Solaris. I said it had stylistic and directing similarities in how the acting was used. Not that the movie itself is a grand cinematic masterpiece. So again, strawman.

So, instead of putting words in my mouth I never said nor meant, how about we just agree that we don't see eye to eye here? Skip this entire strawman you are laying out. Also, maybe next time, maybe try and make your points without needless condescension? Cause we can have discussions where we disagree without it.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Krypton, nowhere did I say that. I simply said the movie made a specific stylistic choice with the way the actors were directed. If it didn't work for you, that is fine. You enjoy what you enjoy. I say this all the time. But you realize you are being equally dismissive with a post as you are accusing me, right? Because the inference here is you disagree with me therefore I am stupid and being condescending. Which I am doing neither, but I feel like you are.

Also, I replied your other post after this one, and deleted it. I am just addressing it here. Once again, I know I am repeating myself a bit, but the gist of that reply is I never said this movie was 2001 or Solaris. I said it had stylistic and directing similarities in how the acting was used. Not that the movie itself is a grand cinematic masterpiece. So again, strawman.

So, instead of putting words in my mouth I never said nor meant, how about we just agree that we don't see eye to eye here? Skip this entire strawman you are laying out. Also, maybe next time, maybe try and make your points without needless condescension? Cause we can have discussions where we disagree without it.

Yeah super weird that he would pull both our quotes out of context, while replying to neither of us specifically to make some weird amorphous point that neither of us were arguing.

Mine was a light hearted quip about the lack of imagination amongst general audience members (none of whom are present) who are dragging the rankings of this film below the likes of even... thor the dark world, xmen the last stand, and man of steel.

My speculation is that certain beats in the cosmic mcu hit an unrelatable place for many average movie goers because their goal is to see a spectacle popcorn flick, not use their imaginations.

 

[psylockolussus]

I enjoyed this. I was very entertained and I like the Eternals. The cinematography and vfX are amazing. The Eternals, the Celestials and the purpose of the Eternals are interesting enough. The Celestials are humongous! I was glued to the screen. Some of the "dramatic scenes" felt flat but didn't ruin the film for me. The big fight at the end was amazing. I wish Ajak was developed more, her role to me lacked something but she wasn't totally disappointing. The others like Kingo, Gilgamesh, Druig, Phastos and Makkari, I eXpected them to be supporting Eternals, so I felt like my eXpectations were met. I feel like Thena and Phastos could have used more scenes especially in the first hour, but they got decent role in the final hour. Sersi and Phastos were the best for me. I didn't mind Ikaris despite being stoic throughout the film.

My dislikes:
-Sprite is the worst written character in the movie. Her role during the climaX was so bad.
-Kro and the Deviants are afterthoughts. They had no personality whatsoever.
-Kingo at the climaX.
-Makkari in between those 7 million years. It felt lazy compare to the others.
-I am indifferent with Dane. His role didn't feel organic. I felt like they just added him to set up a story for a spin off, and they used the movie as a quick way to establish his relationship with Sersi but eh.
-I didn't like the actor they got for the mids credits scene.

I wish I would give this an eTENal, but its good enough for me.

 

[thalidomide]

Just saw it a couple of hours ago. It was decent but not worth seeing it again in theaters.

I think that's alright considering that this is their first movie so there's still a lot of room for improvements.

Anyone else thinks Marvel won't rehire the director because of the poor reviews it's getting?

 

[psylockolussus]

This being a group with Xpecial abilities is making it more rewatchable than most mcu movies.

After seeing it again today, I don't think my opinion changed but the flaws are more clear to me now.

Spoiler

Ajak is underdeveloped,I feel like what was shown in the movie wasn't enough to see why Earth and its inhabitants are worth saving for her.

Phastos went from not caring to caring about people instantly because "i have a family now". Sersi loves Dane so much, vise versa but why and how? Same thing with Ikaris and Sersi. I feel like a lot of the emotions here are a bit surface level, and if they fleshed out those relationships in the flashbacks, saving Earth/Ikaris not being able to kill Sersi would have more weight. I still don't know why Ikaris left Sersi after being together for 5,000 years.

