After more than two years of anticipation, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can finally watch “Eternals” in theatres. The film’s all-star cast and director were initially disclosed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, when Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige introduced the project’s all-star cast and director.
It was evident from the start that this would be a film unlike anything else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans will meet a whole new cast of heroes, none of whom have previously appeared in an MCU film. Many speculated that with Chloé Zhao onboard to direct, a visual masterpiece was on the way, especially after she won an Academy Award for best director for “Nomadland” earlier this year. “Eternals” appears to be the MCU’s next big thing, with stars like Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, and Salma Hayek.
Critics are giving their impressions on the film, which they were able to preview a week ago, with only a few weeks till its release. We can better grasp what the rest of us are in for when we see the movie thanks to these spoiler-free reviews. The reaction to “Eternals” has been all over the place, and here’s what some of the industry’s most famous critics and sites had to say about the MCU’s newest endeavour.
At the time of publication, reviews for “Eternals” were still coming in, with its Rotten Tomatoes score fluctuating throughout the day. It’ll be at least a week before the number keeps steady, but a lot of critical feedback signals the film will be a spectacle. If there’s one thing the “Eternals” reviews have taught us, it’s that the film is very different from its 20+ MCU predecessors.
“Utilizing [Chloé] Zhao’s penchant for naturalistic environments, ‘Eternals’ looks unlike any other Marvel movie and is perhaps the most welcoming for MCU neophytes in forever,” Brian Truitt of USA Today wrote of the feature. Wendy Lee Szany of The Movie Couple added that the film is “Visually stunning. Marvel’s most ambitious film to date. Leans a bit heavier on the exposition. The most different film in the entire MCU which is refreshing.”
If there is anything we can definitely take away from “Eternals”, it is going to be a visual masterpiece, according to many critics. “Eternals is beautiful in its visuals and its storytelling,” Josephine L. of Geeks of Color wrote. “Eternals is visually elegant thanks to Zhao’s creative sensibilities,” added Matt Donato of The Gist.
Not all of the reviews for the film were positive, as one might assume. Chloé Zhao’s recent venture received a lot of unfavourable feedback from critics. Critics that didn’t like the movie seem to agree that, while it’s average, it’s not at the bottom of the MCU’s filmography. The BBC’s Nicholas Barber wrote, “Eternals may not be the worst of Marvel’s movies, but it’s undoubtedly the most disappointing.”
From critics who were saddened by the film, it appears that the general consensus was “meh.” “It’s not exactly boring – there’s always something new to behold – but nor it is particularly exciting, and it lacks the breezy wit of Marvel’s best movies,” writes Steve Rose of the Guardian. That’s, uh, interesting. To make matters worse, according to some reviewers, the picture appears to be far too long. Dulcie Pearce of The Sun wrote, “Boy, does this patchy, paceless film go on for an eternity.”
The unfavourable reviews for “Eternals” shouldn’t scare MCU fans because there are plenty of previous films in the studio’s repertoire that received mixed reviews from critics but were well-received by fans — “Avengers: Age of Ultron” comes to mind. For the time being, it doesn’t appear that the picture will receive the same critical acclaim as “Black Panther,” “Iron Man,” or “Avengers: Infinity War.” If its current rating (73 percent) holds, “Eternals” will be one of the lowest-rated films in the MCU’s history. In the next days, fans may expect that figure to change slightly.
On November 5, “Eternals” will be released exclusively in theatres.