Eternals (2021)

[Bruinsfan]

Apparently wokeness and diversity send ripples backwards in time to elderly mothers' basements where the ComicsGate guys can pick up on what will happen in the future and tell us all about it.

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I love how this.movie isn't out yet and it's Already Marvels First Rotten movie and biggest BO loss...I swear I keep seeing these videos on YouTube and then have to check I haven't missed the premiere

I can guess which channels are making those videos. It’s so ridiculous that when a movie like Shang-Chi gets amazing reviews they won’t shut up about how critics are bought off and completely unreliable but when Eternals gets a more negative reaction the critics are suddenly completely right. 

[tv echo]

Marvel's 'Eternals': Secrets from the set of ambitious MCU blockbuster
'Mark Daniell    Oct 31, 2021
https://torontosun.com/entertainment/movies/marvels-eternals-secrets-from-the-set-of-ambitious-mcu-blockbuster 

Quote

.... But during a visit to the film’s U.K. set in early 2020, producer Nate Moore promised it will be a completely new experience for moviegoers.

“It’s our most ambitious first film,” says Moore, whose credits include Captain America: The Winter Soldier , Captain America: Civil War , Black Panther and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier . Until the pandemic upended Marvel’s theatrical release schedule, Eternals was positioned to be the first new superhero film post Avengers: Endgame .

“Because of that we wanted to take a big swing,” he says. “We wanted to take some chances and give audiences something that feels completely new.”
*  *  *

Spoiler

“There’s a past storyline and the present storyline … Like Godfather 2 ,” Moore explains.
*  *  *
“We’ve made 25 movies now at Marvel, but this is the first movie that’s really built around a romance,” he says. “This, if we can do it right, is an epic romance.”
*  *  *
“It’s a big, cosmic, crazy movie set on Earth over 7,000 years,” Moore says.

*  *  *
As far as Marvel is concerned, Thena is the “best warrior in the galaxy.” Still, with its ensemble cast, Angelina Jolie thought her appearance was just a bit part.
*  *  *
“She was sort of surprised at the size of the role,” Moore says. But the Oscar winner threw herself into the character when she realized it was something bigger.
*  *  *
“She created a movement style and fighting style that was unique.”
*  *  *

Spoiler

In the comics, Dane Whitman becomes a hero known as the Black Knight. We won’t see Harington suit up as the character in Eternals , but Moore says there could be big things ahead for Kit Harington in the MCU. “He’s not going to be Black Knight necessarily, but that is something that we get to play with down the road.”

*  *  *
After Marvel’s Infinity Saga built out an 11-year storyline that spanned 23 films and concluded with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame , Moore says the studio is taking a step back. Eternals will be the biggest Phase 4 movie to date, but it is meant to stand on its own. “I think the Infinity Stones fell into our lap and really helped connect things in ways that felt unexpected and earned,” he says. “If you just watch Eternals , you can enjoy Eternals , you can understand Eternals and you’re good to go.”
*  *  *
One of the funnest parts of watching the Marvel movies is to try and uncover hidden threads that might point to something bigger later on. But, outside of possible post-credits scenes, Moore says Eternals won’t offer any hints to the future. “We felt like there was enough story that it could be a contained universe,” he says. “We definitely have ideas of how things can cross over later. But this movie with 10 characters and Dane Whitman and the Celestials and the Deviants, there was enough for us to play with.”
*  *  *
With Marvel’s original heroes for the most part all getting a trilogy of films, Moore says Eternals 2 and 3 aren’t guaranteed. “It’s not something that is a must-have. Obviously, we have ideas of where we could go, but there isn’t a hard and fast rule where we have to have three of these things and this is the first.”

Kit Harington On ‘Eternals’ And Why He Swears The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Coffee Cup Wasn’t His Fault
MIKE RYAN TWITTER    OCTOBER 27, 2021
https://uproxx.com/movies/kit-harington-interview-eternals-game-of-thrones-coffee-cup/ 

Quote

Spoiler

Interesting. Because I feel like with TV interviews are, “We want to know what happens later on in the season,” as opposed to Eternals, which I’ve seen, and I too don’t want to spoil it for people reading this. So I feel that’s a difference?
Yeah. True. But I think within this, there’s an expectation that there’s going to be further movies, and further things down the line for all the characters. So you just have to stay in the present with the movie you’re in, I guess.

*  *  *
Now with Dane Whitman, in this movie you’re playing kind of a nice and normal fellow, as opposed to all these people with superpowers. For now, that has to be appealing?
It was. With a movie like this, you’re not given the script necessarily before you come in. You’re told various pieces of information. And enough to get you excited about the character that you’re playing, and potentials surrounding that character. But I didn’t really know before seeing the script what kind of a person he was. Now, it was nice playing someone who represented humanity. He was just a nice guy. He was pretty chill. And he sort of just rolled along with everything that was happening, because I feel it sets him in an interesting place, if that makes sense.

