Eternals

Eternally Yours

Eternals
USA 2021
Directed by Chloé Zhao
Marvel Studios

Warning: Slight spoilers as to the nature of the main ‘super hero’ characters here.

Okay, let’s address the first of the two elephants in the room here... Marvel’s Eternals is based on the old Jack Kirby Marvel comic The Eternals. Now, I never used to read that one, although I saw it floating around newsstands a lot as a kid in the early 1970s and it seems to me the whole look as in costumes and characters probably has not much in the way of links to what Marvel have done to it in the movie version. Maybe that’s why the producers thought the word The in the title was somehow either superfluous or a way of defending it against the criticisms of the various changes. I’m reading that there were, indeed, a lot of changes from the comics and Kirby’s original vision but, hey, that’s what I’ve sadly come to expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, yeah, can’t compare it and maybe going into it blind was best for me because...

I really don’t understand the almost overwhelming negativity about this movie. I literally only know one person who liked it... everyone else I’ve seen commenting on it on social media (for example) has given it a big thumbs down but, honestly, I’d have to say this is one of the more watchable and entertaining of the Marvel movies. Due to the comments, I actually put off seeing this one for a while and was expecting it to be really quite bad or, I dunno, lacking in action somehow but, no... it’s chock full of action and it’s got a load of great actors... Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harrington, Kumail Nanjiani (yay, Stuber!), Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Ma Dong-seok and Bollywood star Harish Patel playing a bunch of interesting and diverse characters who don’t always get along with each other and don’t always do the things Marvel good guy/bad guy characters would usually do (this is not a bad thing). Which can also be said, to a certain extent, about the way the film’s storyline goes in general (I kinda wish the studio had the guts to present the audience with the original preview ending of the movie, which is a lot bleaker from what I can understand).

Yes, it’s a long film but that’s because it’s got an epic storyline and, intimate and comedic moments aside, it has a real epic feel to it too. One of the things which gives it that is that the story keeps flashing back from present times to various points in Earth’s history to reveal the reasons behind why the titular heroes have separated and hidden themselves among mankind in the first place. It also addresses the other elephant in the room... why they’ve not done anything to save humanity during its various historical crises, such as the Thanos snap... out of the way fairly quickly and, I thought, glibly at first. That is until it’s addressed again later in the movie as a more satisfying motivation on the part of these once and future heroes.

Now there were some things that maybe let it down a bit. For instance, when one of the heroes turns up dead fairly early on in the modern sections of the film, there was no question in my mind that the film was probably going to reveal a very Watchmen style twist somewhere near the last act... which proved entirely correct so, yeah, no real surprises there. Also, one of the characters is established and then seemingly tossed aside as he only seems to be there to make the most of in the first of two post credits scenes (the mid credits scene in fact) so that his character can be used to set up two other Marvel comic book characters, who will no doubt be appearing in Phase IV of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (one of them is only a voice at this point so, yeah, he got even shorter shrift in terms of appearing in the movie... I won't spoil it for you by naming him here).

The one big problem for me though... apart from some anachronistic sign language used in the wrong part of human history, was the fact that if these beings were created to be perfect beings at carrying out a specific mission... as it’s established they were... why give them specific defects such as, well, one of them being deaf. I mean, yeah, great that deaf people are represented but the concept of giving that character the origin she has makes absolutely no sense in this specific context, it seems to me.

Still, I’m willing to forgive the movie things like this because, as I said, it’s an entertaining movie and much better than some of the weaker entries in the MCU, such as Iron Man 2, Thor 2, The Incredible Hulk or the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies. I was thoroughly engaged with it and it certainly didn’t seem as long as two and a half hours.

One very interesting thing, given it’s a Marvel movie, is that there are two DC references in the film... specifically in terms of talking about both Superman and Batman at different points in the movie. Now, at first I thought that this may be some big money making plan on the part of Marvel (and it certainly would be a licence to print their own money) to cross over with Warner Brothers’ DC Universe at some future point but, thinking about it, certain secrets about the characters are revealed and so, what I think it actually does is establish that DC comics are alive and well in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but... they are just that. Fictional comics and media and not something which meshes with the MCU in a more interesting way. So now, I have to say, I’m fairly puzzled as to why I’m hearing these references to rival comic book companies in a Marvel movie (and, yeah, you can bet DC will get their own reprisals in on their up and coming movie slate, for sure, when it comes to referencing Marvel comics).

