The Eternals (Chloé Zhao, November 5, 2021) Movie • Page 17

Is this what the metaverse is?

 

So many thinkpieces, so little time

 

I mean, that article about the narrative around Eternals reviews is a genuinely good article, about a topic that’s bigger than this one movie and not going anywhere. It’s a real shame if y’all decide to treat it as a joke instead of actually engage it.

 

Personally, I think the article is accurate, but it's also one piece of a larger puzzle that's not "one size fits all". Just like how I think the article I posted is probably accurate to a degree, but not the whole story.

And yet there is also humor to be had in examining how we've reached the "review the reviewers" stage of the life cycle. I find the whole tug of war between audiences and critics to be endlessly insufferable.

 

I found this pretty boring. Not the worst MCU movie, but bottom half for me. Can't really see myself rewatching it.

 

chorus.fm

 

This might be a silly, useless post, lol, but I’ve been thinking about it too much recently and have to throw it out there:

If you’ve never gotten around to seeing Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, and a genuine epic-yet-intimate masterpiece that’s not a popcorn movie (a particular user on this site will disagree with that last part, lol) sounds at all intriguing to you, please please please do your soul a favor and check it out.

 

I saw The Tree of Life in theaters three times and had popcorn with it each time.

 

didn’t wear jeans a single time either

 

I finally saw this, and I really enjoyed it. I could say that knowing what I was in for going in helped me out, but that's not true. I think even if I didn't know what I was in for, I still would've enjoyed it exactly the same.

It was a fun movie. It didn't feel overlong, I didn't have any problems with the flashbacks, and I thought the pacing was fine. I'm really looking forward to seeing where these plotlines go next. I'm actually surprised by how much characterization they gave each of the Eternals, with so many people to juggle, and yet I do feel they all stand out as their own character.

For what it's worth, I also saw this with my mother, who is admittedly easier to please than me, but she also doesn't give a rat's ass about the MCU. She is the everyman, and she also didn't understand why this movie is so divisive to critics.

I think I'm just really tired of the meta-narrative surrounding this movie and the MCU in general. I think fans are dumb to think this is some kind of concerted effort by critics to tear down a movie, but I do also wonder why this particular movie is giving critics so many issues, when there are much worse entries and movies in general.

I'll be honest, I have not seen a Chloe Zhao film. So I have no idea what people who saw this movie for Chloe Zhao might have been expecting when they sat down. I do think it does some things different from the average Marvel film, and at the same time, it is a Marvel film. Anyone who sits down to watch this film and not expect a Marvel film is, frankly, an idiot.

I dunno, I enjoyed what I saw. Not that I was hoping I wouldn't, but I was hoping seeing this film would help me get some perspective on what people were being so critical about. Now I just think people are being bonkers.

 

There’s gonna be a massive re-evaluation of this one down the road, fairly confident of that.

 

Just saw this and liked it a lot. I am surprised how much they crammed in without it feeling bloated. My only beef was the comedic delivery…Kumail’s partner was funnier than he was

 

This is another Iron Man 3 situation for me where I really like it but most other people are kinda meh on it

 

who is going to be rewatching this enough other than the most devoted 1% of mcu fans to change their minds on it that much

 

Critically, cinematically, there isn't enough going on in the vast majority of MCU films to merit deep critical discourse over time so they'll be mostly remembered, but not much thought about except by the fandom itself. Black Panther is the most meaningful entry, and thoughtful enough about race to be important to critical discussions of the history of film, and maybe people will use the first Iron Man and Avengers films as useful touchstones in talking about long-term corporate strategy in cinema, with mention of the Infinity War/Endgame saga they laid the groundwork for, but not enough innovative or interesting filmmaking or storytelling happens in the MCU for it to mean enough to critics to have re-evaluations on most of the movies in the coming decades. It's basically Harry Potter-- a kid-friendly franchise with a lot of good-will from adults, enough to maintain its status as a cultural touchstone, but not enough art in the craft to cross over with high-end cinema, and not enough personality to see a low-brow reclamation.

 

100% guarantee Infinity and Endgame will be talked about more (critically and cinematically) in the next decades than any other blockbuster within the past decade. Do people forgot those 2 films made a collective $5 billion at the box office? More people saw those films than all of the combined best picture nominees from the past 5 years. It was and will probably remain the biggest cinematic event of the decade, at least.

 

no one forgets that. those movies aren’t the eternals, the one that i said wouldn’t be revisited enough to change opinions on lol. no one is running back …. ant man 2 either.

 

also that logic is stupid. the “more people saw it” than all the best picture noms bullshit. do you only listen to adele?

 

Every single day someone is saying no one remembers anything about Avatar, the most financially successful movie of all time for about a decade. Critical and commercial impact are different

 

I don’t see your point. I’m saying if a film has more people watching it than it has more potential to be discussed more. More people will have opinions on a movie they saw compared to films they haven’t seen.

 

To be fair Avatar was a single film that came and went. Endgame and Infinity War are the peak of an ongoing franchise that is still very relevant. I’d compare Endgame and IW placement in pop culture and discussions to Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back more than Avatar.

 

Go look at the box office top tens over the years and the movies people actually remember. The Marvel films do well, even when this one reviewed poorly, because they are event movies. Whether people choose to see them again or buy the Blu-Ray or seek it out on streaming comes from how passionate people were about the film. That is a lot harder to predict.

 

I dunno, there’s lots to say about the MCU as a money machine, and as a novel moment in the medium. It’s going to be a topic covered for a day or two in film history classes just like film serials etc

 

I don’t think any Marvel movie comes close to being as innovative and creative and artful as Empire Strikes Back, which is why I compare the MCU more to Harry Potter. Massive event movies in a hugely popular franchise, not much staying power critically.

 

That’s different than critical re-evaluations or the films themselves standing up to the passing of time, though. It’s not really talking about these films on their cinematic merit.