So how does this work? Does Marvel come to you? Do you go to Marvel? Who expresses the first interest?
I had a chat with Kevin Feige a year before. Nate Moore, the producer, called me. Not about Eternals, just generally about their new phase four, and would I be interested if the right thing came along? And, obviously, I said I was because I’m a big MCU fan. And I had a meeting with Chloe, and I asked some questions about who this character is, and what plans they might have for him, et cetera. And based on that information, I was like, yeah, I’d love to come on board. You know what I mean? Look at the cast! It’s a pretty incredible cast of characters.
*  *  *

Spoiler

So, Dane Whitman. People probably know who he becomes and who he is a little bit, but not as much as other characters. I feel like that’s got to be nice in a way? Where you can kind of do what you want?
It definitely felt, on me – and I’m feeling it even during the press for it, and being around the other guys – the pressure is not on me in this movie. And that’s nice. I got to have a bit of freedom with this character that could do pretty much what I wanted with. And I spoke to Chloe and she’s like, “Just play it very close to you.” And you look at my character breakdown on the information given out about this, it’s a “human who works at the natural history museum.” There’s not much to go on.

*  *  *
I was going to say there’s probably not going to be anyone who’s like, “This isn’t my Dane Whitman.” But there will be one person. There will be one person who makes it their mission in life to say you’re not their Dane Whitman.
I promise you there will be more than one person.

Rumble | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Oct 31, 2021

Phastos | Marvel 101
Marvel Entertainment   Oct 31, 2021

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by tv echo

[Morrigan2575]

8 hours ago, Dani said:

I can guess which channels are making those videos. It’s so ridiculous that when a movie like Shang-Chi gets amazing reviews they won’t shut up about how critics are bought off and completely unreliable but when Eternals gets a more negative reaction the critics are suddenly completely right. 

Yep and YouTube thinks I need to see them. 😂

It's just so funny because it's obvious they're building a narative. Same as they did with Shang-Chi and Masters of the Universe. 🙄

[Enigma X]

I have said for awhile that many people are biased against this movie and rooting for it to fail before even seeing it because of the actors in it. I am already expecting it to get panned no matter what.

I still remain excited for it.

[shrewd.buddha]

I am taking a wait and see approach to this one.  I am holding off on buying advance tickets and waiting for reviews from individuals who tend to appreciate the same things in movies that I tend do.

However, I have noticed that Marvel is really over-selling this one, to a degree that seems like they are trying to counter-act some negative feedback from advance previews. There seem to be lots of 'official' youtube clips, introducing and explaining who the Eternal characters are.  I don't remember anything like that with movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy -- another movie with all 'unknown' characters. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by shrewd.buddha

[tv echo]

Thena | Marvel 101
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 1, 2021

Vibe | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 1, 2021

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by tv echo

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Wow, and Shang -Chi did so fantastic at the box office?  Anybody have exact figures on how much? I've seen that it took awhile to break even ,but has made some profit, not sure how much though.  Tough to sell the wokeness and diversity in some overseas markets possibly. 

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Yep and YouTube thinks I need to see them. 😂

It's just so funny because it's obvious they're building a narative. Same as they did with Shang-Chi and Masters of the Universe. 🙄

Yep and it doesn’t even matter how good the film is or how well it performs. The narrative has zero basis in reality. 

 

11 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

However, I have noticed that Marvel is really over-selling this one, to a degree that seems like they are trying to counter-act some negative feedback from advance previews. There seem to be lots of 'official' youtube clips, introducing and explaining who the Eternal characters are.  I don't remember anything like that with movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy -- another movie with all 'unknown' characters. 

The marketing blitz for Guardians was insane. The official YouTube playlist has nearly 40 clips from before the movie was released. Each Guardian got an intro clip. I have noticed any substantial difference in Eternals marketing. Black Widow was also very heavily promoted. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Guest

[Gharlane]

"Eternals" Signals The End Of Marvel As We Knew It

[JustHereForFood]

I still don't understand how anyone makes predictions like this before the official premiere. It looks to me (this is just a personal opinion) that some of these critics want to sound oh so daring and original that they predicted the end of Marvel before anyone else did. Good job, boys, you are so brave in making these daring predicions!

[Morrigan2575]

59 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

I still don't understand how anyone makes predictions like this before the official premiere. It looks to me (this is just a personal opinion) that some of these critics want to sound oh so daring and original that they predicted the end of Marvel before anyone else did. Good job, boys, you are so brave in making these daring predicions!

Well for YouTube, it's Marvel's Woke Agenda that is destroying the film because they turned Ajax into a woman and had a gay character....the nerve! 🤷🏼

[Sakura12]

Are these the same people that predicted that Captain Marvel would be Marvel's first box office bomb? We know how that turned out. 

I'm not reading any reviews until after I watch the movie. This will be the 3rd movie I went to the theater for. The others also being Disney properties. Lol Shang-Chi and Free Guy. 

[Shannon L.]

7 hours ago, Gharlane said:

"Eternals" Signals The End Of Marvel As We Knew It

Oh, come on.  Hyperbole much?  The next few to come out are Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Thor, and Black Panther.  I'm sure those will be following the typical Marvel formula.  I can't imagine Ant-Man and Guardians will veer too far away from it, either.  Maybe The Marvels, but if that script isn't written yet, and the "new kind of Marvel movie" we see in the Eternals is a flop, they have time to revert back to the original style as will all future ones. 

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

Are these the same people that predicted that Captain Marvel would be Marvel's first box office bomb? We know how that turned out. 

Yep and the same people who still insist that CM was a flop. Disney bought all the tickets or it only did that well because it was between Infinity War and Endgame or a multitude of other ridiculous conspiracy theories. It was almost funny to watch the goalposts being continuously moved until they were floating around in outer space. I actually read one particularly bad site try and argue that $1B is now too low to be considered successful. 

