The latest escapade in Marvel’s ever
expanding cinematic Universe is a hard sell in that it introduces not just a
new hero and their mates or family but a team of ten and even at over two and a
half hours that’s a lot of characters to clock. Inevitably some suffer and
there are ingenious devices to ensure that we don’t have to sit there watching
ten people talking in one scene. In fact, when all ten of them are together
they don’t say much at all, they stand in a well organised line looking
majestic and powerful. I wonder if they had a debate about which order they had
to stand in. It’s a wonder this film doesn’t tell us because it likes to tell
us things though not necessarily the things we need to know. Like all the Marvel movies, Eternals (not
The Eternals btw) has great style - courtesy
of director Chloe Zhao - and some stunning cinematography. However, it takes an
age to get going - from an opening crawl
that immediately throws names and chronology at you - and there are moments
when the viewer may not feel wholly convinced by what they’re seeing.
Spoilers ahoy from this point…
