Directed by Chloé Zhao
Written by Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo
Starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Angelina Jolie
Rated PG-13
Runtime: 2 hours 37 minutes
In theaters November 5

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

Seven thousand years. Ten thousand years. Fiction is able to cover massive timescales in a matter of pages. Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, Frank Herbert’s Dune, and Jack Kirby’s The Eternals debuted in print within the same fifteen years, and now they have debuted on screens (some larger or smaller than others) within a month of each other. Those original works came in the midst of the Cold War, when the United States found itself economically prosperous, scientific advancements had sent us toward landing on the Moon, and the cultural and societal status quos were being challenged. Now, those stories are adapted while an entire generation feels as though they are on the precipice of colossal upheaval, not looking up toward the stars, but toward rising temperatures, sea levels, and prosperity that has eroded from all but the wealthy. These stories are resonating with audiences in new media because we are confronting a crisis created by our civilization that will fundamentally change it. 

While Asimov and Herbert looked into the far future of human civilization, Kirby was drawn to the past, but the time scales at play are more or less the same. Where we come from and where we are going are nothing if not the same question asked in different ways. Like the Roman god Janus, we must face both simultaneously. The present exists as a membrane between the past and future, and we can’t know our destiny if we don’t understand our origin. It is not known if Jack Kirby ever read Erich von Däniken’s 1968 book Chariots of the Gods?, but Marvel’s marketing for The Eternals comic played up that fact, as the cover to issue 2 loudly proclaims itself “More Fantastic than Chariots of the Gods!” in crimson font, playing off both the fad book and Kirby’s previous co-creations, the Fantastic Four. Von Däniken’s book is racist junk masquerading as scientific inquiry, arguing that “mysteries” of the ancient world (most of which are not mysteries) are best explained by extraterrestrial astronauts. Von Däniken himself drew ideas from H.P. Lovecraft, science fiction’s most famous racist uncle, and his book undermined the idea of intelligent ancient cultures in Egypt, Easter Island, and elsewhere in the public consciousness. Kirby’s approach is not at all focused on explaining ancient landmarks, but inserting modern day characters into an eons-spanning soap opera between super powered beings and their cosmic makers. 

The most interesting aspect of Eternals is the involvement of Chloé Zhao. Her breakout indie works The Rider and Nomadland epitomize naturalism, and explore humans’ relationship with the natural world. The tension between this sensibility and the polished Disney machine would be present no matter which Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie she became involved with, but stepping into a story of beings who live for thousands of years and their space god masters seems like an odd fit at first glance. However, it is this tension which makes Eternals stand apart from those other films. Zhao’s take on these characters revels in the fact that they are obscure even to most Marvel die-hards. Each of them are allowed to be flawed, and not just in the “they’re the perfect hero, but their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness” kind of way. As Eternals unfolds, each of the core cast is revealed to have made bad, or at least questionable, choices. When your lifespan is thousands of years, you’re bound to make a few mistakes.

Introducing the entire cast is not a small feat, as there are nine Eternals introduced, all of whom arrive together in Earth’s prehistory with Ajak (Salma Hayek) as their leader. This is the main thing that weighs the story down, especially since we see all the characters together in multiple flashbacks, but the movie is also structured like a “getting the band together” movie, so it feels like we are introduced and reintroduced to some of the characters multiple times in case we forget their situation. Gemma Chan’s Sersei functions as the lead, though she fades into the ensemble for some of the middle act. The casting here mostly works, though Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo sometimes feels like he’s in a different movie, since he and his valet (Harish Patel) carry a lot of the comic relief. 

The scale of Eternals is matched by its large cast of characters. Spanning the course of several millennia, the Eternals take their marching orders from a Celestial, Arishem the Judge (David Kaye). Like another Jack Kirby creation, Ego the Living Planet (called a Celestial in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Arishem wishes to propagate the stars, albeit with a different strategy. The Eternals are charged with protecting humans from a race called the Deviants, taking the appearance of colorful chimeras in this movie. While in the comics the Deviants are revealed to be intelligent, with their own society and hierarchy, this film only hints at that potential. The main contrast between the Eternals and Deviants is that the former never change, even over long spans of time while Deviants evolve constantly. The Eternals are obsessed with the idea of having all of their memories intact, learning through observation, while the Deviants react and change with their environment. 

This idea of change and adaptability are woven into the look of everything in the movie. When the Eternals wield their cosmic powers, it is often represented as gold. Not only does gold signify wealth and power, but gold itself is also a delicate material, representing the light touch the Eternals have had on human history, only intervening when instructed. In addition, much of Eternals is shot during “magic hour” bathing the actors and environment with golden light. The sun seems to be rising or setting for much of the film, evoking the feeling of an oncoming change that is cosmic in nature, immutable and unstoppable. 

Chloé Zhao’s choices evoke both the epoch-spanning timeline of the film as well as the planetary change happening to the Earth right now. The challenge the Eternals face in the film’s final act is an obvious stand-in for the global impact of climate change, except in real life, those with the power to fight it–governments and transnational corporations–have abdicated responsibility, cherishing the status quo and profits rather than confront a waking giant. This theme–that human civilization has culminated in climate change, led by nothing but the forces of capitalism–is actively embraced by Herbert’s Dune (Villeneuve has missed that or not gotten there yet) and rebuked by Asimov’s Foundation and Eternals. The latter posits that even if there is no God, there are unseen forces steering destiny, albeit on a planetary scale. In times of extreme uncertainty, it would be comforting to know that there is a cosmic watchmaker who may eventually balance the scales. Until then, it feels like any gods that may be out there are merely standing by as the forces of colonialism, war, and capitalism shape our world and determine the few winners among many losers. Eternals attempts to explain why, and ultimately lands on the side of those with great power taking an interventionist track, but maybe it’s too little too late for Earth. Good luck to the next planet.