Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Eternals’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains minor spoilers for the motion picture ‘Eternals’.

There are a great many reasons as to why fans of superhero movies continue to flock to the theaters to see them. For some, it is all about the technological marvels these movies can accomplish from a special effects standpoint, since there are few limits now in that industry, allowing for the imagination to be completely realized on the silver screen. For others, well they simply cannot get enough of these films, because they’re finally being taken seriously by studios, which allows for quality stories to be told and for A-list casting to take place. But while everyone has their own specific reasons for enjoying these films through and through… there is surprisingly, one connective reason that motivates us to be at the theater to see the latest superhero movie on opening day.
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In that, superheroes represent the best of us, and there is something supremely inspiring about seeing a hero on the screen shed the doubts and worries that we all carry, to accomplish incredible wonders and keep people safe, and we genuinely try to embody what they stand for, wherever and whenever we can, so we can be a better person and hopefully become the beacon of hope they are. And this ‘inspirational purity’ is so engrained in the genre, that no one has ever dared to tinker with it… until recently. For Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios team, are starting to understand the genuine connection that audiences share with superheroes and how much they mean to fans. So, if by chance, their stories were tinkered with and had a little real-world strife and challenges injected into them… then perhaps we could find new strength and guidance from these icons. 

Which is why the most recent run of Marvel Cinematic storytelling via Disney+ has focused on the power of grief and the trauma that comes from it, and the importance of self-care and tackling racial injustice, to see how audiences would receive it and if they were ready to go deeper, and since the reception for those concepts was indeed quite positive… Marvel has decided the time has come to roll this kind of realism out to the silver screen, by way of its latest MCU release, Eternals. Which is a motion picture that outright surprises the audience with its realistic themes since early on… this appears to be more of the same from Marvel. For we are immediately introduced to the Eternals, a group of immortal aliens that came to Earth thousands of years ago to protect mankind from hideous monsters known as Deviants. But once their mission is finished, and they are able to enjoy our world while waiting to be recalled home… is when this film dives into painfully realistic territory.

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For our heroes come to learn, they’re inadvertently the villains of the story, for reasons we won’t go too deep into here. Because instead, we need to talk about what that revelation does to these characters mentally and how that relates to what the MCU is currently trying to do. Because that revelation… outright breaks beings that can achieve wonders and save the world with a mere flick of their wrist, and it leaves them mired in doubt about themselves and who they are and what they stand for, and this is… a brilliant route to take with a superhero film. Primarily because, it makes them the most relatable MCU characters presented to audiences to date. Because they are in essence… each and every one of us. For so many of us, share in the doubts these characters do and we too are unsure of what it means to stand tall in this world and be a voice that stands out and that humanity, allows for the story to offer up some powerful moments of realistic inspiration.
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Because as the story continues along, and these lost and fallen heroes try to figure out their next moves, we see them struggle with doubt and watch them fail or choose to walk away…. before coming to understand that they can in fact… accomplish wonders if they put their mind to it and they can also be everything they ever wanted to be and that genuinely stays with you. Because it asks and tasks everyday folks to put aside their fears and just… try. Try and see what would happen if we chased our dreams or went after what we want and that’s the perfect message to send across to audiences since it doesn’t ask us to be a fictional character, it asks us to be our own hero and that is beautiful to find here, and the wonder of this film’s messaging doesn’t end there. Because it also reminds us, that sometimes that taking the time to chase what we want, will reveal that such a path isn’t for us and that’s okay. 

Plus, it also takes the time to teach us, that unity is hard, and it takes great effort on all parties to compromise and come together and that is perhaps the most important message of all to find in a story such as this, at a time when America is desperate to find unity. One that is hammered home by a supremely diverse cast of characters that come from all walks of life, adding to the realism of this magnificent story, one that you need to see as soon as possible. Because this really is a revolutionary superhero film, one that sheds the mystique to point out that we don’t have to look to fictional heroes to find inspiration to be better, we simply need to look within and tackle the darkness we grapple with and when we do and when we exhibit that bravery amongst others… wonders can in fact be achieved, and you simply cannot go wrong with a superhero movie that takes the time to look at humanity in such a positive and hopeful and downright inspirational light.

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