Eternals MCU - *Spoilers*

[Mox]

2 minutes ago, Acgott said:

Yes, I saw a video referencing that. Im not familiar with the comics, but I think it’s a reach to tie them together this early.

Spoiler

I don't know how/if they're tied together in the comics but it sounded like Mahershala Ali's voice to me. Just looked and it is.

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by Bullet Club

[Acgott]

43 minutes ago, Bullet Club said:

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I don't know how/if they're tied together in the comics but it sounded like Mahershala Ali's voice to me. Just looked and it is.

 

Fascinating, a weird way to go,  but what do I know 

[Kiltman]

8 hours ago, Manny/Patrick said:

The post credit scene was definitely

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Blade, correct?

 

100%, I lost it in the theater.

Spoiler

The people behind in there with me didn’t really know who Dane was so I explained that, then was like “that almost certainly was Mahershala’s voice, who’s playing Blade.” Which made some people freak out with me.

Also how the Ebony Blade looked…I wonder if they will adapt that backstory at some point if they are embracing Sony fully into the MCU.

 

[Kiltman]

5 hours ago, Acgott said:

Fascinating, a weird way to go,  but what do I know 

 

6 hours ago, Bullet Club said:

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I don't know how/if they're tied together in the comics but it sounded like Mahershala Ali's voice to me. Just looked and it is.

 

Spoiler

Not overly but Dane being in the more supernatural side of things makes sense. He spent time in space and on earth…a lot of which was with the Avengers. So his part of the Marvel world is all kinda scattered about. They could really forge a lot for him in this version.

So excited to see it, hope we hear more next week.

 

[Broncofan]

Just saw it, so I'll follow the crowd on keeping it spoiler-free....

Spoiler

I'm in the crowd that doesn't understand the really low scores - but I do get it's not going to be as well received as Shang-Chi for 3 reasons:

1.   The cast is so big, doing an origin piece takes a LOT longer to just set the stage.   I completely agree with @Bullet Club that this is a problem with big ensemble pieces.   Most movies, you can introduce 1 Big Bad, and 1-2 main characters - and do them justice.   Wonder Woman was a great example of this IMO (even if the Big Bad wasn't great), to not simply take away from the MCU.    GOTG is one of the few where they could get 4 main characters and 1 Big Bad, and get it done - but let's face it, Raccoon & Groot got very little actual character development time, along with Drax.     I understand why they chose to go this route, but it's going to add to the feeling that the story was overall pretty bloated.

2.  The prolonged exposition phase is going to give the very different feeling to the movie that it's just sooooooo slow.    I don't mind if the payoff is there at the end, but for a MCU (or DCEU/SW/etc.) crowd, it's going to be a tough pill to swallow. 

3.   Finally, because of the prolonged exposition, a lot of the solutions didn't feel earned.    Hey, let's get Phastos back, he'll find an instant solution.   And yeah, Sersi, let's pull a never-referenced power that never surfaced before....just now.    Even if they just pulled it from a past event where it may have had more traumatic circumstances, and so it was buried before, would have felt less conveniently placed.    It likely is more a byproduct of #1 & #2 that we see this, but it's definitely an issue

Now, as for the positives:

 

1.  I did like the cast choices - specifically Gemma Chan, Don Lee, Kumail & Don Chan.  And love that they used the best deaf actress to play Makkari (Lauren Ridloff was one of the few bright lights in TWD's final seasons).   And Angelina Jolie wasn't awful, which is a plus.  It's good they'll all be back.    

2. The post-credits directions, with the Black Night & Blade (yes that was Ali), and adding in Starfox, all point to a truly integrated expanded MCU.   We could use a new direction than just the Avengers, so I welcome that.

3. The cinematography was really good.

 

The challenge with origin pieces is they are fundamentally set up pieces.   Iron Man is loved for being the flagship startup - but we forget that Thor and Captain America were widely seen as disappointing in comparison - but First Soldier really stands the test of time and the follow-up films excellent development of the starting pieces helps give it a much better light now than when first released.  We could definitely see the same happen here. 

I mean, TBH, it's miles ahead of Black Widow (which had a tough task given it wasn't a true origin piece, but a retrospective one where we knew the final outcome).  That's a low bar.   I'd say it's still well ahead of Captain Marvel.   I'd put Shang-Chi well ahead of Eternals because I thought they did a great job of telling the story, and developing all the main characters (and perhaps the most complex and nuanced Black Hat since Loki).    I'd give Eternals a solid 7/10.   Being an origin piece, it has the chance to gain or lose a full point, given how they use the origin piece building blocks will often shape its final evaluation.    I do have to say those post-credit scenes have me really interested for what the MCU has in store here.

