Marvel's ETERNALS Movie Review *Spoiler Free*

 ETERNALS

Director:  Chloé Zhao
Studio:  Marvel Studios
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Rating:  PG-13: fantasy violence and action, some language and brief sexuality.

Official Website: https://www.marvel.com/movies/eternals

Following the events of AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019), an unexpected tragedy forces the Eternals, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

Review: "Based on the Marvel Comics by Jack Kirby"

It's been a long time coming to get that singular attribution on an MCU film! That gave me the feels when the credits rolled.

As the first 45 minutes of exposition and wooden acting plodded along, I thought the critics might be right in their negative reviews.  But then....our first scene in the modern day with Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo happens.  And from here on out, the film picks up speed and moves forward.  It felt almost like that's where the movie itself actually starts and the first 45 minutes was just prologue or something.  Which maybe explains the 2 hours and 37 minute runtime.

One of the first things people mentioned coming out of the previews was that ETERNALS is unlike any other MCU movie and the marketing has claimed ETERNALS changes the MCU forever.
Both are correct.

In fact, it not only doesn't feel like any Marvel movie so far, it actually feels very much like Marvel Studios doing their own version of DC's Justice League.  For those who've complained about Henry Cavill's dour version of Superman, Richard Madden as Ikaris (the Superman analogue here) makes Cavill's Superman seem downright cheery and bubbly.  Angelina Jolie as Thena (the Wonder Woman analogue) is an extremely necessary jolt of star power that helps balance the others who don't quite have her level of screen charisma. 

The actual comics history and purpose of The Eternals is substantively changed to fit within the MCU paramaters and for the most part, I think it works quite well.  In the end, not only does The Eternals add to the history of Earth in the MCU, it makes a dramatic change to the landscape that is about on par with the "blip" and Loki's introduction of timeline variations and multiversal implications.  I'm sure these will be plot points referenced in other films and shows going forward.  Not the least of which is the future of Dane Whitman and his family's legacy.

On the cosmic level of the MCU, The Eternals has reset the power structure on the space/time chess board and I'm intrigued by the vast possibilities of where this story can go in the future.  
The mid-credits sequence is the most "Marvel" moment of the entire film, and it will also elicit fanboy squeals of delight by old school Marvel kids from the 70s and 80s who are now grumpy too-old-for-comics fans. 😃  The after-credits sequence is an excellent and intriguing after dinner dessert tease.

I enjoyed it immensely.  For a longtime Kirby Eternals fan, I was suprised by so many thematic and conceptual elements that were retained but also suprised by the new ideas and expansions logically brought into the mix.  A few head-scratchers in terms of wondering why some particular choices were made (such as no Zuras at all and Ikaris's hair color change) but taken as a whole, it all pretty much worked for me.

CHEF and MALEFICENT Reviews!

CHEF
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Very succinctly, this is the most charming and legitimately funny comedy so far this year.

I don't want to say too much about this one because I just want everyone to go see it and enjoy it like I did. This movie is so perfectly put together that watching it is like sitting down to a full course dinner topped with a nice after-dinner wine.

Chef Carl Caspar has spent the last 10 years of his career subjugating his own dreams and desires to the over-controlling owner of a posh Los Angeles restaurant. In this metaphor for everyone else's mid-life crises, we watch his career (and self-confidence) implode as he is pushed to rediscover his passion and his true self. His path to fullness is paralleled in a food truck trek across the country with his son, who he had previously been at best an absentee dad after his divorce.

Along the way we are inundated with real belly laughs that arise out of honest circumstances and true character moments. Damaged relationships are repaired and the path to happiness is restored as a hard truth takes hold: Happiness and satisfaction will always elude those who never pursue their dreams.

Also, there is absolutely no way to walk out of this movie without a craving for a Cubano sandwich. Thankfully, we have an excellent foot truck in Austin, Texas that serves Cubanos.

One other note, I went to see this film at a local theater in Austin and I wish that director and star Jon Favreau could've been in there because the audience was enthralled. They were interactive and reactive through out the entire film and especially when the road trip made its way into Austin and the truck pulled up to Austin's famous Franklin's Barbeque (voted best barbeque in the entire country by The Foodist at Bon Appetit). There were cheers and whoops of enthusiasm throughout the entire Austin segment.

This movie exemplifies so much of what is missing from so many Hollywood-based comedies. There is a renaissance of independent film happening right now and if you aren't seeking out gems like this you are missing out. You want more? How about Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson, John Lequizamo, and Robert Downey Jr.? If that doesn't get you in the door then I dunno what else to say.

‪#‎chef‬