Eternals

Now I have no worries about the new MCU film phase. Yes, Shang-Chi received the same rating from me, but I did have a few reservations about it, but I can't think of a single complaint about Eternals. The film is surprisingly very much about the characters and the relationships between them, and that's the nicest thing about it. Of course, there are action scenes and they are great, but that's not the main thing Eternals has to offer. These are new and completely unknown heroes, of which there are quite a few, but thanks to the elaborate script and their representatives, they are not interchangeable and we get to know and understand them well. In addition to the characters, the film also miraculously manages to explain a completely new mythology, link it with what we already know, and offer a BIG promise for the future. The finale is one of the best we've seen from Marvel - something big, truly huge happens, but it doesn’t just happen "to make something happen," but rather is logical and entirely appropriate. Pure 100% satisfaction. (2021-11-04)

I was completely indifferent to Eternals before its premiere, but in the end, it's surprisingly the first feature film from the MCU in a long time that I find at least interesting. For one thing, the motif of extraterrestrial beings overseeing the evolution of humankind for millennia and inscribing themselves in myths and legends is captivating, and I’d love to see something like that handled seriously outside the MCU. And secondly, I like the fact that the conflict underlying Eternals unfolds in morally quite ambivalent tones, which is not at all usual in this cinematic universe. I enjoyed it more when the characters solved these dilemmas, discussed them, than when they got into a fight with CGI creatures or with each other. But even the action scenes are among the best ones you can get. (2021-11-06)

An MCU-film coupled with the Oscar-winning director of the notable Nomadland immediately caught my attention, making a visit to the cinema almost urgent - despite the rather lukewarm trailer. At times, Eternals quite blatantly tries to be the most multi-cultural, tolerant and all-encompassing film from Marvel, which it manages to do in a universally unobtrusive manner for most of its running time. Technically, it's an audiovisual orgy, but that's what we're used to with films like this. I'd like to single out the appearance of the Deviants and Celestials. Aside from that, I enjoyed the various abilities and characteristics of the Eternals (Thena being most interesting to me), who were given ample space to be introduced where possible – hopefully we'll learn more in a possible sequel. I don't want to spoil anything here, but I appreciated the idea regarding the Eternals' main quest – it was similarly unsettling to Thanos's snap. Both post-credit scenes were a bit odd, but they served their purpose – curiosity is a bitch. (2021-11-04)

Breathtaking scale, action with beautiful exteriors and a monumental story about nothing less than the reason for the continuation of our existence in the universe. Eternals is an untraditional family team movie that spans about 7,000 years during one strange pregnancy. Zhao has given a serious face to Marvel, introducing powerful topics and bringing everything to a satisfying ending, which promises great things in his future movies. The actors are well-chosen, the correct types and even though the inclusion is flagrant and makes you ask yourself "why?", it can be overlooked and excused as bowing to journalists, because it does more harm than good to the story. Let’s go to Ajak first. She’ll know what to do. (2022-01-14)

The most surprising comic book movie, at least within the MCU. Not only because of the whole range of stimulating themes it addresses, but unfortunately also because of how polarizing it is. Personally, I appreciate it for the amount of audacity and alluring elements it contains. I have seen the silent, contemplative, and in a way, adorable Eternals twice already, and each time the seemingly modest duration felt painfully too short for me. No joke, I would like a four-hour film or a slow-paced series because I am so drawn to this world, and it saddens me that due to obscure marketing it remained a mystery to the fan base before and after the premiere. Every time, after watching, I ponder for hours and days about the choices of the powerful, about predestination for great things, about fate and its variability, about the beauty of ordinary life, about love that can last a few days or centuries, and last but not least, about the inevitability of gaining and losing your closest friends. Only after all of that comes the pleasant wink in the form of the transmission of cultural values across eras, and I was okay even with those, but I still shake my head as to why this very small detail is such a red rag to the public. Such a peaceful film with a perfectly understandable and necessary message, and still it provokes such absurdly strong negative passions. (2022-06-27)