Maximum Kirby: The Unsung Grandeur of Eternals by Philip Grippi-Hossain

Ambitious and earnest to a fault, Marvel’s Eternals seeks to be an intimate and thoughtful meditation on mythological archetypes. It painstakingly ponders the subversive icons it creates and their parallels with the superhero phenomenon. In this endeavor Chloe Zhao aims for the stars, and almost reaches them. The film  is mostly fantastic. Gorgeous, naturalistic cinematography bolstered by on-location shooting provide a vivid environment for an exceptionally well cast ensemble of players to populate. It fills its narrative to its brim with an ever expanding story of creation and faith, but may struggle under the weight of its burden…at least for some viewers. Marvel has made enormous leaps in modern mythmaking with its 26 film strong undertaking, but the attempts at bridging this particular film’s own massive mythology with the ongoing canon makes for some clunky loose ends. And the development of one of its villains, while ultimately brilliant, leaves for some underwhelming, almost pointless side characters. 

I speak of the main Deviant known as Kro. The film weaves a rather compelling arc where a once-feral monster, framed within the iconography of mythic beasts and Satanic imagery, achieves sentience and realizes the sins of his creator (The supreme cosmic deity known as Arishem). Thematically, in keeping with the Nietzschean quest to kill God that the film ultimately evolves into, he should have joined forces with the rebelling Eternals as they attempted to defy the will of their God. Then there’s the Dane Whitman character, who is supposed to be set up for the Black Knight character…but serves very little purpose in the overall story beyond being a background love interest for the main Eternals: Sersei. 

Where the film truly soars is in the ways it examines the evolution of superheroes as a continuation of the archetypes found ancient myth. The Eternals, within the canon of the film, as the inspiration for many of humanities deities and heroes of myth/folklore across several cultures and civilizations. Spanning thousands of years, we watch these alien immortals gradually assimilate into humanity, some learning to love them…and some growing more and more detached and disillusioned. Questions of faith are asked, challenging the notion of divine purpose and predestination with the concept of free will. 

In addition to human mythology, Eternals, quite cleverly, parallels some of its characters with counterparts from DC comics Justice League. Thankfully, given its thematic similarities to films in the DCEU, director Chloe Zhao never succumbs to those films’ nihilistic pitfalls. It maintains some ultimately hopeful theme of defiance and self-empowerment, along with a redemptive faith in humanity’s capacity for good. This starkly contrasts the Randian ethos of the Snyderverse, which doesn't seem to understand the concept of people with power doing good for the sake of good. Zhao even seems to mirror the more subdued and dour filmmaking sensibilities found in the work of Zack Snyder…but with a far more confident sense of skill and sophistication in her storytelling, never feeling gratuitously harrowing or miserable despite the darker themes at play. Zhao realizes that this is a story about heroism, and weaves a narrative which challenges the tenets of that heroism without ever invalidating them.

Some of the DC parallels are more obvious than other, but the film takes special care to examine these archetypes with car. Ikkaris is obviously Superman, faltering beneath the weight of his divine mission to save humanity…and its eventual conflict with the true, destructive will of his Creator. In Thena, we see Wonder Woman, with the integrity of her mind polluted by thousands and thousands of years worth of memories and experiences. Makkari demonstrates a variant of The Flash, proving to be a powerful warrior in spite of her deafness while also struggling with her restlessness and loneliness after centuries of isolation. Even Ikkaris’ adversarial dynamic with the brooding Druig mirrors the occasional  ideological tension that sometimes develops between Superman and Batman over decades of comics canon. 

In its totality, Eternals is graphic essay on faith, heroism and the Campbellian Monomyth’s evolution from ancient myth into the modern phenomenon of superhero fiction. Its endless ambition is bolstered by the nuanced performances by its massive, diverse cast of international movie stars, which ranges from the veteran garavitas of Salma Hayek & Don Lee, to energetic new blood like comedian Kumail Nanjiani (in his first blockbuster role) and Barry Khoegan. even if it stumbles a bit in the pursuit of its massive scope. I cannot envision a more faithful and reverent adaption of the revolutionary works of Jack Kirby, even in one of his more obscure creations. Kirby’s fascination with the grand scale of the cosmos and human myth are in full celebration here, making for a vibrant and imaginative epic of Gods & Monsters. The mixed response Eternals took in upon its release makes some sense, given the dense and challenging storytelling at work here. However, it my belief that it is one of the most unique, epic and compelling Marvel films put to screen. Plus, it has 2 of my favorite things: Superheroes and Kaiju. Now where are the empanadas, marvel?

Additional note: superhero movies need more Bollywood musical numbers. It’s just a fact.

Dishoom!