54 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

I'm not reading any reviews until after I watch the movie. This will be the 3rd movie I went to the theater for. The others also being Disney properties. Lol Shang-Chi and Free Guy. 

Same. 

[Morrigan2575]

I'm avoiding reviews and, I muted words on Eternals. I want to be surprised. This will probably be the first movie I've seen in theaters since 2019. I have Monday off (burning up PTO) so I figure I'll go to the first showing, might be the only person in the theater 😁 

Nevermind, the world has changed. 1 showing per day in each theater...weird

Edited November 2, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Any idea when Captain Marvel 2 is coming out?

[Raja]

4 minutes ago, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

Any idea when Captain Marvel 2 is coming out?

17 February 2023 is the current release date, and it is pushing back Ant-Man 3.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Raja

[tv echo]

“Bollywood” Official Clip | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 2, 2021

Eternal Stare Off | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 2, 2021

Kingo | Marvel 101
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 2, 2021

Marvel Trivia: True or False | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 2, 2021

Bells | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 2, 2021

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by tv echo

[Anduin]

Just got back! Don't believe the negativity. I would put it in the middle of the pack. Yeah, it's wonky. But I liked it. Go in with an open mind.

OTOH, I know I don't always agree with the majority. I hated Ant-Man never saw Thor 3, and found both Captain Marvel and Shang-Chi fine but not stellar. Either way, it's up to you.

[tv echo]

Beginnings | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 3, 2021

Deviants | Marvel 101
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 3, 2021

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by tv echo

[TiffanyNichelle]

I just got out of the movie and I have so many thoughts. Overall I liked it. There was so weaknesses and times where I wanted them to just get on with it and stop just standing around staring. 

First off my biggest issue was

Spoiler

The leaking of the Eros/Starfox cameo. It would have been so cool if that hadn't been a headline for the past two weeks. At least I didn't know about Pip so that was nice surprise.

Ok other than that my real issue was Sersi. Now I wasn't expecting this to be comics!Sersi but 

Spoiler

man, she was kind of dull? I was going to say her and all the women were muted but it felt like all the characters minus Kingo were a little less exciting than they could be. But I wanted a little more life out of Sersi. Gemma Chan is a beautiful woman but it seemed like she just stood around a lot being beautiful or getting knocked around until the last second when she gets to pull it together and be amazing. Also she and Richard Madden are gorgeous together.

Angelina Jolie's Thena was treated like Thor in the Avengers or Superman in the Justice League. This character is too powerful and would end things very quickly so they get sidelined for most of the movie until they get to kick ass at the end. I just wish they hadn't gone with a "lady with a broken mind" for her. I guess she's cured at the end?

I would have liked a lot more of Makkari and that whole thing with Druig. And good for him not being the villain of the movie since he tends to play that role in the comics.

I wish Ikaris didn't kill himself at the end. It felt like a bit too much and frankly I just wanted to keep Richard Madden lol. 

The other post credit scene with Dane finally laying hands on the Ebony Blade, that was Jeffrey Wright as the Watcher speaking to him right? I'm very excited about what might be happening there. 

Even with all that I still enjoyed this a lot. More laughs than I expected and most of the action scenes were cool. I had a pretty good crowd that was into it which was nice. 

[tv echo]

Meet The Eternals | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 4, 2021

Fresh | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 4, 2021

Celestials | Marvel 101
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 4, 2021

 

[TiffanyNichelle]

So to answer one of my questions regarding the post credit scene

Spoiler

about if it was Jeffrey Wright's voice. Nope it was Mahershala Ali! The guy next to me thought it was at first but then someone in theater yelled it was the Watcher and everyone started agreeing. Guess we should have stuck with the first choice lol. 

Also forgot to mention something I liked 

Spoiler

Even though Gemma and Richard didn't have real chemistry to me I was happy for (and shocked by) the full on love scene. These are adults who together for thousands of years. They got it on. 

 

[AnimeMania]

Eternals, Marvel Studios has released the first-of-its-kind Augmented Reality (AR) story experience. Now, fans can step into the film with Marvel Studios’ Eternals: AR Story Experience for an epic immersive adventure. 

The free iOS-exclusive mobile app is now available globally, in 13 languages, in the App Store. 

The app makes use of the latest technologies to deliver state-of-the-art storytelling. The Marvel team used volumetric capture to record actress Lia McHugh’s performance from over 100 camera angles in creating a 3D representation of her character, Sprite. Brand new processes were also developed to display film-caliber VFX on mobile devices, in real-time. 

Learn more about the AR experience at the Marvel Studios’ website.

Download the iOS-exclusive mobile app from the App store here.

[Jazzy24]

I loved this a lot. Yes it had problems and I understand the criticism but there was more than good here. 

The good.

1. I really liked these characters. They seemed epic, real, tragic, funny and fun. 
2. the visuals were so good. It’s the most beautiful Marvel movie. 
3. Richard Madden is my favorite so was Ikaris. I hope he is explored more in the coming movies. 
4. The fight scenes were great. 
5. Phastos’ family was really cute

6. Thena/Angelina was another stand out for me. 
 

The bad. 

1. I can totally understand the complaints that the characters were passive and didn’t do much till the end  

2. there were a lot of characters in here and some were very much underused. 
 

3  the story was all over the place. I’ve seen someway that this should have been a Disney plus series and I agree. These characters did not have enough time to do there history and arc justice. 
 

