• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Marvel’s “Eternals” Reviews Are In; if you like Thor : The Dark World then you’ll love this!

Billbofet

Member
This movie looks like a tv show that I would never watch. After Endgame - which I adored - it's so hard to give a shit.
I don't really care about what seems like pandering for diversity, I just think this formula has run its course. What's worse is it seems to be adding uninteresting characters to the universe at breakneck speed.
X-men are awesome, but I hope they can be their own thing for a while before being folded into bullshit like this and everything else with this new phase of multiverse nonsense. I hope the same for Fantastic Four.
 

Hinedorf

Banned
Just a little speculation as I see people complaining particularly about 'this phase' of Marvel movies.

The single biggest difference from this phase to all other previous phases was a direct focus on a white male protagonists in the past which saw Marvel/Disney make mountains of money.

Since then we've seen all varieties of protagonists take the lead and IMO it hasn't translated to either a better movie because of the diversity nor is it as successful as their white male protagonist counterparts

As a Marvel fanboy I love any Marvel movie I can get my hands on but the direct choices taken with Eternals to recast/change the entire history of the original character was a massive mistake and the direct reason this will be one of the few Marvel movies I don't drop a dime on.

I'm all for diversity but not at the expense of character quality and overall storytelling. You wouldn't recast T'Challa with a white person for diversity-sake so why would you change the history on all previous Eternals in which there's a massive back log of history you just retconned and for what exactly?

Would've rather taken a cast of unknown actors playing the actual lineup of characters from comics. One of these is a cast of Marvel Characters and the other is a statement on diversity. The later of which I don't pay/go to see movies for.

m0DZOVm.jpg
7Umy6pz.jpg
 

nush

Gold Member
It’s hilarious to see people online already blaming bigots and review bombing for the low scores.
They'll just delete all the bad reviews then ration them out with good reviews when they robot it. RTs just part of the marketing machine.
 

sol_bad

Member
Just a little speculation as I see people complaining particularly about 'this phase' of Marvel movies.

The single biggest difference from this phase to all other previous phases was a direct focus on a white male protagonists in the past which saw Marvel/Disney make mountains of money.

Since then we've seen all varieties of protagonists take the lead and IMO it hasn't translated to either a better movie because of the diversity nor is it as successful as their white male protagonist counterparts

As a Marvel fanboy I love any Marvel movie I can get my hands on but the direct choices taken with Eternals to recast/change the entire history of the original character was a massive mistake and the direct reason this will be one of the few Marvel movies I don't drop a dime on.

I'm all for diversity but not at the expense of character quality and overall storytelling. You wouldn't recast T'Challa with a white person for diversity-sake so why would you change the history on all previous Eternals in which there's a massive back log of history you just retconned and for what exactly?

Would've rather taken a cast of unknown actors playing the actual lineup of characters from comics. One of these is a cast of Marvel Characters and the other is a statement on diversity. The later of which I don't pay/go to see movies for.

m0DZOVm.jpg
7Umy6pz.jpg

Why are you even talking about race like it's a factor of the movies quality? Even if Eternals characters were all white males, the movies quality would be the same.
 

Lognor

Banned
Some people just can't handle that something they've tied their identity is garbage. I still remember how people would spend hours explaining why The Last Jedi was so good and shouting down anyone who disagreed.
Is this a safe place to say the last jedi is trash? I know such opinions aren't allowed in certain places.

I recall something similar happening with the female led Ghostbusters. I think only recently has it become acceptable to say that movie sucks. But initially if you made such a comment you would be called a sexist or racist, even by the director and stars of the movie!
 

Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
Is this a safe place to say the last jedi is trash? I know such opinions aren't allowed in certain places.

I recall something similar happening with the female led Ghostbusters. I think only recently has it become acceptable to say that movie sucks. But initially if you made such a comment you would be called a sexist or racist, even by the director and stars of the movie!
Wrongthink is very real in some places. It sucks that the defenders of this film are blaming the bad reviews on diversity when the Eternals could have all been lily-white and the movie would still suck. 🤣
 
Last edited:

Hinedorf

Banned
Why are you even talking about race like it's a factor of the movies quality? Even if Eternals characters were all white males, the movies quality would be the same.
My issue with race is doing so at the expense of the original content of which the story was based on. As a Marvel fan who is excited for Black Panther or Captain Marvel the same way I would be for a stupid racoon is because of the original material I grew up with.

