After a decade of fairly solid positive reviews, Eternals became the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to be released to a decidedly mixed reaction. I suppose it had to happen sooner or later.
Starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, Eternals followed “a group of ancient heroes from beyond the stars who had protected Earth since the dawn of man. When monstrous creatures called Deviants, long thought lost to history, mysteriously return, the Eternals are forced to reunite in order to defend humanity once again.” Eternals is sitting at 47% on Rotten Tomatoes (although its audience score is much higher) making it the only MCU movie with a Rotten status. While speaking with Empire, director Chloé Zhao reflected on the reaction to Eternals, saying that it didn’t surprise her.
Eternals was planned to be released soon after Endgame, and not at a time when everyone is having an existential crisis. The film itself is about existential crisis, both for humanity and God. So I think we definitely felt it was coming.
Zhao added that although she’s certainly aware of the mixed reaction to Eternals, she’s not overly concerned by them. “I think the need for consensus is a hindrance for any authentic creative process,” Zhao said. “Just like it’s a hindrance for living an authentic life as a person. I have been on the receiving end of somewhat consensus, and divisiveness about my work. Neither of them has any real influence on me as an artist, because every time I’m lucky enough to create, I learn from the process. From what I’ve succeeded [at], and what I’ve failed [at]. But that learning process is a very intimate affair. Anything beyond that, for me, it’s just a part of the ecosystem that exists because of the nature of the industry we’re in. Like a flower or a rock, I acknowledge and appreciate their presence. But that’s as far as it goes.” While I don’t know if I’d place Eternals in my top 5 MCU movies, I did enjoy it and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.
You can check out a review of Eternals from our own JimmyO right here. You can also let us know what you thought of the film as well.