Edited November 7, 2021 by Broncofan

[Deadpulse]

I thought a better movie was left in the editing room but overall I liked it and would watch it again. 

Like many, the pacing bothered me. 

Also

Spoiler

Zhao confirmed Ali's voice in the final end credits

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2021/11/05/eternals-director-confirms-who-that-post-credits-scene-voice-was/?sh=634183b27adb

 

[TecmoSuperJoe]

For those wondering, there is a connection to a certain somebodies. 

Spoiler

In the comics Blade and Black Knight were on the same team for a bit during their time with the MI:13 squad. 

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by TecmoSuperJoe

[Malfatron]

 

now when you guys are talking...

Spoiler

Blade, is that like Wesley Snipes - Blade? if so, im fairly excited.

 

[seminoles1]

6 hours ago, Malfatron said:

 

now when you guys are talking...

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Blade, is that like Wesley Snipes - Blade? if so, im fairly excited.

 

Spoiler

That's the character, but it's not Snipes. Mahershela Ali is playing Blade.

 

[Kiltman]

6 hours ago, Malfatron said:

 

now when you guys are talking...

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Blade, is that like Wesley Snipes - Blade? if so, im fairly excited.

 

No 

Spoiler

Mahershala Ali was cast as Blade in like 2019, we now know it was because like 18 months later his voice would be talking to Dane at the end of Eternals. They have a writer and director lined up for the Blade movie already. It’ll take the Nov 3rd spot in 2023 or one of the 4 untitled spots in 2024.

 

[SirA1]

On 11/5/2021 at 12:33 PM, Acgott said:

Fascinating, a weird way to go,  but what do I know 

Marvel Knights? or Midnight Sons possibly with the new direction Black Knight has taken in the comics.

[Deadpulse]

Please feel free to post Spoiler tag free from here on out

 

BLADE

[Mox]

This would've done better as a series. Too little time to flesh out the cast.

[Deadpulse]

13 minutes ago, Bullet Club said:

This would've done better as a series. Too little time to flesh out the cast.

I thought that as well

However I also understand why they wanted this to be a feature film

There was a better way to pace the first half of the movie IMO. Did they really need to ONE BY ONE meet back up with them. Have Ikarus meet back up with Sprite and Cersei by telling them that he found Ajax dead and wanted to make sure they were ok. They established that Cersei is addicted to her smart phone... USE IT. I get they wanted to establish that its been centuries yada yada but come on, was that massive time away from each other that indicative or important to the story arc? I would argue it wasnt. A simple, "Oh Ajax has contact information for everyone" throwaway wouldve kept it all in place. Send out a message to meet at Gilgamesh and Thena's place. Everyone shows except for Druig and Faustus. BANG, 30-40 minutes of screen time saved, use it to extend that meal a bit more to establish character depth. Keep the second half as it begins at Druig's compound the same, because I think all of that was excellent. 

The only other thing was I thought they could have clued the audience in on the Ikarus turn sooner, but I could be convinced against that I think 

[Mox]

13 minutes ago, Deadpulse said:

I thought that as well

However I also understand why they wanted this to be a feature film

There was a better way to pace the first half of the movie IMO. Did they really need to ONE BY ONE meet back up with them. Have Ikarus meet back up with Sprite and Cersei by telling them that he found Ajax dead and wanted to make sure they were ok. They established that Cersei is addicted to her smart phone... USE IT. I get they wanted to establish that its been centuries yada yada but come on, was that massive time away from each other that indicative or important to the story arc? I would argue it wasnt. A simple, "Oh Ajax has contact information for everyone" throwaway wouldve kept it all in place. Send out a message to meet at Gilgamesh and Thena's place. Everyone shows except for Druig and Faustus. BANG, 30-40 minutes of screen time saved, use it to extend that meal a bit more to establish character depth. Keep the second half as it begins at Druig's compound the same, because I think all of that was excellent. 

The only other thing was I thought they could have clued the audience in on the Ikarus turn sooner, but I could be convinced against that I think 

I understand why they went in movie form too but the reality is it didn't work. I think your idea definitely would've helped but it's still an uphill battle. Every character is so one note in this, and the brief glimpses of them being interesting are either shoehorned in or get ditched immediately. As a show I would've loved further exploration of Druig's inability to stand by and watch humanity commit atrocities and Phastos losing faith in humanity.

Edited November 8, 2021 by Bullet Club