Why was I excited for Iron Man or Captain America? Because they took their likeness from comics and put it in movies. This new movie is using the name Eternals and a bunch of brand new minority-based highly talented actors that IN NO WAY RESEMBLE THE LIKENESS OF THE COMIC BOOKS.

Would I complain about Shang Chi? Of course not, it matches it's source material!
There's a reason black johnny storm bombed and it has nothing to do with race, it has to do with respecting the fanbase who buys the tickets.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Is this a safe place to say the last jedi is trash? I know such opinions aren't allowed in certain places.

I recall something similar happening with the female led Ghostbusters. I think only recently has it become acceptable to say that movie sucks. But initially if you made such a comment you would be called a sexist or racist, even by the director and stars of the movie!

It IS trash! Both movies!
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
My issue with race is doing so at the expense of the original content of which the story was based on. As a Marvel fan who is excited for Black Panther or Captain Marvel the same way I would be for a stupid racoon is because of the original material I grew up with.

Why was I excited for Iron Man or Captain America? Because they took their likeness from comics and put it in movies. This new movie is using the name Eternals and a bunch of brand new minority-based highly talented actors that IN NO WAY RESEMBLE THE LIKENESS OF THE COMIC BOOKS.

Would I complain about Shang Chi? Of course not, it matches it's source material!
There's a reason black johnny storm bombed and it has nothing to do with race, it has to do with respecting the fanbase who buys the tickets.

The look of The Eternals isn't that much of a sticking point. Phastos was drawn with darker skin so I don't think THAT character looks much different ... That said...

Eternals is "obscure" compared to Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, etc. So many in this very thread said as much. Most non-comic readers won't know who Ikarus or Sersi are, much less Sprite, et al. I'm ok with the change in race for two reasons:

1. The obscurity of the characters in comparison to the rest of the 616 universe. Because of that obscurity, they can create these MCU versions to look different from the source material. Think of them as variants in the multiverse.

2. Who says they all have to be white? Most of the world isn't... So wouldn't it be easier for their introduction to humanity, and a non-white civilization mind you, if the majority of the team looked non-white?

That said... Another couple of things you left out of your argument about the current phase box office...

We're still in COVID times and for some people, they now have to get used to all these new characters. Endgame was massive because it was the culmination of 10 years of story leading up the final showdown with Thanos. And now Marvel is rebuilding. Remember, Captain America and Incredible Hulk didn't exactly set the box office on fire. It wasn't until Avengers that they started seeing $1billion ...

Also... Fan4stic was a movie that had a boring story and very little action. No one wants that! Not to mention the villain was weak enough no one cared who he was. It wasn't "black Johnny Storm" that made it bomb... It was the story and lack of action that made it bomb ...
 

sol_bad

Member
My issue with race is doing so at the expense of the original content of which the story was based on. As a Marvel fan who is excited for Black Panther or Captain Marvel the same way I would be for a stupid racoon is because of the original material I grew up with.

Why was I excited for Iron Man or Captain America? Because they took their likeness from comics and put it in movies. This new movie is using the name Eternals and a bunch of brand new minority-based highly talented actors that IN NO WAY RESEMBLE THE LIKENESS OF THE COMIC BOOKS.

Would I complain about Shang Chi? Of course not, it matches it's source material!
There's a reason black johnny storm bombed and it has nothing to do with race, it has to do with respecting the fanbase who buys the tickets.

What DeafTourette DeafTourette said below.
Also, the MCU as a whole has not been faithful to the 616 comics. From the very start, characters like Heimdell and Sitwell have had their races changed. Entire stories like Civil War and Infinity War have been changed. Ant-Man was missing from the original Avengers lineup. Character relationships are totally different like Peter Parker and Tony Stark.
Sam Wilson is 100% a completely different character in the MCU, in 616 comics he is stranded on an island protecting a black tribe from Nazi Hydra agents, when he gets his first suit he can'teven fly and has no wings. He has a whinge and "breaks up" with Steve as his partner so he can protect Harlem and "his people". Many characteristics between 616 and MCU are very different.

