The Eternals (2021) Review

Title: The Eternals
Year: 2021

Director: Chloe Zhao
Country: US
Language: English

When I saw the North American premiere of Chloe Zhao's Nomadland at Toronto International Film Festival 2020 I knew we had a new masterful filmmaker in the world of cinema. I told everybody I came across that Nomadland would win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and many months later my prediction came true.  She was so impressive that Disney decided to hire her for their epic film The Eternals. This was an outstanding feature as well. 

An unexpected tragedy forces the Eternals, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

In terns of representation, The Eternals delivers. Chloe Zhao made a film that represents women, poc & disabled people in a way that isn't demeaning or preachy. MCU has had trouble in the past with this;  the recent Shang Chi had an oddly racist joke about how bad Asian women drivers are perceived to be. I specifically loved the deaf character, Makkari (Lauden Ridloff), as her disability isn't made a plot point or "weakness" or "strength" (like Forrest Gump) or tie into her character at all, it's just part of her. I also love that the other characters adjust to her & she isn't made to compensate for them. This is refreshing to see in a big budget movie. 

The story is epic in scope, complimented by a remarkable score by Ramin Djawadi. The cinematography is often breathtaking; Chloe Zhao's masterful eye for cinematography means we get to see beautiful on-location landscapes that are often full of lush forests & foreboding mountains. This is a welcome change compared to Marvel's typical CGI soundstages. The Eternals' pacing is far slower than the typical MCU flick & this not only allows for such a rich story to unfold, but also for the characters to breathe & develop, 

The Eternals is not well liked among critics and MCU fans at this moment, likely because its style, tone and pacing is very different from the typical superhero flick. I see things differently & consider this to be the best Marvel picture I've seen so far. I absolutely love the director and I hope to see more of her films in the future.