Eternals

High school reunions can be fun, especially if you were in a good class with very divided individuals. And that was exactly what my class in high school was, a lot of different styles of fashion and music. In 2003, we had a High School reunion for the class of 1993, 10 years later to see what everyone have been up to over those years. I can tell you, i was quite surprised. Not by everyone of course, especially from the guys Johan and Patrik, they have not changed much at all, it was like they were 15 years old again at the reunion. Then we had Carla, a small nice girl who i always thought would become a beauty salon owner, since she did a lot of nail work, and different hair styles. She is actually a politician today for the Swedish political party Centerpartiet. So you never know where we all will end up, and that´s the great thing about developing yourself, taking chances in life. So at this High School reunion dinner, one of my class mates Eva-Marie said:- I remember Daniel when you were 13 years old, how much you loved and brought The Hulk comic books to school, you even brought Hulk animated VHS tapes to your locker. I was surprised she remembered that but i said:- Yes that´s right, i was obsessed with The Hulk, you should have seen my wall paper in my room. She laughed and we continued talking, both about comic books but also about films based on comic books. This High School reunion reminded me of my love for comic books, and since this was the year of 2003, this was also the year when legendary director Ang Lee released his film adaptation of The Hulk. I know that some people are very divided about this film, but i am a big fan of the 2003 film. The Hulk tells the story of David Banner ( Paul Kersey ), who is a genetics researcher who tries to improve human DNA. His supervisor, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross ( Sam Elliott ), forbids human experimentation, so David experiment on himself. His wife, Edith Banner ( Cara Buono ), soon gives birth to their son Bruce Banner. David realizes Bruce inherited his mutant DNA and attempts to find a cure. David believe that Bruce might be dangerous and attempts to kill him, and accidently kill Edith instead. David is arrested and put in a mental hospital, while bruce is adopted. 30 years later, Bruce Banner ( Eric Bana ) is a brilliant scientist at Berkely Lab with his girlfriend Betty Ross ( Jennifer Connely ). Bruce is about to find out, that after being exposed to high levels of gammasphere, he will transform into someone else, when he gets angry. The Hulk is a really entertaining comic book action film with lots of great character and this film does a really good job capturing the comic book feeling. Director Ang Lee showed a very serious side of The Hulk, wich i think was the best way to go. Definetely worth picking up on DVD or Blu Ray, and if you can get the 3 DVD discc box of The Hulk, you get lots of special features and a cool box design. Since last year i have been hearing alot of buzz about the Marvel film known as Eternals, that was supposed to show a different side of super heroes. I finally got a chance to check this film out before New Years Eve. Since i am a comic book film adaptation fan ( except for the 2011 film Green Lantern of course ), is this latest Eternals film better than i expected, or is it just as bad as Mike Lindell´s Cyber Symposium event?

In 5000 BC, ten superpowered Eternals- Ajak ( Salma Hayek ), Sersi ( Gemma Chan ), Ikaris ( Richard Madden ), Kingo ( Kumail Nanjiani ), Sprite ( Lia McHugh ), Phastos ( Brian Tyree Henry ), Makkari ( Lauren Ridloff ), Druig ( Barry Keoghan ), Gilgamesh ( Ma Dong-seok ) and Thena ( Angelina Jolie ) - are sent by the Celestrial Arishem to Earth on their starship, the Domo, to exterminate the invasive Deviants. The last of the Deviants are killed in 1521, and the group´s opinions differ over their continued responsibilities and their relationship with human kind. Over the next 500 years, they mostly live apart from each other, awaiting Arishem´s return. In present day, Sersi and Sprite live together in London. Sersi is in a relationship with human Dane Whitman ( Kit Harrington ), who works at the Natural History Museum. The trio is suddenly attacked by the Deviant Kro, with Ikaris arriving and chasing the creature away. Realizing that the Deviants have returned, they understand that they must reunite all of the Eternals, or all hope will be lost.

Since i have not read any of the Marvel comic books of the Eternals, i have no idea if this film have done a good job with portraying each of the characters. So i went into this film with an open mind, to see if this film adaptation would offer something different in the world of comic books. First of all i have to be honest and say, Eternals reminded me a lot about the 2017 film version of Power Rangers. I actually enjoyed that film, since they managed to combine great characters with a solid cast. And i did enjoy the super hero theme of the Power Rangers film, that had a much more serious tone than the 90´s TV series. Eternals feels almost like another version of the 2017 film Power Rangers, with a complete different plot, but you can sense some similarities. Is that a good thing? I suppose it depends on what kind of super hero films that you enjoy. If you did not like the latest Power Rangers film, then you might not enjoy Eternals either. Let me be clear though, this is still a completely different film than Power Rangers, even if you can see some similar ideas. The best part of Eternals is that we get a lot of different super heroes with a lot of diversity, wich is a good thing. One of the characters i feel is very interesting, is the deaf character Makkari, played by actress Lauren Ridloff. To see her combine her super powers and communicating with sign language, is actually really cool. It is very important to show people worldwide, that just because you are deaf, does not mean you are different from anyone else. One of the charming characters in Eternals is without a doubt Kingo, played by actor Kumail Nanjiani ( who most of you probably recognize from the HBO TV series Silicon Valley ). Since some characters can be a little bit stiff sometimes, Kingo makes sure that everyone gets in the right mood. Actress Angelina Jolie is pretty cool as Thena, a bad ass chick who takes shit from no one. One of the issues i have with Eternals is that this is a very long film. I get it, they want to take time and introduce as many characters as possible. The problem with that is that it takes a while before you feel interested in more than one character, since there are so many here. I have to mention the 2017 film of Power Rangers again here, because some of the body armour that certain Eternals characters wear, also reminds me of the Power Rangers film, i wonder if that´s just a coinsidence? There are some cheesy CGI effects ( i do enjoy some of the monster scenes though, they are simple but entertaining ), but if you can accept this and a lot of characters all over the place, just give this film a try at least. Director Chloé Zhao ( who directed the Oscar winner Nomadland ) deliver a Marvel film that´s definetely different than Avengers and similar films, and i enjoy her vision of Eternals. There are certain details she could have polished more, but Eternals do set up something interesting in the plot, and i hope they can make a sequel, so more pieces of the puzzle can fit together and explain certain details more clear. Eternals is definetely something for you who loves super heroes, and comic books as well. The DVD and Blu Ray releases are getting closer to 2022, so why not pick up a copy? I know i will.

Rating: DDD