Dennis Fernandez

Movie Review: The Eternals 5/10 This movie is a great example where good material, good director, and good actors can still produce a not so good movie. The Eternals was Kirby’s Marvel version of New Gods and Fourth World. I have no idea who the Eternals are, unlike their DC counterparts, but unlike Shang Chi (also unknown to me) it didn’t surprise me at all. It wasn’t entertaining. There is no doubt Chloe Zhao is a good director, she won an oscar. But, to put a hot new director in a big budget commercial movie didn’t work for this movie. It deviated from the marvel formula. The quips and banter were out of place. It was lost to the audience. No laughter heard in the theatres. It tried so hard to be a drama with a mystery. The first act was great. The mix of historical facts with fiction worked well. The second act started to dwindle. The third act, didn’t make sense at all. And when you look back at how the movie started, you will be disappointed. The movie also tried to be inclusive. Different races and gender. I praise the director and producers for that. But, it was almost forced upon. Changed the material to be inclusive, ended up not fitting the actors’ roles. It was missing the essence and character building. I was also thrown off by 2 macguffins in the movie. Why even show it. I will give credit and praise where it is due. Jolie and Hayek took minor roles but carried the movie. They were almost guiding the young actors to give the movie credibility. The actor playing Druig was great. Action sequence were also fluid. 2 hrs and 30 mins ended up feeling like a waste. No Time to Die is an example that a movie that can go to 2:45 minutes can be worthwhile if the final act and the ending is good. If there was one good thing about the movie, it made Galactus plausible and opened the cinematic universe to a bigger world (FF and Silver Surfer).