But, yeah, other than that... not too much to say about Eternals other than... I think the audience seem to have reacted really harshly (maybe because it’s not just straight Bam! Kapow! Kablooey! this time around) and I really hope to see some of these characters again in future Marvel movies. Which, despite the low box office take, I think they will be practically forced to do at some point because it seems to set up so many future MCU events which would dovetail nicely into this. And, while it probably doesn’t adhere closely to Jack Kirby’s original ideas, I could definitely see some of his ‘cosmic influence’ on certain sequences in the movie... which did give a few scenes a more Kirbyesque look, it has to be said. Splendid stuff and I hope that Marvel don’t listen to the audience response on this one.

Bastille Day

Inglorious Bastilles

Bastille Day
2016 France/USA
Directed by James Watkins
UK cinema release print.

I really wanted to like Bastille Day. I’d seen the trailer and, though it felt a little flat in places, it looked like a solid action thriller in the now familiar mode of a cop using a roguish criminal to save the day, despite antagonism from both the criminal underworld and the police department. And that’s more or less what this is, to be honest... except the main lead, played by Idris Elba, is a CIA agent working in Paris, and he uses a pickpocket who has been mistaken for a terrorist to crack open and foil a possible terrorist plot on Bastille Day in France. Trouble is that, like the trailer, it’s an okay action thriller... not a great one.

The fault certainly doesn’t fall in the laps of the actors though. I’ve been a fan of Idris Elba in film (not seen his TV stuff) since I saw him in the second Ghost Rider movie and he does an excellent job here. Tempering his tough guy, rather imposing personae by having an action hero, Briar, that will also get bashed about a bit and doesn’t always clear out of the way of the traps before they happen. So a more realistic, in some sense, version of the kind of kinetic characters you usually get in this kind of movie. Richard Madden plays the pickpocket, Michael, working with Briar to foil the dastardly plot and clear his own name in the process, after he stole a bag and then dumped it before it exploded and killed four people. And they, and all the other supporting actors in here, do a really good job with the movie, creating quick and credible characters that the shorthand of their trade would permit in this kind of punch and chase driven bullet bonanza.

And some of it is nicely done, to be sure. The problem, I think, doesn’t fall into the hands of James Watkins either, since the action sequences and small character moments in the film are all handled simply, allowing you easy access into the heart of the story and without losing you at any point. Indeed, he and his editor also manage to use some surprisingly good labour saving moments where the camera movement and style of shot, such as a zoom, will take you into a later part of the same sequence using a similar style and speed of shot, neatly cutting out unnecessary footage and all without confusing the audience... which is a pretty neat trick and to be applauded, actually. Especially when he does it in the middle of an action sequence and then you find yourself going from mid or close up to a later point in the sequence in long shot of a different view without any transitional glitch at all. Very well done.

Even the score on this one, by Alex Heffes, is quite distinct and holds its own during the noisy shoot outs, ably supporting the action and helping to move things forward. It’s a shame it’s only out on download rather than on CD but, as I’ve said before on here, no CD equals no sale. Downloads are a real turn off for a number of reasons.

However, the film has a huge problem in that it seems to telegraph every twist and turn before it even happens here. Yes, I know we’ve all seen a gazillion other movies like this and so, as an audience, there are a number of permutations of expectations as to what each and every character type is going to do in a movie like this but... shouldn’t the writer be allowing for that and not falling into the clichés created by those kinds of situations? This film really is full of little twists that, honestly, everyone is going to see coming way before they happen. I was going through the whole movie thinking things like... “Oh, this character is going to get ‘shockingly’ shot dead by this ‘friendly’ character in about 30 seconds” or “This character is in no real danger here because the other guy the audience is supposed to have forgotten about is just standing over there, ready to make an appearance”, and so on. There really are no surprises in this movie and that really harms it a lot because there actually isn’t a lot else that these kinds of films have going for them, to be honest.

And, though the main leads are likeable and start building up a relationship, I think there could have been another one or two sequences put in purely to show the developing chemistry between them because, at a certain point in the film towards the end, I was really wondering why Character B was bothering to put himself back into the line of fire for Character A when, really, he was already in the clear. So, yeah, just a little more character development/interaction stuff in this one would have been nice, to be honest.

Other than that, though, all grumbles aside, there are a lot lesser action thrillers than this one out there and if you’re a fan of Idris Elba, you probably won’t want to miss out on this one... although I really think he could do with a better vehicle than Bastille Day, truth be told. Still, an okay and somewhat unchallenging time at the cinema for action fans. I’m positive there are worse ways to while away an hour and a half. So maybe give it a go if you’re not worried about seeing something a little formulaic in the time you have. It’s not the worst film I’ve seen of its kind, for sure.