REVIEW: Marvel Studios ‘Eternals’ represents a new journey for the company

The journey into a new realm of superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe starts at the beginning of Eternals. Many of the recent Marvel projects have been out of their comfort zone or out of the “norm” for the studio, including this one. Eternals was a very eclectic film compared to the usual Marvel movies that are produced.

Eternals was not your traditional superhero origin story; none of them were bitten by a radioactive spider, nor were any of the humans injected with superhuman serum. The Eternals are solely a race of immortal beings with extraordinary powers that inconspicuously defend the earth against the Deviants that ravage the world. Throughout the centuries, they have defended the earth, fighting side by side and never shying away from their mission and reasoning for doing it. It’s only until they defeat all the deviants that they can go out on their own into the world and explore who or what they want to be when they don’t have to fight. This is when the real character development happens. 

Sersi (Gemma Chan), the lead role of the film, is an eternal immortal but is largely human on the inside, leading a life as a museum curator and earnestly loving mankind and the people of the earth. Despite the fact that Sersi was the perfect character mixed with eternal and human traits, Ikaris (Richard Madden), fellow eternal, clashed greatly throughout the film with her and the other members of the “team.” This is substantially due to different moral standards between eternals, showing what mattered most to them, revealing the lengths each person would go to fulfill what was “right” and dutiful to their mission. 

Director Chloé Zhao, new Academy Award winner for Best Picture and Director, worked closely with cinematographer Ben Davis who helped bring “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Doctor Strange,” and “Captain Marvel” to life on the big screen for the first time. Zhao has been known only for her short films, so this was a huge step for her career. “Eternals” was unlike Zhao’s other works, shot in a handheld style that emphasizes the realistic feel of the film. Although Eternals was a change of pace, the recurring theme between films has been the very natural display of human emotions to boldly show humanity in people and the world around the characters. 

All in all, this was one of the most unique and intriguing Marvel Studios films as of yet, and is worth the watch for a total of two hours and thirty-seven minutes. This is especially due to the different aspects of movie genres rolled into one, including action, adventure, science fiction, fantasy and many more.