Thena's glitching could have been eXecuted better. She just randomly glitched and it was confusing when I first saw it. Rewatching the film, I still don't know why she was the only one that eXperienced it.

They could have given Makkari something inbetween the break up and getting back together. She has no story at all.

Sprite is worse in second viewing.

Kingo is meh for me. I feel like people enjoyed the humour but I'm not into it. And leaving him out for the climaX, is a choice.

I kinda liked Druig but I didn't know much about him. Gilgamesh too.

i wish they played this "end of the world" scenario more. So when Tiamut was about to destroy Earth I could have felt the tension more.

The deviants are merely a distraction in the present day scenes, even if the Eternals didn't kill them or if the deviants killed all the Eternals, the emergence was gonna happen anyway.

I think this would have been reviewed better if the Eternals were fleshed out more.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

 

[psylockolussus]

Except for the three I mentioned, the rest were just there. Ajak was barely in the movie. I kept waiting to like Kingo like many critics and fans said they did, but it never happened. I found him to be annoying and the Bollywood scene to be embarrassingly bad. Sprite had great potential, but I didn't feel anything for this character. Gilgamesh was okay, like Makkari, the movie didn't give him much, but Makkari had great action scenes, he had nothing but his good chemistry with Thena. Phastos was meh.

I wanted a more upbeat song in that Bollywood scene for that scene to really take off but nope.

 

[InCali]

This being a group with Xpecial abilities is making it more rewatchable than most mcu movies.

After seeing it again today, I don't think my opinion changed but the flaws are more clear to me now.

Spoiler

Ajak is underdeveloped,I feel like what was shown in the movie wasn't enough to see why Earth and its inhabitants are worth saving for her.

Phastos went from not caring to caring about people instantly because "i have a family now". Sersi loves Dane so much, vise versa but why and how? Same thing with Ikaris and Sersi. I feel like a lot of the emotions here are a bit surface level, and if they fleshed out those relationships in the flashbacks, saving Earth/Ikaris not being able to kill Sersi would have more weight. I still don't know why Ikaris left Sersi after being together for 5,000 years.

Thena's glitching could have been eXecuted better. She just randomly glitched and it was confusing when I first saw it. Rewatching the film, I still don't know why she was the only one that eXperienced it.

They could have given Makkari something inbetween the break up and getting back together. She has no story at all.

Sprite is worse in second viewing.

Kingo is meh for me. I feel like people enjoyed the humour but I'm not into it. And leaving him out for the climaX, is a choice.

I kinda liked Druig but I didn't know much about him. Gilgamesh too.

i wish they played this "end of the world" scenario more. So when Tiamut was about to destroy Earth I could have felt the tension more.

The deviants are merely a distraction in the present day scenes, even if the Eternals didn't kill them or if the deviants killed all the Eternals, the emergence was gonna happen anyway.

I think this would have been reviewed better if the Eternals were fleshed out more.

Interesting. I saw it twice and felt the first 2 parts dragged somewhat on the first viewing. On the second viewing, things seemed to flow better.

 

[HammerDown]

6 out of 10. It was just ok.
It almost collapses under its own weight.

Starting with the positives, the Celestials stuff was pretty epic, some of the Eternals power displays where cool too and the film expands significantly on the MCU mythology and the universe’s own backstory. Overall it adds to the richness of the MCU and should impact it in many ways moving forward.

Now to the dodgy stuff, I think that a lot of it comes from the lackluster execution and the fact that we are following synthetic clones basically… also these things and new concepts need a lot of explaining which naturally drags the movie down a notch. Because of their nature our grandiose heroes are somewhat detached and soulless even if some manage to assimilate more human characteristics and maneirisms, still it’s all a bit too plain.

They aimed high and it ultimately doesn’t all work that well. It’s almost like this movie took one for the team or for the overall MCU. It’s probably very important for the future because it sets a ton of things that we know are being developed and will be explored sooner or later. As it’s own thing is kind of meh though.

 

[Zarex]

I finally saw it. Decent flick, I gave it a six. It probably helped that I came in with lowered expectations.

Liked some stuff - I thought the action scenes were done very well. And the cinematography was beautiful, though if I really wanted to see sweeping vistas I would watch a NatGeo nature special.