I have more I will talk about later but this was a good solid movie  

 

[TiffanyNichelle]

28 minutes ago, Jazzy24 said:

2. there were a lot of characters in here and some were very much underused. 

I definitely agree with that. There should have been more of 

Spoiler

Makkari, imo. And Kingo should have returned for that finale battle, as cheesy as it would have been. And his valet should have had a moment where he argued on behalf of humanity or at least spoke up about how fucked up that his world was to be destroyed so some maybe far off universe that wasn't garuanteed to be better than this. 

 

[magdalene]

I have a question about Ikaris, he was my favorite and 

Spoiler

I was very sad he died. Does he die in the comics and is he brought back in the comics?  I want to see more of him, dammit.

 

[Anduin]

31 minutes ago, magdalene said:

I have a question about Ikaris, he was my favorite and 

  Hide contents

I was very sad he died. Does he die in the comics and is he brought back in the comics?  I want to see more of him, dammit.

 

Are we sure he died? I vaguely recall a Superman comic where he spends a thousand years in the heart of the sun. Yeah, Ikaris may not be solar powered, but he might still be alive.

[calliope1975]

I enjoyed it. I connected with the characters and rolled with it. I'm sure it helped that I am familiar with and like all the actors except for the actress who played Sprite and she held her own.

Not gonna lie, I could stare at Angelina and Gemma for hours like a creeper, and I'm glad Richard spoke in his actual voice. 

I think the biggest criticism I agree with is there's not enough time for so many characters. Give me an entire story of Makkari and Druig flirting it up. 

And it made me feel so full at the beginning to see actors from Pakistan and Korea, and a Deaf actress be heroes with super powers. It really does mean something and I want more diversity until it's commonplace and the norm. 

Also, I know people clowned on Feige for the sunset comment but there really were some gorgeous shots. 

Edited November 6, 2021 by calliope1975

[scarynikki12]

Just got home. I liked it. 

Right off the top I enjoyed our Stark family reunion but it was too brief. Someone send Madden and Kit a script for an indie movie about two brothers hanging out so we/I can enjoy them on screen together for a significant amount of time.

Love me some Sersi. Gemma shone in every moment and I'm glad that they had the good sense to cast her again after Captain Marvel.

I liked all the characters actually which is a relief because I wasn't familiar with any of them before the movie was announced so there was a chance one or more wouldn't work for me. 

Aside from Sersi I ended up liking Phastos, Druig, and Makkari the most.

Spoiler

I'm glad Druig didn't turn out to be evil like so many speculated.

I thought that

Spoiler

Ikaris turning bad made sense from what we saw and Madden sold the hell out of it and his inability to kill Sersi despite being a true believer. Even though I've enjoyed Loki I'm glad they went with Ikaris flying into the sun and his death at the end. For what he did and where he found himself it wouldn't have made sense for him to stick around. We saw that he felt some measure of regret and wasn't able to kill Sersi so that's enough. I don't expect to see Madden again unless it's due Ikaris showing up as mind manipulation or something but if they wanted to keep him around just have another clone/robot/cylon get activated and start fresh.

I also enjoyed the two credit scenes and I look forward to the next part of the story.

[scarynikki12]

16 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

Spoiler

Nope it was Mahershala Ali!

 

Spoiler

THAT WAS BLADE!?!?!? Oh hell YES!

 

[tv echo]

‘Eternals’ Seeing $70M+ Opening Weekend After $30M Projected Friday – Midday Box Office Update
By Anthony D'Alessandro    November 5, 2021 
https://deadline.com/2021/11/eternals-opening-weekend-box-office-1234868870/ 

Quote

UPDATED, Friday midday: Disney’s Eternals is heading toward a $30 million Friday, including those $9.5M previews from last night. Given that Friday is typically around 40% of the weekend, this will put the Chloé Zhao-directed movie in the $70M-$75M range from what we’ve figured. Again, this could fluctuate up or down by Saturday morning.
*  *  *
Also factor in that for a deeper-universe piece of Marvel IP, this is a really long movie. It’s one thing to have a finale like Avengers: Endgame at 3 hours and 1 minute, but something new? At 2 hours and 37 minutes, Eternals is longer than Black Panther (2:14), Captain Marvel (2:03) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2:01), and even previous November MCU titles Thor Ragnarok (2:10), Doctor Strange (1:55) and Thor: The Dark World (1:52). Longer running times means fewer rotations in auditoriums, and during a lingering pandemic, a short movie length is a key to B.O. success.

‘Eternals’ Rises To $20M Across Two Days Overseas, Outpacing ‘Shang-Chi’ & ‘Black Widow’ – International Box Office
By Nancy Tartaglione  November 5, 2021
https://deadline.com/2021/11/eternals-opening-weekend-international-box-office-disney-marvel-1234867961/ 

Quote

FRIDAY UPDATE: After beginning overseas rollout on Wednesday (see below), Disney/Marvel’s Eternals moved into a further 25 markets on Thursday and lifted its cume to $19.8M in 39 total. The first two days of play put the Chloé Zhao-directed super-gods pic at an estimated 117% above Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings and 19% above Black Widow on a like-for-like basis.

'Asked & Answered with the Women of Marvel': Chloé Zhao
BY MACKENZIE CADENHEAD    November 5, 2021
https://www.marvel.com/articles/culture-lifestyle/asked-answered-women-of-marvel-chloe-zhao

Quote

Best thing about being a Woman of Marvel?
Chloé Zhao: Amazing. I'm just happy I came in as a storyteller. But as a fan? Just to be a part of this family's incredible. And Victoria [Alonso] held my hands through so much. She's like my Ajak. We were all set in post-production. I love the team so much. It's like they really, really carry me through. And they give me so much. And they taught me so much.