Marvel Studios has always changed things to fit and work for the MCU. And much like Heimdell and Sitwell, the Eternals are hardly known, even to comic readers, so it allows the studio to play around with things a bit.

Fan4stic failed because it was a terribly shit film, nothing to do with black Johnny Storm. 90% of movie audiences don't read or care about comics.
 
The look of The Eternals isn't that much of a sticking point. Phastos was drawn with darker skin so I don't think THAT character looks much different ... That said...

Eternals is "obscure" compared to Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, etc. So many in this very thread said as much. Most non-comic readers won't know who Ikarus or Sersi are, much less Sprite, et al. I'm ok with the change in race for two reasons:

1. The obscurity of the characters in comparison to the rest of the 616 universe. Because of that obscurity, they can create these MCU versions to look different from the source material. Think of them as variants in the multiverse.

2. Who says they all have to be white? Most of the world isn't... So wouldn't it be easier for their introduction to humanity, and a non-white civilization mind you, if the majority of the team looked non-white?

That said... Another couple of things you left out of your argument about the current phase box office...

We're still in COVID times and for some people, they now have to get used to all these new characters. Endgame was massive because it was the culmination of 10 years of story leading up the final showdown with Thanos. And now Marvel is rebuilding. Remember, Captain America and Incredible Hulk didn't exactly set the box office on fire. It wasn't until Avengers that they started seeing $1billion ...

Also... Fan4stic was a movie that had a boring story and very little action. No one wants that! Not to mention the villain was weak enough no one cared who he was. It wasn't "black Johnny Storm" that made it bomb... It was the story and lack of action that made it bomb ...

I was with you until the defense of Black Johnny Storm. MBG is a great actor and he was fantastic as Killmonger. Johnny is a white dude.

I have no problem race or gender swapping some unknown characters, including the Eternals. I would be lying if I knew who they were before the MCU announcement. Hell I'd be lying if I said I knew who they were now. So gender and race swap them all for all I care. Maybe others may have a different view, but I don't have a problem with it.

For known characters though? That's a no no for me.

F4, Dr. Doom, a lot of mutants are iconic and their popularity goes beyond just comic nerds. My mom knows who the Fantastic Four are. They should not be meddled with and fucked with. I have seen people suggesting a black wolverine, Magneto, Professor X, Dr. Doom, and so on. Yes Mags and Professor X were created with an inspiration from Malcom X and MLK. They were, however, made white in the comics with Lensheer's background being a huge part of his story. If people want a black wolverine then create another clone like X-23, Scout, and so on. James Howlett is a white dude, just like Johnny Storm is. And there are a lot of cool ass POC mutants that have never been touched or barely been touched that they should give the spotlight to instead of creating derivatives for us.
 

theclaw135

Banned
The trailers couldn't have been more boring.

This whole Marvel phase feels so incredibly trite.

There's only so many villains who have the presence to take 20 movies to build up to fighting them.
Once Thanos and Galactus are defeated...then what?
 

Flatline

Banned
I think I'm slowly stopping wasting my time Marvel's safe trash altogether. Maybe if I really tired I'll just watch it um, for free since these movies are dumb af and you forget them by tomorrow. But I'm certainly not giving Disney any money anymore, I don't need this crap.
 

Ionian

Member
Infinity War is peak MCU, been going down hill since then......I haven't seen Black Widow, Shang-Chi, or any of the Marvel series in Disney+, definitely gonna skip this one

I'm kinda in the same boat, Infinity War was amazing and was the pinacle for me. Endgame was a nice full-stop to the story but wasn't nearly as good. Spiderman, I'm curious about but really that's it and even that I'm not going to bother going to the cinema for.

No doubt the new films will do well but as I said before it's up to a younger generation to get attached to them, older ones (like me) won't be that bothered. Nothing I've seen in the phase interests me in the slighest. Well apart from a new Thor, loved the last one and GOTG the same as well.

EDIT: Just realised i'm contradicting myself after reading my post. Haha, but yeah they're the only ones I give a shit about. Make another Loki mini-series Marvel. Fuck the Captain America / Winter soldier / Wanda bullshit.
 