But given the large cast and the amount of exposition required it probably would have worked better as a series with the Celestials big reveal to Sersi occurring in episode 5 or 6 instead of in the middle of the film. And Eternals really could have used fun loving party girl Sersi from the comics instead of the dull character we got. Have Ms. Chan play an irresponsible young lady who has partied her way through the centuries and now has to step up to the plate on judgement day. I think that would have made for a better film.

 

[Mr. Peanut]

They aimed high and it ultimately doesn’t all work that well. It’s almost like this movie took one for the team or for the overall MCU. It’s probably very important for the future because it sets a ton of things that we know are being developed and will be explored sooner or later. As it’s own thing is kind of meh though.

Honestly I feel like people kinda need to get over the idea of MCU movies being their own thing. Like, I mean, sure there can still be ones that stand on their own better than others, but at the end of the day what the MCU is creating is a giant mega narrative. It's using film and now shows in a way they really never have been before.


I enjoyed Eternals well enough for what it was: a decent story that set up a bunch of intriguing lore and plot elements for future portions of the meta narrative. And that's perfectly fine, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[HammerDown]

Honestly I feel like people kinda need to get over the idea of MCU movies being their own thing. Like, I mean, sure there can still be ones that stand on their own better than others, but at the end of the day what the MCU is creating is a giant mega narrative. It's using film and now shows in a way they really never have been before.

I enjoyed Eternals well enough for what it was: a decent story that set up a bunch of intriguing lore and plot elements for future portions of the meta narrative. And that's perfectly fine, as far as I'm concerned.

It should live on it's own merits first and unfortunately it felt flat for me that's all.
Just because it's part of a giant narrative doesn't mean it can't be criticized when it fails to deliver. It's not the first and it certainly won't be the last. I'll take with me the stuff that i appreciated and thought was done right and the rest i can very well ignore and move on.

 

[MaceB]

I, for one, enjoyed this film a lot. I thought the characters were all interested and fleshed out enough to be interesting. Could it have been done better? I suppose.... but it game us enough, and left me wanting more.

Ashram was awesome. The fights were awesome. I thought the feelings evoked were well acted. It looked beautiful. And IMO, I had no major problem with the pacing. In fact, I felt that the 2.5 hours went rather quickly.

Yes, I have my favorite and least favorites. Yes, some characters were better developed than others. The film wasn't trying to give us every bit of backstory, and I don't think it required it.

 

[Mr. Peanut]

It should live on it's own merits first

Why though? Why shouldn't its role in the larger narrative be given, at the very least, equal weight?

It's like singling out one portion of a giant mural and choosing to judge each section on its own, rather than how it contributes to the larger picture.

 

[HammerDown]

Why though? Why shouldn't its role in the larger narrative be given, at the very least, equal weight?

It's like singling out one portion of a giant mural and choosing to judge each section on its own, rather than how it contributes to the larger picture.

You judge it the way you want. If it makes you feel better to look at it in the bigger scope of things then do it but don’t demand others to do the same.

 

[Mr. Peanut]

You judge it the way you want. If it makes you feel better to look at it in the bigger scope of things then do it but don’t demand others to do the same.

Well, I wasn't trying to demand anything. Just a strong recommendation.

 

[DyeLorean]

Well I finally saw it! I liked it quite a bit to be honest. I thought it had all the ingredients to be a lot better though.
Props for having real locations and not being a green screen nightmare; and also for having a speedster and actually SHOW THE SPEED. I was getting annoyed at superspeed being depicted in slow motion which is the complete opposite.

 

[Sithborg]

Checked this out on Disney+.

Definitely the prettiest MCU film made. Very colorful, but more natural colors, not throwing neon on the screen to say "COLOR" like Gunn, Waititi, and the Strange director.

Okay film. Definitely too long. The pacing is a bit weird, and the transitions between flashbacks is a bit jarring. Some character cuts really should have happened. Not necessarily because there are underused characters, but there is time spent on characters that is pointless to the overall film, imo.