Angelina Jolie: It's the first I've thought about that. I'm so used to the Eternal women. That's just a really fun thought. When we were all first in the same room [at San Diego Comic-Con], we came out as the Eternals and we felt like the new unusual group. Then we met everybody else [in the Marvel Cinematic Universe] who had known each other for a decade. But of course, I'm honored and I've loved the work that all of those women have been doing all these years. So that's really fun to think about.

Lia McHugh: It's really cool. Wearing that super suit and being on set doing —  I mean, I did a stunt but it was still really cool for me. It was a lot of hard work; I definitely had a lot to live up to on set. I feel like I personally pushed myself because I'm with Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek and Gemma Chan and Lauren Ridloff. It was a little overwhelming but I tried my best to step up and live up to the expectation of a super hero.

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by tv echo

[AimingforYoko]

Pros: The visuals were awesome, you could see the Zhao touches there. The acting was...okay. Gemma Chan, Khalil Nanjiani, Lia McHugh and my MVP, Harish Patel as Kingo's valet, were great. Madden and Jolie were ehhhhh. The story was passable.

Cons: Pacing was off. Could've been a half-hour shorter. 

Dialogue was Star Wars level. That's not a compliment.

As for the post-credit cameos, I didn't think the two non-Eternals characters they would introduce into the MCU would be Starfox and Blade.

[Enigma X]

I saw it and love it. Falls into the middle for me and that is not a bad thing.

[Guest]

I loved it. I agree with a lot of the criticism but in the moment I didn’t care and was just enjoying the ride. All the characters worked really well even if they didn’t have enough to do. The actors really made the most of what they were given. I’ve never quite understood the Angelina Jolie hype but thought she was amazing as Thena.

I loved the relationships between each of the characters and how you got a sense of the smaller group dynamics within the larger group. Whoever is responsible for that aspect needs to have a hand in the next Avengers movie. 

The pacing didn’t both me much and I appreciate the way the movie moved with the character beats along the way. I do thing the pacing will hurt it more on rewatch.

Someone needs to tell DC that is how you do a heroes fight Superman scene. And a Flash fight scene. I just loved the way Makkari fought. 

[calliope1975]

Makkari wailing on Ikaris was one of my favorite scenes. The way her speed was shown and the power in her hits was well done. 

Kingo bailing on the final fight was such a great breaking of the trope. I was reading on Reddit that it's a great character moment because he said he agrees with Ikaris but loves his family and won't fight against them, and then he kept his word. There was some interesting discussion on Reddit about how this family had different personalities, and while they differed, they'd been through so much over the thousands of years, they could forgive Sprite for being stabby and Kingo for dipping out. I also truly believed Ikaris just couldn't kill Sersi. While the romance between the two could have been better or had more chemistry, Madden sold that moment. 

As I think about the movie, I'm seeing more flaws but at the same time, I'm also finding more moments I liked. 

[thuganomics85]

Oh, yeah, it's the MCU's first "rotten" movie time!

Maybe my expectations were tempered by all of the press/controversy/reviews/etc. or I really am just a big Marvel fanboy, but I thought this was way better than what it been being made to be right now.  Definitely not perfect and a lot of the criticism is fair, but it really did feel like it was at least trying to take risks and make something of itself, which at least makes it an interesting watch.  Despite the long running time, I honestly never really got bored and was always curious to see where the story went next.

My biggest issue ended up being what I suspected it would be: with them basically introducing so many new characters at the same time, a lot of them just felt underdeveloped or weren't given a moment to really live up to their potential (which, it turn, made it feel like it's talented actors were wasted.)  I understand that Sersi and Ikaris were basically the de facto leads, but I found myself wanting to spend way more time with the likes of Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, and Makkari.  Hell, part of me wishes we just had scenes of what Gilgamesh and Thena were up to during the big gap.  I found their relationship way more interesting then the "epic" love story between Sersi and Ikaris.  Gemma Chan and Richard Madden might be some of the most beautiful people in the business (and judging from press interviews, seem to have a fun real-life rapport), but they seem to be living proof that it doesn't mean they can generate chemistry on screen, sadly.

As for the actual story itself, it was kind of both predictable but surprising at the same time.  I figured early on that at least one Eternal was going to get killed off midway to raise the stakes and so forth, but I figured it was going to be Thena since I didn't see Angelina Jolie wanting to stick around long term, so I was surprised when it was Gilgamesh instead, which bummed me out since I liked him.  I also knew that at least one of them was going to betray everyone, but I fell for the obvious trap of suspecting Druig; likely due to Barry Keoghan just having the look that screams "I'm a bad guy!" (I say that with respect, of course!); and didn't see it actually being Ikaris.  But I liked that the final confrontation had some shades of grey, as Ikaris wasn't just flat-out evil, but truly believed that destroying one planet to create numerous others was a justified sacrifice.  I liked how it even had a lot of the team debating it and not everyone was fully on board or picked a side, like Kingo agreeing with Ikaris but not fighting because he still didn't want to hurt his friends.  I think my favorite comparison I read online was that it was basically an intergalactic version of the Trolley Problem.

