Marvel's Eternals came out slow and boring. But fans of the universe shouldn't miss the movie.

On November 8, The Eternal will be released in Russia. This is a new Marvel film from one of the most promising directors of our time, Chloe Zhao - her Land of the Nomads won an Oscar this year. She also owns other critically acclaimed films - Songs That My Brothers Taught Me (2015) and Rider (2017).

In recent years, Marvel Studios have been experimenting more and more with the form of material presentation and pushing the boundaries of what is permitted. For example, the third "Thor" was filmed by everyone's favorite and author of "Real Ghouls" Taika Waititi - he is also working on the upcoming "Thor: Love and Thunder". And the film, thanks to its unusual humor, ended up being one of the best in the MCU.

Both parts of "Guardians of the Galaxy" by James Gunn play with the genre of adventurous comedy. And the recent mini-series “Wanda / Vision»Uses the techniques of a classic sitcom to talk to viewers about such an important topic as accepting the death of a loved one.

And it was no coincidence that the studio commissioned Chloe Zhao to shoot a film quite important for the Fourth phase of the MCU, who became famous for her deliberately slow, contemplative work. After all, such a move fits well into the experimental direction that Marvel is now adhering to. And looking at "The Rider" and "The Land of the Nomads", one could expect that the "Eternals" will move away from the strict forms of blockbuster to the side arthouse.

Was Chloe Zhao able to defend her specific vision? Yes and no. The film turned out to be similar to all major Marvel titles at once, albeit more natural and beautiful due to the scenes filmed in real life.

However, at the same time, the tape is rather slow, and in some places it is also boring, despite the great humor in some episodes. But first things first.

Communication with the Third phase of the MCU and groundwork for the continuation

The plot tells the story of 10 immortal aliens who have secretly lived among people for the past seven thousand years. They were created by the space gods Celestials to protect humanity from the bloodthirsty Deviants.

After defeating the monsters, the Eternals do not fly to their home planet, but remain on Earth, waiting for the leader of the Celestials, Arishom, to send them home. True, for some reason this does not happen.

But the aliens are forced to watch for centuries as people whom they had time to fall in love with, start endless wars and exterminate each other. At the same time, they do not participate in the confrontation between the Avengers and Thanos, since Arishom forbade them to intervene in situations not related to the Deviants.

But everything changes when one of the monsters that the Eternals believed to be extinct appears in the middle of London. At the same time, Deviant possesses the powers of Ayak, the leader of the immortal squad. Then the Eternals decide for the first time in many years to get together and find out what is going on. True, it soon turns out that their mission was not so constructive.

In fact, The Eternals are an important part of Marvel's own space mythology, and at the same time the link between Phases Three and Four. Celestials have already been mentioned in the second part of "Guardians of the Galaxy": one of them was the father of Peter Quill. Well, the traditional post-credits scenes will give hints of further films and at the same time introduce several new characters.

And this will surely be a pleasant surprise for the audience. In order not to spoil the surprise, let's just say that really top actors - real favorites of the public - will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So if you want to continue to follow the events of the MCU, you will have to watch the movie one way or another. Even if mixed reviews from critics stop you: at the time of the publication of the post, the rating of the picture on Rotten Tomatoes isRotten Tomatoes / Eternals (2021) only 61%, which is very small for a Marvel project.

Inclusive yet very interesting characters

But this rating is hardly fair: "The Eternals" can not be called the worst movie in the MCU. At the very least, Chloe Zhao did an excellent job of showing different and interesting characters on the screen. And this is not surprising, because the director is just famous for her ability to display real life in her films and filigree works with characters.

Like the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Eternals' characters are a bit outsiders - they're flawed and vulnerable. And a lot of time in the film is devoted to their personal dramas and conflicts.

So, the central heroine Sersi, who can transform one substance into another by touch, constantly doubts her abilities. And her former lover Ikaris, who knows how to fly, is forced to live with secret knowledge that weighs on him.

Their friend Sprite is like Kirsten Dunst's character in "Interview with a Vampire", Is doomed to exist in the immortal body of a child. And especially tragic is the arc of Fina, beautifully performed by Angelina Jolie: her story resembles a metaphor for Alzheimer's disease.

And The Eternals is also one of the most inclusive MCU films ever. For example, Makkari, the first deaf and dumb heroine of Marvel, and Fasthos, the first homosexual hero, appeared here with super speed. And there has probably never been such a concentration of ethnic diversity in the Marvel universe either.

The strongman Gilgamesh was played by one of the most famous Korean actors Ma Dong-sok. The audience, by the way, may remember him for his vivid role in the hit "Train to Busan". And comedian of Pakistani origin Kumail Nanjiani ("Silicon Valley"), together with little-known actor Harish Patel, simply capture every scene with their appearance.

Great humor and natural light photography

By the way, the humor in the picture is absolutely wonderful. The first quarter of the film is overloaded with materiel and flashbacks, but then, when the characters begin to interact closely with each other, the real fun begins. And the jokes come not only from the comedian-religion. Zhao is not shy about showing his characters as funny - even those who look extremely serious.

At these moments, it is felt that Zhao still had a certain degree of creative freedom. In addition, she was allowed to shoot outdoors and in natural light. And thanks to this, the style of the director of "Land of the Nomads" was still not fully adapted to the ready commercial stencil: there are long shots of sunsets and panoramas of landscapes that everyone loved in her previous works.

Chloe succeeded and delivered quite bearable action. But even he does not smooth out the vague presentation of the backstory in the first part of the film, as well as the abundance of clichés. And this is the painting's biggest problem. It takes a long time to accelerate, and many scenes seem superfluous. Because of this, watching The Eternals can be boring, especially at first. And it goes for almost three hours.

The Eternals certainly don't deserve the negative reviews that have fallen on them. This is a pretty good film that retains the form of a traditional blockbuster and at the same time declares a progressive outlook on life. It has both annoying flaws and significant advantages.

Should I watch it? Yes, if it is important for you to understand how the MCU universe will develop in the future. But if you're looking for pure action and visual appeal in Marvel movies, The Eternals can be skipped for now.