The title would fit its hefty runtime

★★ out of ★★★★

Eternals (2021)

Runtime: 156 minutes

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and action, some language and brief sexuality.

Director Chloé Zhao tries her best to explore and build a story about a group of people named Eternals, but the results are mixed. Several other factors stifle Eternals from being a good film. Sure, it's spectacular to look at, but the plot's a labyrinth, and do the characters connect?

Eternals tells a story about celestials and Eternals. The Eternals are supposed to protect the Earth and watch over humans, while fighting against monsters called Deviants. We learn that they arrived 7000 years ago, and have presumably eliminated all Deviants in the year 1500. We cut forward to present day, where the Deviants mysteriously reappear, and have mutated to the point of self-healing.

As the group of Eternals, who are scattered across the glode, namely: Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Gilgamesh (Ma Dong-seok, whom I somehow mistook for Benedict Wong), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Druig (Barry Keoghan) reassemble, they find out Ajak is dead. Sersi then becomes the next appointed leader of the Eternals, as she learns that Earth has been chosen to host a Celestial, which will bring more life to the Universe, but destroy the Earth.

There are so many characters in the story that a television series would have suited this kind of framework better. Another strange thing is how even though Eternals is 2 hours and 36 minutes long, it feels incomplete yet long. What Eternals gives us about the characters are their skills and several details. What it lacks is development and emotional connection to the audience. 

Eternals also, unfortunately, wastes some of its talented cast, in which those I'm familiar with: Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Barry Keoghan, aren't given an opportunity to fully express their abilities. Richard Madden, whom I recognized as Lieutenant Blake in 1917, plays a somewhat emotionless yet complex person to decipher. Barry Keoghan, who appeared as a brave lad in Dunkirk, gives a rather flat performance. The way he expresses his character's concerns about humans at war doesn't feel serious and urgent. Kumail Nanjiani, who wanted four slices of cheese on a burger in The Big Sick, could've provided some comedic relief to the film. Last but not least, Angelina Jolie is frustratingly wasted, as she plays a character which feels distant from the audience.

However, though it treats its mythology casually, Eternals is still a stunning sight. The astonishing detail of the Deviants, and the wonderfully crafted aesthetic look of the action sequences are a delight to watch. It may not happen frequently, but you'll enjoy the time there. Besides, a certain amount of care was also put into several dialogues, which prove quite inspiring and thought-provoking.

Another aspect that heavily drags Eternals down is its narrative, which can miraculously still be saved, by rearranging the plot (unlike the sloppy mess Suicide Squad). In the first hour of the film, it cuts from present day to past to probably the Middle Ages so frequently and unnecessarily, that you'll be left feeling dizzy after the 10-minute rambling of life, planets, and the universe has finished.

Fortunately, Eternals solves itself within the first hour and leaves you hooked for the next hour. But it sadly comes to a halt, when the last act drags so much, that you'll find yourself not caring much about the characters (some that suddenly undergo an arc) and wanting it to end. You'll find yourself more confused, when an abrupt ending ties the film together, leaving a slightly bitter taste in your mouth.

Eternals isn't a disaster, nor is it a failure. It can do the simplest of things like rearranging the narrative to provide a satisfying experience and the emotions to click perfectly. It could have also utilized it's talented cast by giving their characters a fair amount of attention, instead of diverting it to mostly one person, that is Gemma Chan. Even the quickest rewrites and repairs would have made this a review a three-star review, not two. I see a potentially good movie in here, and I'm waiting for it to show itself.