The Eternals (MCU)

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304705#Comment_118304705

In non-pandemic times the initial MCU introduction movies barely made more than these 3 new MCU offerings, despite being much better known characters (admittedly not as well known as Spider-Man or X-Men).

MCU likely will never reach the peak of Endgame again but they have clearly purposefully taken their foot off the gas with this initial batch of movies. Even before the pandemic there was no point in trying to fake the hype or the threat that was built over 10 years. They are resetting things and building from a low base again. Sure there is some fatigue but I'd put it much more down to the natural cycle of building again - Spider-man smashing it in pre-sales shows there is plenty of appetite.

hawaii501

Finally saw this today in the cinema(surprised it still showing).

Only a couple people there so it was great :)

I thought it was very good considering they had so many eternals so you couldn't get a proper background story on so many of them. Mid and post credits look like they'll be interesting going forward.

I preferred shang chi For whats it worth(and my bad taste compared to everyone else)

Varik

Out on Disney plus today.

BruteStock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118182580#Comment_118182580

Its only shocking that it didn't happen sooner. Real film critics from yesteryears ago would never praise the generic soul-less cookie clutter that Marvel churn off a belt line every year. Film critics these days are too afraid of being blacklisted if they don't promote big studios . Film critics have no integrity anymore , absolutely none.

To prove that you just need to look at the two Blade movies. Both were certified splat by critics yet they were far better than the majority of crap released by Marvel over the last decade. We all loved those Wesley Snipes films at the time yet nobody was under any illusion they were critically acclaimed films.

Watch the upcoming Blade movie be praised to high heaves by critics while being nowhere near as good as the original two.

fritzelly

Thought it was a decent enough superhero flick

But the casting was terrible - every one of them having a different accent was off putting, Jolie was her usual wooden acting, Kumail being the comedian he is, Keoghan doing the same character and Dub accent he does in every film. Gemma Chan was the only decent actor in the whole thing (being gorgeous helps as well)

Wanted to like it more as some great visuals and scenes

Brief_Lives

It left me feeling a bit meh... i found myself googling certain characters (kit harrington, as none are there by accident) during the movie.

Gemma Chan was excellent, and utterly beautiful.

Stopping a Celestial from the emergence is a bit of a stretch....

That voice in the end credit scene was Blade?

TheIrishGrover

I'm about 1/2 way through at the moment and...... I just find it so dull. The actors CAN act. Have seen it elsewhere but here they are SO wooden: "Cercie. Are you OK" " Yes Rob Stark. I am OK. Thank you" " OK". It was good to hear some non-American accents for once but. Just. So. Dull. Even the action sequences. I mean that first modern day one with Jon Snow and Cercie. Maybe it is Superhero fatigue but I don't know. I mean, Spiderman No Way Home final battle was pretty cool and fun. Avengers Endgame final battle is still fun (Apart from that cringe-worthy "let's-get-all-the-girls-together" section. Look at the last episode of The Mandalorian to see how that should be done right). I suppose the fun I get from a battle scene is if there is a bit of fun involved. And, I suppose, these films (Spiderman and Endgame) did have multiple films to build up to. These were all brand new cardboard cutouts that we know/care little about.

TLDR: So far is Meh

pixelburp

I've run hot and cold on the MCU for ages now, and argued the toss with some of ye here. By and large though I'll see them out if only to keep current, and the films are rarely utterly charmless. But this is the first film in the series that I just can't raise enough interest to see it; not even to make my own mind up .

Brief_Lives

As I said, I found the film so meh, but it's not superhero fatigue, it's just a meh movie...

Dont be at yourself

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118470933#Comment_118470933

Yes, I felt similar. It was a clear departure from the usual Marvel formula, but not in a particularly interesting or gripping way.

Shot on location but somehow looking quite dull and empty. An amazing ensemble cast but no chemistry between them. A centuries-spanning story that felt both rushed and perfunctory.

Interesting to see how they develop the characters, either in a sequel or in other Marvel movies.

The White Wolf

Thought this worked better on home theatre for some reason. Maybe it's because I could watch at my own pace.