I know all the hype about filming on location might have been overblown, but I did think it gave the film a unique look.  Chloe Zhao's style might not be for everyone (Nomadland ended up being quite diverse as well), but I think it's a unique one.  And even when she went down some of the typical Marvel paths, I liked how they played out.  I agree that the Makkari vs. Ikaris scene was a highlight.

Acting wise, I thought it was mainly fine, if not the franchise's best.  Gemma Chan and Richard Madden did what they could, but they still couldn't quite make their characters interesting enough for me.  They've been much better in previous work (hell, Madden left more of an impression in 1917, despite barely being in there for a minute.)  Angelina Jolie did her thing and was better than some of her previous recent work at least.  Salma Hayek seemed to be in paycheck mode though. 

The supporting cast fared better, I thought.  Obviously Kumail Nanjiani brought some fun quips to the proceedings, but I thought he handle the serious scenes pretty well too (although I did find it funny after all the hype about him getting buff for the role, he never took his shirt off on camera, heh.)  Lia McHugh really made me feel for Sprite and her struggles, both Don Lee and Lauren Ridloff were extremely likable in their roles, and Brian Tyree Henry was his normal awesome self.  As for the non Eternals, Harish Patel almost stole the show as the world's best valet/cameraman/hype man.  The biggest surprise was Kit Harrington, who I'll admit is an actor with limited range, but was actually kind of... charming as Dane Whitman?  Enough that I'm curious to see more of his character going forward.

The ending just made me feel bad for all the normal people in the MCU, because they just had to be like "Well, this is just great!  We survived the Blip and everything, and now there's some kind of big ass alien just staring at us through the clouds!  Can we go through a day with out a universal threat, dammit?!"

Decent post credit scenes.  Not too familiar with Eros and am indifferent to Harry Styles, but I know he's a big deal, so I'm sure this going to lad to some big things.  As for Dane's scene, I didn't automatically place the voice, but, yeah, I'm pretty sure that was Mahershala Ali, so I'm guessing that's a tease for MCU's version of Blade to finally crash the party!

All in all, when the dust settles, I'm pretty sure this will probably end up in the mid-tier level of the MCU for me, but I'm fine with that, and don't think it's that big of a deal that it was imperfect.  Certainly doubt it's diverseness will spell doom for the MCU or the Eternals in general.  It's like some forgot that the first Thor and Captain America films got muted and somewhat underwhelming responses as well (especially compared to Iron Man), and it wasn't till the team-ups and sequels that they really took off as beloved characters (and, in Thor's case, arguably took all the way till Ragnarok for that to happen.)  So, even if it was critically slammed and might have a lower (but still good) box office performance, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of these character and their stories, now that all of the introductions and world-building is out of the way.

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by thuganomics85

[scarynikki12]

39 minutes ago, calliope1975 said:

Kingo bailing on the final fight was such a great breaking of the trope. I was reading on Reddit that it's a great character moment because he said he agrees with Ikaris but loves his family and won't fight against them, and then he kept his word.

It broke the trope and meant that we get to see Kumail again. Always a win.

Another thing I enjoyed about the movie was that they went ahead and made Sprite human so that Lia can stick around and age normally.

20 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

The biggest surprise was Kit Harrington, who I'll admit is an actor with limited range, but was actually kind of... charming as Dane Whitman?  Enough that I'm curious to see more of his character going forward.

Kit's grown a ton since season 1 of Game of Thrones but he also seems to do his best work when he's enjoying himself. I think this was the case with Eternals so I hope it continues with Blade or whatever project he's in next. We also know he can do a sword action scene really well so I expect they'll lean into that as much as possible no matter what he does with the rest of the material.

24 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

I think my favorite comparison I read online was that it was basically an intergalactic version of the Trolley Problem.

This is a great way to see the movie.

[Lantern7]

Saw it today. Middle of the pack MCU movie. I dunno . . . I know that the overall franchise needs time to get to the heights of, say, Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame. The problem isn't just that we're getting overwhelmed with new characters, most of whom might figure into the bigger movies It's that there's nothing to get hyped about.

I'm sorry . . . it's hard to put into words.

Can't wait for certain outlets to be outraged -- OUTRAGED! -- that the white guy of the group wound up opposing the others. Sadly, you can see where Ikaris was coming from, as well as the other Eternals. And also the main Deviant. Seriously, if the Earth is basically a giant eff-off egg, wouldn't you want to keep it from hatching, mostly because you grew to love humanity while on a mission that your boss lied to you about?

Good movie. I liked the Eternal power visuals. Hard to really get into adversaries as non-verbal as the Deviants or as huge as that Celestial. Would it be too damning with faint praise to say that the Eternals work way better than Inhumans in terms of bringing the cosmic to the MCU? The only one I really liked from that group was Lockjaw. He was a giant Bulldog that could teleport.

Man, I'm thinking Eros will be put through so many focus groups and test audiences. In the comics, he was a bit of a problem in retrospect . . . and not just because his other name (Starfox) has been taken. Surprised that was Patton Oswalt as Pip the Troll. I didn't think that was his voice. It's a long way from playing those brothers on Agents of SHIELD. I think those two were more for diehard geeks . . . and that what Dane was throughout the movie. I knew his canon deal, I know where he's going. Was that Cumberbatch offscreen at the very end? (looked through spoilers up-thread. Nope, it's from someone playing a different Marvel character)

I'm thinking we'll never find out if any of the Eternals were "blipped" out for five years. That lack of knowledge is probably for the best.

