Spoilers Eternals grade and discussion thread

[Caretaker]

I saw it in IMAX. I'm torn - I really loved the first half, but the second half felt like they threw everything in, too much in the way of battles and big metaphysics and powers. Also, I had to look up about the mid and post-end credits sequences to figure out who. But I applaud for Marvel taking some risks and doing something different.

I wonder if the sex scene was too early in the film. People complained about a lack of chemistry, but I didn't see that. The problem is the scene was like 20 minutes in so we as viewers didn't really get to know the characters and the feeling of love developed despite the fact the relationship was thousands of years old for the characters.

The twist about Arishem may have been a little too close to the Yon-Rogg twist from Captain Marvel but with other good guys going bad added on.

 

[Noname Given]

I can only figure one of two things:

1) Rewrite/reshoots. Kingo and his buddy were supposed to be killed by Ikaris when he broke bad on their starship, but the comedy duo act proved too good to end so brutally and Zhao/Feige had a change of heart. Plus they might've figured Ikaris killing one more Eternal would have pushed him past the line of audience sympathy/redemption. But the final battle was already locked in place, so they had to come up with another reason Kingo wouldn't be there and then insert-shot him into the final scene.
2) COVID restrictions, or Kumail had other commitments ('Bless the Harts,' the Obi-Wan series) that precluded his being there for the battle and they had to write around it.

With regard to Ikarus, the writers of the film already showed he was beyond redemption. That was the reason they had him commit suicide in the end by flying into the sun, which had the added effect of paralleling an aspect of the Icarus myth as well.

 

[Anwar]

Is it really true that Bill Skargaard voiced Kro in this?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I can only figure one of two things:

1) Rewrite/reshoots. Kingo and his buddy were supposed to be killed by Ikaris when he broke bad on their starship, but the comedy duo act proved too good to end so brutally and Zhao/Feige had a change of heart. Plus they might've figured Ikaris killing one more Eternal would have pushed him past the line of audience sympathy/redemption. But the final battle was already locked in place, so they had to come up with another reason Kingo wouldn't be there and then insert-shot him into the final scene.
2) COVID restrictions, or Kumail had other commitments ('Bless the Harts,' the Obi-Wan series) that precluded his being there for the battle and they had to write around it.

Both of those explanations make sense but it's still weird they couldn't work in a few shots of him being involved with the Uni-Mind even if he wasn't doing anything for the rest of the sequence. An unfortunate bit of clumsiness but not a big deal.

I wonder if we'll get an explanation about that. I can't be the only person who thought that stood out.

For example, I thought Druig was going to be a bad guy...

Druig was one of the primary antagonists in Gaiman's run so I expected him to be one in tha film, especially after seeing the trailers (as well as Barry Keoghan's casting). As a result, I was also surprised (and in a good way) when it turned out to be Ikaris instead.

Is it really true that Bill Skargaard voiced Kro in this?

Yup. He was listed in the credits and everything but it was also announced before the film premiered.

 

[Saul]

By the way, a lot of people are speculating that the 10 rings in Shang-chi were created by one of the Eternals. I guess it's going to lead to some big set up way down the line where Shang Chi gets brought into the bigger scoop of the story. Will be interesting to see where the sequels of both go.

 

[Anwar]

Yup. He was listed in the credits and everything but it was also announced before the film premiered.

Huh, I thought Dan Stevens was supposed to play Kro. Must have just been a rumor.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Huh, I thought Dan Stevens was supposed to play Kro. Must have just been a rumor.

I never heard that, even as a rumor.

 

[JD]

Me neither, and after Beauty and the Beast, and Legion, I'm pretty anything like that with Dan Stevens would have stuck in my mind.

Are many Eternals fans pissed they made Ikaris a bad guy? From the bits and pieces I've seen online, I got the impression he was one of the main heroes in most of the Eternals comics, so making him a bad guys seems like it would be pretty big deal.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

So, I got a question.
What is everyone m’s take on the Celestial lore and what Ego has been up to previously?
In the MCU he is also a celestial.
But he seems totally different.
Instead of being born from a planet he is a planet.
His plan was to seed planets everywhere and make them all him, essentially stopping the universe.
Seems entirely opposed to what we saw here.

does that mean, what Celestials are has been retconned?
Are there different kinds of Celestials competing?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think this movie is hueing closer to the source material even if it's inconsistent with previous movie continuity (I'm curious how they'll balance Thanos's backstory with Eros's appearance). I would suggest that, to the extent Ego is a Celestial, he is different from the rest. I would also suggest it's possible he calls himself one but actually isn't.