Very interested to see where the Black Knight and Blade end up.

Slydice

Gave this a watch! Thought it was grand. Felt like a start-of-a-marvel-phase intro film.. and.. well.. that's probably what it is 🙂

Kind of a Guardians of the Galaxy feel to the Mid-Credits scene and cool in the end credits scene to hear

Spoiler Warning

Blade I assume. Not sure what that sword is or who Dan is supposed to be but I assume it does some vampire creating or powers stuff.

For the film itself, it really felt like an chunky intro to a whole other side of the MCU. They did give nods to the rest of the MCU so that seemed fine.

Also I was pretty happy at the end when the

Spoiler Warning

News TV people were all like... THERE'S A BIG GIANT HEAD IN THE OCEAN! 😁 Otherwise.. I'd a been a bit.. confused 🙂

Of the supporting cast, I liked how Karun was done. He should definitely appear in the future.

For the baddie...

Spoiler Warning

eh kinda baddie.. the Deviant.. I was like Ha Sucker! when Angelina took him out.. and then I realised the pun I made! 😁

Oh! AND!.. I did like how at the end

Spoiler Warning

when Arishem did the disappearing thing.. that it looked like there was an interstellar style blackhole there for a second!

Sleepy

A giant bag of meh. Even the kids got bored half way through. "Worst Marvel Movie Ever" according to our 16 year old who's been pretty much raised on MCU movies.

GSPfan

I enjoyed it but probably won’t watch it again. It was a bit long winded but necessary to try tell the story they wanted to tell.

My biggest problem about this film and probably the MCU as a whole is that the lives of normal people have been changed dramatically since Avengers Assemble and then progressively with every major world ending event afterwards. I find it hard to see the world operating anyway close to normal when all humans now know that they have averted annihilation on multiple occasions by the skin of their teeth.

And i guess there’s a massive stone head and part of a hand sticking out from the Earth now.

dubstepper

Watched it last night. Below average superhero movie. I enjoy a superhero movie but don't think I would watch this or Shang Chi again. As others have said the acting wasn't great but to be fair to them there wasn't a lot to work with. There was no proper bad guy as such. It was a bit ponderous at points.

With Captain Armerica and Iron Man done (and maybe Hulk), I'm not sure where the big movies are going to come from with Marvel. Eternals & Shang Chi didn't really leave me wanting more unlike say Thor Ragnarok. or the Winter Soldier.

The White Wolf

Arishem appearing in the sky at the end felt a bit comical but intrigues me for for when/if they'll do Galactus.

If nothing else the film achieved making an entity like Galactus possible in the MCU.

GSPfan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118479897#Comment_118479897

Fantastic Four, Blade, X-Men, and more of Doctor Strange are all to come. Not to mention potentially using Spiderman after just releasing one of the top grossing films of all time.

I don’t think Marvel are running out of box office draws anytime soon. Whether they can make good use of those characters is anyones guess.

Lets just remember that 2 of the 3 Iron Man movies are average films with forgettable villains. The MCU Hulk movie is not good. Thor has 2 stinkers to his name. Age of Ultron was a let down. The “golden age” of MCU films has as many misses as it does hits.

RandomViewer

Very lacking in action, Angelina Jolie sleepwalking, found it boring but not really a fan of fantasy

The White Wolf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118481021#Comment_118481021

Maybe I'm on my own but I loved The Incredible Hulk. Would love to see Norton pop up as one of the Multiverse of Madness cameos.

But I agree with your sentiment, there's too many big hitters to come for the MCU to lose steam yet.

I think the problem is that there's still very much a transitional period going on. Eternals was in production before Disney bought Fox.

flazio

Even if Feige's side of things slows down, Sony still have a few Spider-verses to keep the Marvel name to the front of peoples minds. Across the Spider-verse and Morbius on the big screen plus Insomniacs well anticipated Spider-man 2 videogame (and a Wolverine game as well)

The White Wolf

Morbius is going to be a disaster and I say that as a Morbius fan.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118481728#Comment_118481728

The trailers look absolutely brutal.