[magdalene]

The Rotten Tomatoes critics score is a joke and screams agenda and review bombing  to bring the movie  down.  Or maybe some of these so-called critics are just not smart enough to grasp the movie.  The movie is flawed and it's not my favorite Marvel movie but it is certainly not in the bottom for me.

[scarynikki12]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Was that Cumberbatch offscreen at the very end?

It was Mahershala Ali so our first MCU Blade sighting (or, I guess, hearing).

[Guest]

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

The Rotten Tomatoes critics score is a joke and screams agenda and review bombing  to bring the movie  down.  Or maybe some of these so-called critics are just not smart enough to grasp the movie.  The movie is flawed and it's not my favorite Marvel movie but it is certainly not in the bottom for me.

I’ve seen speculation that the bad reviews are in part the critics penalizing Chloe Zhao for making a Marvel movie. That critics are judging her on a different standard than other Marvel movies. I could see that being the case along with implicit or explicit bias. 

To me, there is really no legitimate reason for Black Widow to be a 79% and Eternals to be a 49%. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by Guest

[Enigma X]

Maybe I liked more MCU movies more than most but middle of the pack of a large franchise is not a bad place to be for me. The middle (and bottom) is still extremely more entertaining than other comic-book movies or movie franchises in my opinion.

I really liked the movie.

[tv echo]

'Eternals' Cast Share Their Favorite Memories From Set | Around the Table | Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly   Nov 5, 2021

Eternals: Gemma Chan Jokes About 'Game of Thrones' Love Triangle
Entertainment Tonight    Nov 6, 2021

The Marvel Cinematic Event | Marvel Studios’ Eternals
Marvel Entertainment   Nov 6, 2021

How Marvel Brought ‘Eternals’ and Its “Big, Dysfunctional Family” to the Screen
BY AARON COUCH     NOVEMBER 7, 2021
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/eternals-cast-marvel-movie-1235042753/ 

Quote

There’s a room in Marvel Studios’ Burbank headquarters called the Black Widow room. It has no windows and few have access. The cleaning crew doesn’t touch it. That’s where screenwriters (and cousins) Ryan and Kaz Firpo spent months cracking the code for Eternals, the sprawling tale that spans 7,000 years and centers on ten immortal aliens sent to Earth to protect humanity from the monstrous Deviants.
*  *  *
The Firpos spent a lot of time hashing out the story with Nate Moore, the creative executive who recruited them for the job, and would often run into Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige on Saturdays in the office. In 2018, filmmaker Chloé Zhao stepped on board with her own vision for the Eternals, the 1970s creation of Marvel legend Jack Kirby.

“Under the direction of Chloé, it is a deep exploration of humanity and this cosmic, cosmic backdrop that goes back to the big bang and the creation of suns,” says Feige.

The script went from focusing on 12 Eternals to 10, with the Firpos working with Zhao, and then Zhao bringing aboard screenwriter Patrick Burleigh, who spent time with her in London ahead of filming.
*  *  *
Angelina Jolie was among the first stars to join, with the screenwriters tailoring the role of Thena for the star. That left nine other heroes — as well as some supporting characters — to fill out.

“We get to look far and wide. Sometimes we’re able to find the right person really quickly,” says casting director Sarah Finn, who notes Lauren Ridloff came easy as she was known for her Tony-nominated work in Children of a Lesser God and the team had already decided Makkari did not need to be a white male like in the comics. “Other times it’s a search,” adds Finn. “For Sprite, it was quite an extensive search to find Lia [McHugh] and I’m very excited for her.”
*  *  *
One surprise casting was Gemma Chan, already known for her work as a different character in Captain Marvel.
*  *  *
The cast also includes the onscreen reunion of Game of Thrones stars Richard Madden and Kit Harrington for the first time since the Thrones pilot in 2010.

Harrington noted that he knew Chan as well as Madden, and was a fan of Zhao’s films before.

“It’s that call you get. ‘Marvel are calling.’ You’re ears prick up as an actor, instantly,” says Harington.

Though viewers haven’t seen Madden and Harington together in years, the pair are close friends.

“He’s my buddy so I see him all the time, so [it felt] kind of normal,” says Madden of working on set with Harington. “Kind of forgot we were at work. ‘Oh yeah, we got to do some work now.'”
*  *  *
Don Lee, who broke out of Korea with Train to Busan, notes Hollywood has chased him for years but his scheduling has been hard to work out. The stars aligned for Eternals, in which he plays the strong Gilgamesh.

“This character wasn’t written for an Asian actor before in the comics, but they changed it to an Asian hero. I thought it was a smart idea for global audiences,” says Lee.

While Eternals has divided audiences, it is perhaps Marvel’s most unique film yet, not quite like anything the studio has released before.  Ridloff, who breaks ground as Marvel’s first deaf big-screen hero, Makkari, credits her director with having the vision to make something unique.

Says Ridloff: “She is an intimate filmmaker. She made a Marvel movie. She worked with this huge cast of A-listers. And she still claimed her ground.”

‘Eternals’ Won’t Be Playing Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain & Oman
By Anthony D'Alessandro, Nancy Tartaglione    November 4, 2021
https://deadline.com/2021/11/eternals-banned-saudi-arabia-qatar-kuwait-bahrain-oman-1234867992/ 

Quote

The anticipated robust overseas box office of Disney/Marvel’s Eternals, which posted a first day of $7.6M, will definitely not have Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman in its future release plans.

