Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Eternals it’s not as bad as the ratings and reviews circulating on social media and on aggregator pages. This film is actually quite fun to watch because of the unique characters and great visuals, especially for ordinary Marvel audiences.
Eternals tells the story of ten superheroes from outer space named Eternals. They are Invite, Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Gilgamesh and Thena.
They were sent by Celestial Arishem to Earth to destroy the Deviant invasion in 5000 BC or since the dawn of human civilization. Deviant is told as the mortal enemy of humans.
They last killed the last Deviant in the 1500s and after that, they lived separately and scattered all over the Earth.
Ryan and Kaz Firpo, Chloe Zhao, and Patrick Burleigh as the creators of the story and script use this premise to take audiences around the world.
Starting from London, Australia, India, Mesopotamia, to Babylon. The beauty of these places is clearly demonstrated in Eternals.
Meanwhile, like Marvel films in general, action scenes are a dish that must be prepared carefully. Various action scenes in Eternals are displayed quite well with stunning visual effects.
But the main advantage of Eternals is in its character. Although it consists of ten superheroes, the characters of the Eternals are made unique and different from each other.
The decision to modify a number of superhero characters from the original characters in the comic version was worked out quite well and not just to suit the market or just in the name of ‘diversity’.
Chloe Zhao as the director clearly has a challenge to introduce all 10 Eternal superheroes in one limited-length film. But he managed to beat the challenge in 157 minutes.
This film describes each Eternal quite clearly, from their background, strength, to their life after mingling with humans.
The composition between characters is also balanced. Each Eternals is shown to have its own advantages and disadvantages so that none stands out more than the others.
Marvel also chooses to embrace minority groups such as people with disabilities and not just those from the LGBT group. This can be seen from Lauren Ridloff who plays Makkari. Ridloff is known to be a deaf actress since birth.
The life of Eternals after mingling with humans is also quite interesting. Starting from Sersi (Gemma Chan) who becomes a teacher, to Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) who transforms into a Bollywood actor.
There is no need to question how the performance of the Eternals players. Richard Madden (Ikaris), Gemma Chan (Sersi), Salma Hayek (Ajak), Angelina Jolie (Thena), Don Lee (Gilgamesh), Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos), Barry Keoghan (Druig), Lia McHugh (Sprite), Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo), and Lauren Ridloff (Makkari) are good enough to bring their characters.
Plus, they are also able to display the emotional bond between the players. One of them is about Sersi’s romance with Ikaris, and Makkari with Druig. This is enough to enrich the story of the Eternals considering they are said to have lived for thousands of years.
In terms of storytelling, Eternals seems friendly to ordinary Marvel audiences. The storyline is easy to digest with the narration at the beginning, until its development when the Eternals are in conflict with their creators, the Celestials.
Like other Marvel films, comedy spices don’t forget to be included in the story. The comedy material is also fairly easy to catch by the audience, especially those from big cities.
Eternals also adapt to the current world situation. For example, Sersi is addicted to gadgets, Kingo is working on vlogs, and the name BTS is also included in this film.
At its core, Eternals is still relatively fun to watch. Although this film is still overshadowed by criticism from critics and Marvel movie lovers.
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