Last edited:
Infinity War is peak MCU, been going down hill since then......I haven't seen Black Widow, Shang-Chi, or any of the Marvel series in Disney+, definitely gonna skip this one
I mean, it kind of should go downhill. Even if everything is going flawlessly, you can't even have peaks if you never dip back down to "normal" levels. It would just all be a peak.

Like I said earlier in the thread, I just don't think this is really very different from the beginnings of MCU the last time. Thor 1 and 2 weren't great. Iron Man 1 was coasting on the casting and a few cool scenes; pretty good. 2 and 3 aren't regarded that fondly. Captain America 1 sucks. I honestly thought both Avengers 1 and 2 were pretty cheesy, and coasted on the novelty of the cross over being exciting. Dr. Strange was pretty decent.

For me they literally were all pretty boring until Winter Soldier, Guardians 1, Civil War, and Thor 3. Once Marvel's top people saw Winter Solider they must have agreed because they instantly put those two guys in charge of the Avengers movies. Gunn is obviously skilled as a writer / director as well. And Waititi is one of the more interesting directors working in mainstream stuff today.

The takeaway you should have from this is that they are starting over at Iron Man 2, Thor 1 levels. Those were not massively exciting times. Second takeaway should be that the director being really good is the most important factor, and not necessarily the characters. Look out for Guardians 3, Thor 3, and Dr. Strange 2 as being a little more interesting. The rest of the stuff is literally filler to slowly build up to the 2nd peak event. It's not going to be that amazing.

The biggest thing they may be missing the ball on though is casting. One thing they consistently got right over and over, even in the early medicore movies, was pretty exceptional casting. Chris Evans, RDJ, Hemsworth, Pratt, Loki dude - all of them are just likeable people and entertaining to watch. If they don't take future casting seriously and cast diversity hires over exceptionally charismatic people, they will be paying for those decisions for 10 years.
 

ManaByte

Member
Iger leaves. Horn takes his golden parachute. Chapek wants to get into gambling. Movies go into the shitter.

Eisner: "No one can fuck up as bad as me!"
Chapek: "Hold my beer."
 
Last edited:

OmegaSupreme

advanced basic bitch
Only the mutants can save the mcu now. I have no idea why they are dragging their feet so much. We should already have an official announcement of an X-Men movie in development.
 

trikster40

Member
My issue with race is doing so at the expense of the original content of which the story was based on. As a Marvel fan who is excited for Black Panther or Captain Marvel the same way I would be for a stupid racoon is because of the original material I grew up with.

Why was I excited for Iron Man or Captain America? Because they took their likeness from comics and put it in movies. This new movie is using the name Eternals and a bunch of brand new minority-based highly talented actors that IN NO WAY RESEMBLE THE LIKENESS OF THE COMIC BOOKS.

Would I complain about Shang Chi? Of course not, it matches it's source material!
There's a reason black johnny storm bombed and it has nothing to do with race, it has to do with respecting the fanbase who buys the tickets.
Black Johnny Storm was the only redeeming part of those FF movies. Thank God for Michael B Jordan.
 

Ionian

Member
Iger leaves. Horn takes his golden parachute. Chapek wants to get into gambling. Movies go into the shitter.

Eisner: "No one can fuck up as bad as me!"
Chapek: "Hold my beer."

Bobby Roberts, a short angry white dude that argued against everyone. Both wrong before and never admitted it for 'inside scoops'. Much like the other dude who ended up rediculed and banned because he started attacking people. He got let go from the SW podcast quickly.

Plenty of these insiders 'post fake-news', you inlcluded. You know it, you have done as well and back-tracked,

You know full well you did. I have nothing against you in the slightest, half of the time your posts are great and I enjoy them.

Call a spade a spade and realease the Gambit cut.
 
Last edited:
I'd love to see them attach a great director to an original hero. Have they stepped outside the comic book world in this way with any of the movies? I know they make changes to the stories, but an original character?
 

Yoda

Member
Surprised to see this movie get bad reviews. Normally big budget movies are backed by powerful studios who will blacklist a rogue critic. On-top of that it (sounds like, I haven't seen it) supposedly checked off all the right boxes for the cultural elites. Really wondering if it's really that bad, esp given the director won an oscar?
 
Top Bottom