- ETERNALS
- Starring: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden and Selma Hayek
- Directed by: Chloe Zhao
- Rated: PG 13
- Running time: 2 hrs 37 mins
- Walt Disney Pictures
In the beginning…..
This is how “Eternals,” the latest adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opens. Actually it opens in 5,000 B.C. when a group of highly talented costumed individuals show up to protect the local Mesopotamians against a horde of creatures known as Deviants. That is their mission, and it continues still today.
Very busy, but quite entertaining, “Eternals” lets you know it is a part of the MCU when, after a global earthquake rocks Earth, reporters speculate if it may have been caused by “the blip.”
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you are about three phases and twenty-three films behind.
The “Eternals” – the group of people, not the film, spend their days protecting the Earth and, as time goes on, attempt to put mankind on the right path. Some are more zealous than others, trying to gift mankind with a steam engine but being convinced to settle for a common plow. They all have their own personal lives, with their own personal issues. But, as we have come to expect from these films, soon they will be called upon to…..sorry, no spoilers!
Let me say right here that whoever decided to hire the director of “Nomadland” to helm this film was a genius! This film is over 2 ½ hours long and, while it is a little “busy,” it is never boring. The running time is necessary to introduce each character and their little peccadillos. My personal favorite was Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) who, because an Eternal never ages, has been able to work as a Bollywood star for decades.
The rest of the cast is equally impressive, giving life to what could easily be one-dimensional characters. The script has plenty of great one-liners and the special effects are, as one would expect, breathtaking. Is there anything that CAN’T be done on screen these days?
To sum it up, “The Eternals” – the third film in the Fourth Phase of the MCU –is another fine addition to the series that may itself be eternal.
