Note to the moderators and admins… I posted this earlier, but for some reason, I am not seeing the edited post on the forum. If this is a repeat, please delete the earlier posts, and keep this one…. Thank you.
I saw the MCU Eternals film on Disney+ last night.
Spoilers follow….
I’m sorry to say that the MCU Eternals film didn’t work for me.
Part of it was my own expectations. As originally conceived, a kind of mash-up of creation myths, Clarke & Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, Erich von Däniken’s “Chariot of the Gods,” and Lee & Kirby’s “Mighty Thor,” the title was clearly intended to invoke a sense of mystery, discovery, grandeur and awe. None of that was present for me.
More critically, part of it was how the writers and director tried to introduce so many characters, and jam so much story into one film. Too many major characters felt sketched in, and inadequately developed, motivations and reasons quickly stated (as opposed to shown over time) and came and went too quickly (particularly the two who died in the telling of the story). <span style=”font-family: inherit;”>This aspect of the film disappointed me, as one of the hallmarks of the MCU is their willingness to take their time to introduce and develop characters over the course of several films, so the choices they make and the actions they take, in the heat of the moment, feel earned and satisfy (or cleverly defy) audience expectations.
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It could’ve worked. What should’ve been the climax, the decision by one group of characters to fulfill their original mission, and another not too, and the conflict that ensued between members of what is essentially an extended family, might have worked better as the last chapter of three films. <span style=”font-family: inherit;”>For example, previous chapters could’ve been devoted to following say, Sersi and Dane Whitman around as they try to solve a mystery (say the disappearance of Ajax), face and overcome smaller challenges/conflicts, while meeting different subsets of Eternals along the way. Here, Sersi would’ve played “guide” and Dane Whitman our human “point of view” character, with us (the audience) discovering the Eternals, and more of their story, as the road trip progressed. (This is similar to the role Ikaris played in the original series, gradually revealing his ‘world view” (and introducing his fellow Eternals) to archeologist Daniel Damian and his daughter Margo.). </span><span style=”font-family: inherit;”>A good model for this kind of “road trip of discovery” story (one that would’ve been in keeping with Chloé Zhao’s indie movie style of storytelling) might’ve been “Brief Lives,” one of Neil Gaimen’s story arcs in the DC Vertigo “Sandman” title (another tale of a Pantheon/Family of gods); the one where Delight/Delirium impels Dream to accompany her on a road trip to find out what happened to their brother Destruction (meeting various fallen gods along the way).
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I have to admit that the rushed storytelling in the MCU “Eternals” worries me. I really hope we don’t see this kind of rushed introduction to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, when they are introduced into the MCU.