 

[Noname Given]

So, I got a question.
What is everyone m’s take on the Celestial lore and what Ego has been up to previously?
In the MCU he is also a celestial.
But he seems totally different.
Instead of being born from a planet he is a planet.
His plan was to seed planets everywhere and make them all him, essentially stopping the universe.
Seems entirely opposed to what we saw here.

does that mean, what Celestials are has been retconned?
Are there different kinds of Celestials competing?

Well remember not every planet is a Celestial Egg per se. If the MCU version of ego is a Celestial, after a couple million years or so, he probably knows and has seen firsthand what the other Celestials do, and how it affects the universe.

Thus Ego knows if he picks a planet that's a Celestial Egg, those elements of himself will be destroyed when the planet is consumed in the birth have another Celestial, but if he has control of the majority of planets it's not a big deal.

We also know that Celestial themselves aren't omnipotent, indestructible, or unkillable. We know that because of the existence of Knowhere, which was once the head of a Celestial.

So at this point I don't know if I would call this a break in / a retcon of MCU continuity.

 

[YLu]

What was the point of Kingo leaving the group instead of helping with the Uni-Mind?

Once they decided he was someone who didn't oppose the Celestials' plan, that was the only direction the character could go. Giving him have a change of heart at the last second would have felt unearned and cliche.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Once they decided he was someone who didn't oppose the Celestials' plan, that was the only direction the character could go. Giving him have a change of heart at the last second would have felt unearned and cliche.

I agree with that but why have him oppose at all is my point. Nothing came out of that other than his absence.

 

[YLu]

To give the characterization more texture, instead of keeping it a binary good side vs. bad side, I imagine. Plus, it kind of foreshadows Ikaris's fate, when he ultimately won't fight Sersi for the sake of the mission.

 

[theenglish]

I saw Eternals this weekend. I loved how ambitious this movie was. The flashback scenes were among some of the best sequences in the MCU. The movie did a great job of giving everyone in the huge cast enough screen time to flesh out the nuances of their personalities. The acting was great all around as well.

Like some others here, I really felt the middle act found itself bogged down once the Celestial plan was revealed. I found it dull in places, to be honest. The movie was about fifteen minutes to long--and really needed to be edited down in that build up to the final act. It was interesting to see the interactions between the characters and everyone's take on the reveal of the mission, but there was no sense of tension.

I didn't mind the cliffhanger at the end, but I think I would have preferred seeing a mind wipe of the characters, as that would set up a version of the Gaiman run on the Eternals, which I really enjoyed.

 

[Saul]

My little nephews went to see the Eternals and their review was "dreadful". While I don' share their opinion I do think this is a movie that's difficult to keep the attention of younger audiences.

 

[Anwar]

I dunno if it's been brought up, but...

...Well, I assumed the big twist in the final battle would be that the Evolved Deviant would be the key to stopping the Celestial. That he uses his tentacles/energy absorbing powers to be the link the Eternals needed to form the Uni-Mind between all of them, sacrificing himself in the process to help them stop Tiamut and accomplishing the greater revenge he wanted on Arishem.

As it is, he felt superfluous to the ending.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

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[theenglish]

I hate those googly eyes on those pitch meetings promos. I didn't watch them for a long time because of that.

Anwar, I agree. I don't know what the purpose was for the evolved deviant. I was expecting it to become Kro, adopting the intellect and ethics of the deviants it killed---but its fate was just unresolved, one of the faults in the movie IMO.

 

[Mage]

I'm a bit surprised that a new Marvel film only has three pages of convo on this forum....

I haven't seen it yet, for multiple reasons. Time being the biggest one. Another is that even though it looks like an entertaining movie, it'll be released on Disney+ somewhere in december I guess, and I can wait that long to just watch it at home.