Eternals was originally scheduled to open in the region on Nov. 11.

While official reasons weren’t provided by either the studio or the local territories, here’s our understanding of what went down:

In Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, the censors were seeking further cuts beyond any scenes of intimacy and that Disney opted not to make the edits, hence distribution certificates weren’t issued.

Meanwhile in Kuwait and Qatar, the Chloe Zhao-directed super-gods movie was blocked. The issue, we hear, may not solely be the same-sex kiss, but rather that overall these markets have historically had a problem with the depiction of gods and prophets, something they consider blasphemous.

In the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt we understand that a version of the film will be released that removes all scenes of intimacy — be they heterosexual or homosexual. This is generally normal practice for these markets.

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by tv echo

[Shannon L.]

My husband and I saw it last night and we thought it was much better than the critics would lead you to believe.  We'd put it in the middle tier.  Like @Anduin said, you have to go in with an open mind.  Imo, you need to go with with the mindset that  1. It's very different than the other ones and 2. It's a drama 1st and foremost.  It's not perfect--there are some problems that others have already pointed out.  The disadvantage to having 10 new characters is that it's hard to get enough screen time for each of them to flesh them out a bit more.   But even then, by the end, I found myself really caring for them. 

We called our daughter on the way home to talk about it because she saw it the night before at absolutely hated it.  We wanted to know why.  At one point in the conversation, something came up about a scene that we discovered my husband saw very different than the two of us:  She was complaining that if Mantis, an empath, could subdue Thanos and put Ego, a celestial being himself, to sleep, then why couldn't Druig, someone whose power was actual mind control, do it? She liked Druig's character and wanted to see more of him and thought they made his character a waste of time.  Here's where our husband differed:   He responded that Druig did help--that he was able to use his control to stop Ikaris from killing Sersi.  We thought he didn't kill her because he couldn't.  My husband said that Ikaris' eyes were glowing the same color as the people who Druig controlled before and that Ikaris' beams were a different color.  When our daughter pointed out that Druig wasn't in the area, he said that Druig wasn't near a lot of the people he was able to control.  I think my daughter and I are right, but it's an interesting thought.  I think had it been Druig, we'd have seen him in the background after it happened. 

@calliope1975 I could look at Angelina and Gemma and listen to Richard talk for hours as well. 

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

She was complaining that if Mantis, an empath, could subdue Thanos and put Ego, a celestial being himself, to sleep, then why couldn't Druig, someone whose power was actual mind control, do it?

Experience and belief? Mantis had years of experience putting a willing Ego to sleep giving her an advantage. Also I wondered how much the Eternals were limited by restrictions placed on them with their own creation and by what they were told were their limitations. They were deliberately designed so they couldn’t evolve and it’s stands fo reason their powers would be limited in their ability to affect celestials.

Plus the way their minds were wiped meant they were more likely to believe any lies they were told. Druig may have been able to put a celestial to sleep. He never tried to do it alone because he didn’t think he could. Sersi also believed she couldn’t change an organic being but was able to as an act of desperation. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by Guest

[scarynikki12]

5 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

He responded that Druig did help--that he was able to use his control to stop Ikaris from killing Sersi.  We thought he didn't kill her because he couldn't.  My husband said that Ikaris' eyes were glowing the same color as the people who Druig controlled before and that Ikaris' beams were a different color.  When our daughter pointed out that Druig wasn't in the area, he said that Druig wasn't near a lot of the people he was able to control.  I think my daughter and I are right, but it's an interesting thought.  I think had it been Druig, we'd have seen him in the background after it happened. 

I agree with you and your daughter. In that scene Ikaris was trying to summon his laser eyes but couldn't because his love for Sersi was stronger than his belief in the Celestials. Druig had nothing to do with it. It would have been a great way to reveal that he hadn't been killed but that scene was about Sersi and Ikaris only.

Ikaris ultimately not having the ability to kill Sersi when faced with the choice of her or the mission was a great buildup. Their first interaction after coming online showed him mesmerized by her as she's mesmerized by the Earth. Then we see the pieces of their relationship over the millennia including their marriage. We get the implication that he left her because he couldn't handle the guilt at knowing her beloved Earth was going to be destroyed in service to the new Celestial. Then we get their final moments when he tries to follow through on his declaration that he'd kill all of them to complete the mission only to fail because of love. Good stuff. 

[Sakura12]

I just saw it. I would also put it in the middle of the pack. Good but not great. 

I enjoyed the characters and the actors did a great job showing their relationships with the limited time they had. I do think there was maybe too many characters to introduce in a few hours. So some had less to do than others. 

I also think that Ikaris' love for Sersi stopped him from being able to kill her. When Druig takes over people their eyes are more shiny glow, his are more firey glowing. 

And of course I got kick out of Robb Stark and Jon Snow in love triangle with a woman named Sersi.

Also that was Blade at the end with Dane? Interesting. 

[calliope1975]

I think using Druig to mind control Tiamut could only have been a temporary solution. Well, I am making that assumption without knowing how long Druig could maintain control. He did mention wanting to control all of humanity so maybe he could do it longterm. I just remember that as soon as Mantis was disrupted, Ego woke up. I can imagine Druig doing this, 5 minutes later Arishem pops up in the clouds and the earth gets 'splody. 

I really hope Arishem's visit is referenced in another show or movie. Can you imagine the therapy bills in this universe? 

Edited November 7, 2021 by calliope1975