Eternals

The fact that it took 13 years and 26 movies for a an entry in the MCU to have a Rotten Tomatoes score lower than a fresh 60% just shows how the Marvel Cinematic Universe is such a strong, but still flawed, franchise. Being the first film to have that, with a low 47 percent score, Eternals has issues but it's not without strengths. Centering on the title characters, a team of synthetic immortal beings each with their unique abilities, who are tasked by the ancient and powerful Celestials to protect the people of Earth from the demonic and animalistic Deviants. The Eternals spend thousands of years protecting humans throughout many lands, often influencing history and the civilizations they meet along the way, while also some in the team growing closer to one another. Hundreds of years after believing to kill the last Deviants and the Eternals splitting up, a new batch of them appear and once the Eternals reform they soon learn of a dark secret tied to their origins and the Celestials. In my opinion this is not the weakest entry in the MCU, I still see Thor: The Dark World as that, but I can understand the reasons why this has such a low score. Being over two and a half hours, this movie has a lot to unpack with a big cast and a lot of exposition to explain what's going on. Chloe Zhao, who directed and cowrote, is remarkable at keeping it all together despite either being too short for all of the exposition and information or too short for not keeping things consistently focused. There's a lot you learn throughout this film that often times feels like it should have been done as a show on Disney+. Especially with how many flashbacks there are to look at the team's past adventures and their relationship, which at times proves it could have been told linearly. What makes Zhao such a unique director for this franchise is the much slower pacing, a much more indie like camera work, dealing with darker themes, often focusing on the love life of the characters, and shooting in many real locations rather than in a studio. There's also the brisk and astounding cinematography from MCU regular Ben Davis that gives it a more unique look compared to the past entries. Zhao being inspired much by Zack Snyder's work, especially Man of Steel, you can really see that influence. Unlike the previous MCU movies, Ramin Djawadi's work on the score is more ethereal and doesn't go for a bombastic style. The cast in this are all strong, with the biggest standouts being Gemma Chan, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, and Brian Tyree Henry. Though huge praise for casting certain diverse actors you wouldn't expect in a big studio film like Salma Hayek, a Hispanic actress in her 50s, and Ridloff who's deaf. Despite how great each actor is, having ten members of this team also means that not all of them will go through a lot of development. There's also the very typical MCU over editing in the action scenes, the rather weak villain with the Deviants' evolutionary abilities, and overuse of comedy that clashes with the darker tone it's trying to get through. But you do get really strong effects that often mix the actors with what's practical and computer generated when it comes to locations and objects. Eternals is by no means terrible and one of the MCU's most intriguing projects thanks to the direction, acting, and feel, but it's storytelling, sluggish pace, and uneven tone keeps it from reaching great heights. Over all: 96%

2021 top list so far:

1. In the Heights

2. No Time to Die

3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

4. The Green Knight

5. Candyman 2021

6. The Suicide Squad

7. Last Night in Soho

8. Dune 2021

9. Free Guy

10. Nobody

11. Black Widow

12. A Quiet Place Part II

13. Respect

14. Raya and the Last Dragon

15. Malignant

16. Eternals

17. Halloween Kills

18. Jungle Cruise

19. Cruella

20. Wrath of Man

21. F9

22. Venom: Let There Be Carnage

23. Snake Eyes

24. Old

25. Space Jam: A New Legacy