Eternals Review

Marcus Brown ’22

In this 2021’s blockbuster, Eternals, Marvel brings a new set of heroes exclusively to the theaters. Budgeted at 200 million dollars, this film by Chloe Zhao is loaded with a talented crew. Massive stars such as Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, and Harry Styles significantly contribute to the popularity of the film. The visual effects of this feature film also make the movie as enticing as it is. Detailed computer renditions of black holes and imploding of Earth is extremely captivating to critics and audiences alike. Lastly, to the surprise of many, the film was more comedic than anticipated. Unfortunately, Eternals still did not receive critical acclaim comparable to other Marvel productions. 

Eternals is the worst reviewed movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a score of just 48%. Although not considered a “flop,” this film has received an outburst of negative responses as a result of several elements of the film. For one, the lengthy runtime had many moviegoers growing tired as the movie progressed. To meet the expectations as an adaptation of a series of comics, loads of exposition was needed for the average viewer. In addition to extending the film to two and a half hours, the exposition provides typical audiences with struggles to keep up with a complex plot. Lastly, the largest controversy of Eternals is the addition of a very intimate scene. As a Marvel movie with a PG-13 rating, most families who viewed the movie were expecting an entirely family-friendly plot. However, including this scene in the final cut left a significant number of viewers with a bad taste as they departed the theater. Nevertheless, Marvel seems to have prevailed once again, earning over 330 million dollars in just three weeks.