One of the movies out of Marvel Studios Phase Four that hit theaters this past year was Eternals. This is about one of the more relatively unknown set of Marvel heroes that are fairly immortal, and were sent to Earth over 5000 years ago. This is their story.
This movie took us back in MCU history, very much predating the Avengers. In 5000 BC, the Eternals - a race of superpowered beings from the cosmos sent by the Celestial Arishem to Earth to battle a race of evil beings called the Deviants. The group...led by Ajak (Salma Hayek), along with nine others: Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and Thena (Angelina Jolie), did just that, and also showed the people of Earth their extraordinary gifts. Ajak then told her compatriots to go and live among the humans, and experience life. And they did for the next 500 years...awaiting the time for Arishem to tell them that they could leave.
Skipping to modern times, Sersi is in England, dating a man who works for the Natural History Musem named Dane Whitman. Sprite has tagged along with Sersi , when a Deviant shows up in England and attacks. Ikaris returns to help chase off the Deviant Kro, and they decide to head to South Dakota to find Ajak, and inform her that the Deviants have returned, but once there, they find that she has been killed. Sersi is posthumously anointed the leader of the remaining Eternals by Ajak. She is then granted the power to communicate to Arishem, which she does, only to discover that their REAL job was to prepare Earth for the birth of a new Celestial....what Arishem refers to as "The Emergence". For millions of years, the Celestials have planted seeds all across the universe on plants with large populations, as the seeds fed off the energy of said population, and then The Emergence happens: a new Celestial is born. However, in the process, that planet ends up being destroyed. The Deviants were created and sent to each world to seek out the apex predators of the planet, and destroy them. But then the Deviants evolved, and started attacking the population, that's where the Eternals came in....to battle them, and preserve the population so that they'll be ready for The Emergence. With the Blip...Earth is now ready for the newest Celestial - Tiamut - to be born.
Sersi looks to delay the Emergence, and gathers her fellow Eternals, and they head into the Amazon forest, where they meet up with another Eternal, Druig, and there, they are attacked by the Deviants again. They are destroyed except for Kro, who kills Gilgamesh before feeling. Phastos proposes something called the "Uni-Mind", which unites all of the Eternals' powers in order for Druig to be able to put Tiamut to sleep. However, Ikaris reveals that Ajak told him of the Emergence centuries ago. Six days ago, she also suggested stopping The Emergence, but Ikaris, loyal to the Celestials' plan, betrayed Ajak, and pushed her off a cliff, where she was slain by the Deviants, and Ikaris plans on ensuring that the Emergence will go on as planned, and Sprite joins him, having had unrequited love for him for centuries. Kingo takes off, not wanting to stop the Emergence, but also won't fight his friends.
Makkari discovers that The Emergence will take place at an active volcano in the Indian Ocean and the team heads there in their ship, The Domo, to stop it from happening. Ikaris and Sprite attempt to stop their friends from stopping the inevitable, Thena slays Kro, while Ikaris breaks free of Phastos' restraints, and goes to kill Sersi, who is trying to help Druig put Tiamut to sleep, but they are unable to. But Ikaris cannot kill Sersi because of his love for her. He and Sprite then join the Uni-Mind, and turn Tiamut into marble, thus preventing The Emergence, and saving Earth. Ikaris, guilt stricken, leaves the Earth and flies into the Sun. Meanwhile, Sersi uses the leftover power from the Uni-Mind to turn Sprite into a normal human, thus ending her eternal youth-like state. Thena, Druig, and Makkari take off to find the other Eternals, and let them know about what the Celestials are doing, while Sprite joins Kingo, as she starts her life as a human. Sersi and Dane reunite, and later on at a stroll in the park, Dane is about to reveal a major secret about his family lineage, when Sersi is suddenly taken away by Arishem. He is displeased by their betrayal, but he tells Sersi, Kingo, and Phastos, whom he also brought to him, that he will spare humanity if the Eternals' memories can prove they are worth saving. He than takes them into a singularity, and they're gone. In the extra credits scene, Thena, Druig, and Makkari meet up with Eros---who is Thanos' brother---and his companion, Pip the Troll, and offers his help in finding their friends and the other Eternals.
Finally, we have Dane opening a case containing the Ebony Blade, and a mysterious voice off camera asks him if he's ready to use it.
This movie was good. Not on the level as some of the other MCU movies, but it was BEAUTIFULLY shot by Chloe Zhao. The cinematography was exquisite, and I really liked how the colors popped on screen. The action scenes weren't bad, and I thought they did a good job with the CGI in bringing about each Eternals' powers. It was a shame that we didn't get more of Selma Hayek as Ajak, and didn't realize HER part in this movie was going to be short, as the movie was really about pushing Gemma Chan's character, Sersi, to the forefront. Gemma's performance was great, and I liked HER character the most. I was also surprised at the subtle performance by Angelina Jolie, whom I mistakenly believed was the leader of The Eternals. But she had a tough role as Thena---who remembered things from the past (Eternals, when evolving, are supposed to have a memory reset), and it's caused a lot of mental breakdowns for her. But, Jolie can always deliver a tough role with confidence. Everyone else played their roles very well, and the story sets up a sequel with HUGE galactic proportions coming soon. It's a great way to introduce characters that not too many people have heard of. It's expanding the MCU across the cosmos moreso than the Avengers, and makes this Phase 4 VERY interesting down the road. I'm interested in seeing the OTHER Celestials, and I wonder...juuuuuust wonder...if we MIGHT get a Galactus appearance as well.
Kit Harrington's character holds major importance, as Dane Whitman's history will be revealed more...but for spoilers: He's related to Sir Arthur Pendragon...and the Black Blade is part of his lineage as well, as we're this much closer to adding a new hero to the mythos: Black Knight. As for the character talking to him OFF screen---there's been many rumors...the biggest being Blade.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie, and it told a very solid story, and sets us up for what's coming in the future....especially now that Eros (also known as Starfox), and Pip the Troll, helping out the Eternals find their friends. I admit, Harry Styles nailed the personality of Eros, and he looked great.
What about YOU all? What did YOU think of The Eternals? Was it a "yay" or "nay" for you? Feel free to express yourselves by subscribing to the page, and posting a comment below.
Until next time....
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