I am down for Sersi and Whitman to return. Sersi, because I love a phone addicted immortal. Whitman for the unintended comedy that Kit Harrington will bring to the roll.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I ended up waiting for this on Disney+, making it the first MCU film I didn't see in theaters. It was also the first that I was not familiar with the comics, aside from a couple of surprises during the credits.

For the most part I enjoyed it, but it does have some serious flaws. I don't think it is the worst MCU film, but it is near the bottom.

I liked the cast and characters. I liked the basic plot. It is a pretty movie. One of the best looking films of the MCU.

But my God did it feel like it was stuck in first gear for far too long. It is just introduction after introduction and it just keeps going. The first act is like literally two hours long. One character (Kingo) gets a ton of screentime devoted to him and none of it matters because he just leaves before the climax anyways. I liked the character enough, but it made everything feel like a waste of time. This felt less like a movie and more like a tv show pilot for future stories. I know other Marvel films have that complaint, but it is really applicable to this one. Except for the budget, it probably would have worked a lot better as a Disney+ series. It already has that sort of structure.

6/10

 

[BlackFox]

Yeah, bit of an odd one this. Nice try to be or do something a bit different from the usual Marvel formula, some of the visuals were pretty nice and epic and it certainly hints at some epic things to come in the future but the whole thing felt heavy and a bit of a slog to get through, none of the characters I really connected with or cared about that much to either really root for them in this or really bothered if they came back again. Having never read the comics its hard to know if thats accurate or not but I assume they weren't written all this bland there.

There was also some really odd moments and things that happen which then get explained why they happened in an exposition dump just after as well and some very jarring plot convenience's and head scratching moments that seem to be resolved 5 minutes later as if nothing had happened. The Deviants were a bit of an afterthought and barely mattered in the whole thing anyway, just CGI monsters to hit for the good guys. The huge time jumps didnt help either I dont think.

A rare misstep from the MCU and I can see where the mixed reviews came from, not completely terrible but rather forgettable. 5/10

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

The Deviants I can forgive because they aren't the real villains of this story, Icarus is. And him I actually thought was a pretty compelling character, even if I had trouble quite buying into his decision at the end.

 

[Prison Mike]

Just finished watching this movie. Oh boy, I’m mixed about this. While I don’t agree with the Rotten Tomatoes score (and this is definitely not the worst MCU film I’ve seen), it was overall pretty meh. I liked certain parts (like most people here, I thought Kingo and Karun were great), and other parts were boring. The action was definitely lacking and I found myself looking at my watch a few times (not a great sign). You could easily cut 30-40 minutes of this film. I think what I like the most about the movie was that I was genuinely conflicted about who’s side I was on. I understood both Ikarus’ and Sersi’s POV. I probably would have been like Kingo and just left situation altogether. I truly hope I see more of Kingo (and Karun because they’re a package deal), Phastos, and Dane in the future whether that be Eternals 2 or a different MCU film. Honestly I could take or leave the rest.

 

[psylockolussus]

I ended up waiting for this on Disney+, making it the first MCU film I didn't see in theaters. It was also the first that I was not familiar with the comics, aside from a couple of surprises during the credits.

For the most part I enjoyed it, but it does have some serious flaws. I don't think it is the worst MCU film, but it is near the bottom.

I liked the cast and characters. I liked the basic plot. It is a pretty movie. One of the best looking films of the MCU.

But my God did it feel like it was stuck in first gear for far too long. It is just introduction after introduction and it just keeps going. The first act is like literally two hours long. One character (Kingo) gets a ton of screentime devoted to him and none of it matters because he just leaves before the climax anyways. I liked the character enough, but it made everything feel like a waste of time. This felt less like a movie and more like a tv show pilot for future stories. I know other Marvel films have that complaint, but it is really applicable to this one. Except for the budget, it probably would have worked a lot better as a Disney+ series. It already has that sort of structure.

6/10

I'm thinking it could be like Lost-ish as a Tv series, especially with the flashbacks.

 

[Lily Adler]

Watched it last night and despite the effort put into this film it falls short of being above mediocre leaning towards bad. I like the cast they have, but they couldn't save the flat characters for me. The action sequences were nice to look at, but there was a dull feeling in their execution.