As a Marvel fanatic, I was heavily excited to watch the new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eternals. The Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao managed to capture my interest but some found the 157-minute timeline to be unnecessarily long. Despite the current 47% critics average on Rotten Tomatoes, the majority of viewers seemed to enjoy it. There is no denying that the Eternals are incredibly intriguing, as they are new, fascinating, and imaginative beings.

Eternals has been recently acclaimed for bringing new factors of diversity to the MCU. The Marvel films have launched their first deaf character in this picture, Makkari. She is presented by Lauren Ridloff, who is deaf in real life as well. Makkari is able to not only run fast but think fast as well. The super-speeder is heavily aware of her surroundings and can sense the vibrations of sound and movement. Kingo, represented by Kumail Nanjiani is the first South-Asian superhero to be added to the franchise. He can harness the power of cosmic energy as his weapon. Before the Eternals reunited, Kingo lived his life as a Bollywood star, which led to the incorporation of a dance sequence. The renowned Salma Hayek performs as Ajak in this drama, who was originally a caucasian man in the comics. In the MCU, Ajak is the first Mexican superhero and is practically the leader of the Eternals, as she is the one they all look up to. She has the capacity to heal herself and others. Lastly, the character Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry is the first openly gay superhero in the films. He is shown to reside with his husband and son in the timeframe where the Eternals were separated. Phastos’ power is creating inventions with ease. He can quickly identify the mechanics to make life-altering devices. Although the new inclusivity is heavily appreciated, it is certainly long overdue given the longevity of the franchise.

One thing that is commonly agreed upon is the lacking character arcs. There was only so much the writers could do when they had the burden of introducing ten new heroes. The other characters that were unmentioned in the previous paragraph are, Sersi, Ikaris, Druig, Gilgamesh, Thena, and Sprite. Sersi, acted by Gemma Chan is the main character of the feature. Her ability was explained as controlling molecular structures, such as matter. She is often underestimated, and thought of as boring in terms of personality, but is truly one of the most powerful Eternals. Richard Madden plays Ikaris, who is able to fly, and shoot lasers from his eyes. Even though he is fast, he’s certainly not as fast as Makkari. He is often thought of as the strongest, and most intimidating character, but in a sense, he is overestimated. Druig can control minds, which gives him elevated ethical weight. Even though he is shown to use his power for good, not caring if it goes against his mission, he does use it to his advantage as well. Druig is played by Barry Keoghan and can be seen as a confident, and bold character. Gilgamesh is probably the most durable character in the movie, as he is seen to be brawny and able to pick greatly heavy things up effortlessly. Don Lee portrays Gilgamesh to have a big heart for his fellow Eternals, especially Thena. Lee’s character was underrepresented within the long timeframe, and there could have especially been scenes dedicated to furthering his character instead of others. These specific characters could have had more added in terms of personality, or even zoom in on the limits of their powers instead of leaving most up to interpretation.

Thena is played by the famed Angelina Jolie. She is known as the greatest fighter and is able to conjure weapons out of cosmic energy. The warrior most commonly creates spears, daggers, and swords as her go-to weapons. Thena was given a feminine touch, showing how not all fighters have to be necessarily masculine. In addition to Thena embracing femininity, it could be thought that she brought light to mental health. In the movie, she is thought to be riddled with a memory condition. It could be compared to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as the burden of her memories as a fighter overwhelms her, which leads to her often forgetting who she is, who she is with, and her surroundings.
Sprite might as well be the hero with the most substantial character development as she often feels insecure about her appearance. Eternals are immortal and unable to age. Sprite was introduced as a young teen and has appeared that way for thousands of years. She is depicted by Lia McHugh and has the skill to create illusions, which allows her to pretend to age for periods of time. Her jealousy of other characters adds to her persona as she has felt overridden with insecurity for thousands of years.

The picture was certainly long but seems to have subtle connections with the other movies in the franchise. Eternals is filled with many twists and turns that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat. Don’t be discouraged by criticism, it is still a captivating origin story that is packed with action, drama, love, and magic. Allow yourself to form your own opinion on this movie, and watch it when you can.