Marvel’s Eternals feels like a true evolution of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) formula. While the pacing is a bit slow, it’s made worth it by the movie’s interesting world-building, enthralling reveals and beautifully done action. Unfortunately, the density of how much is packed into the experience tends to make it so that some parts just don’t feel as fleshed out as they could be. 

The film follows ten Eternals that were sent to Earth at the dawn of man by the Celestial Arishem the Judge (David Kaye). The Eternals names are Ikaris (Richard Madden), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Gilgamesh (Ma Dong-seok), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Druig (Barry Keoghan). 

Their mission is to protect the planet from a species called the deviants. While all the deviants on Earth were seemingly killed hundreds of years before present day, they inexplicably start reappearing, forcing the Eternals back together so they can stop the threat. The movie slowly reveals the true plot until it gets to the point where an argument could be made that the antagonist’s goals may actually be more beneficial than the protagonist’s, which creates a very interesting conflict. 

Eternals has a lot of world-building for the MCU. Since they have been on Earth ever since the beginning of time, the setting rapidly switches from modern-day to ancient times and shows how the Eternals have affected human progress. While the world-building can definitely be a bit confusing at times, especially for those who enter the theater without any prior knowledge about the Eternals, it all makes sense by the end. 

With all the different powers on display, the action is incredibly entertaining.  Makkari in particular has some quality fight scenes. She has super speed, but instead of going with the typical way of showing a character has speed (slow motion), they instead use a constant camera shot that follows her throughout the fight, making it quite thrilling and unique. 

Admittedly, Eternals can feel like they are trying to do too much at times. This causes some characters to get sidelined even if they seem interesting. An example of this is Kro (Bill Skarsgård), the main deviant antagonist. While he is a well-built character, he’s somewhat sidelined towards the end. In the final act, it feels like he could be taken out of the movie and it would play out the exact same way. 

Despite these flaws, Marvel’s Eternals truly feels like something new. Not just to the MCU, but in general. With an all-star cast, fantastic action and an engrossing plot, there’s a lot to love about the movie. Although Eternals does attempt to tackle a bit more than it can handle, it’s still a marvelous cinematic experience.