Not a well known character either which won't help.

Jared Leto is also an abysmal actor.

BruteStock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118481754#Comment_118481754

abysmal? The man won an Oscar.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118479758#Comment_118479758

I'd get that argument until what were seeing about the world continuing despite millions of COVID deaths, some people refusing to even acknowledge it. Similarly we see how people pick their lives up so quickly after wars or natural disasters. Humans are pretty resilient.

It is something that Marvel have done a decent job with making nods to - what happens in movies impact the world and future movies. For example, the push back against the Avengers that led to the Sokovia accords, Peter Parker's class dealing with younger kids suddenly being in their class post blip, and the driver of the narrative for Falcon & Winter Soldier (though it could have been done better).

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482098#Comment_118482098

Have you seen house of Gucci? Watch that.... and tell me he can act.

He was at best ok in Dallas buyers club imo.

Winning an Oscar isn't a guarantee someone can act....Roberto Benigni?

Agent Coulson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482098#Comment_118482098

Winning an Oscar does not make you good actor plenty of terrible actors have Oscars.

The Oscars is not about acting, directing etc is about how much money producers pump into publicity and buying votes.

The White Wolf

I'm so so on Leto but questioning his performance in DBC I can't agree with. It was exceptional. One of the last great LGBT performances that wasn't effected by box ticking requirements.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482571#Comment_118482571

And perhaps persuaded him that all parts in future required "disappearing" into the role, culminating in that overwrought method approach Mark Kermode snarked is like "overdosing on acting pills". The stories about his "pranks" while playing Joker are toe curling and was arguably the worst part of the Blade Runner sequel. He can't just show up on set and play a part. House of Gucci getting a lot of abuse for this indulgence, though to be fair Morbius looks positively sedate.

TheIrishGrover

There is a line between immersion and indulgence. But it can be hard to find I suppose: Did Daniel Day-Lewis' immersion help his performances in "My Left Foot" and Lincoln etc? Probably. Did Bale's weight-loss/prep work for The Machinest? Certainly. Did Leto really need to immerse himself into a poor-man's wanna-be post-Legder take on The Joker..... In Suicide Squad? No. Did it make good tabloid/click-bait headlines? Certainly.

As For Eternals. Finished it.... Yeah, not good. As I said before, it's boring. The ACTION sequences are the MOST boring. I have no problem with a sedate pace (Which I am not accusing this film of). I don't have a problem with the lingering location-shots. They were filmed well, looked pretty (Beautiful people surrounded by beautiful scenery all filmed at Golden Hour). They (almost successfully) conveyed a sense of their millennia-spanning time on Earth and their voyages throughout the world.

But then the action kicks in: whatshisname flies about shooting lasers., whatshername touches things, whosyerman points, The Flash runs, The other guy hold his hands in front of him and people stop, Angelina Jolie CGIs around the place. There was no impact or.... I don't know.... Gravity to the action sequences. You didn't care about ANY of the characters. As Deadpool exclaims derisively: "CGI Fight"

And then...

Spoiler Warning

... they bring in HARRY f*cking STILES!!!!! And he was ACTUALLY one of the best scenes in the movie!

I laughed at Kingol as I was supposed to (Well, when he explains his Bollywood dynasty and the stuff with his valet). And I laughed (Perhaps unintentionally) when Jon Snow said "I love you Cersie".

The typical "The Eternals will return" at the end? Perhaps. But big ask for a standalone.

It's not a BAD film.... It's just not a GOOD film. I don't think it's a Missed opportunity. In that I don't think this was a potentially killer idea executed poorly. They clearly wanted to bring in the next wave of hot young Avengers. But they should maybe have had their first movie set in Egypt or Babylon or somewhen (My autocorrect says that's a word). Then have the mid/post credit sequence of them doing their stuff during the Thanos Snap or after everyone is snapped back. Then they could go "OK. Time to intervene and talk to the Avengers. They know their stuff. Time to announce ourselves"

Wickan3080

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118475455#Comment_118475455

I was the the same just meh honestly turned it off as was getting late but down know if i have the energy to turn it on again.