The latest episode of Screen Junkies' Honest Trailers takes aim at Eternals and how similar the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie is to DC. The recent chapter of the MCU marked the debut of the titular immortal alien race and explored their origins as having been created by the ancient Celestials 7,000 years in the past and tasked with protecting humanity from the Deviants. When Hulk's world-saving snap in Avengers: Endgame kicks off the Earth-threatening "Emergence" and brings about the returns of the newly evolved Deviants, the Eternals must reunite after having split up 500 years before to save the world.
Development on Eternals was first announced in early 2018, with Oscar winner Chloé Zhao being tapped to direct and rewrite the film to her creative freedom later that year. The Nomadland filmmaker built an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie. Eternals hit theaters to the lowest reviews of the MCU this past November and the punches haven't stopped for the film.
On the heels of the film arriving on Disney+, Screen Junkies has set its Honest Trailers sights on Eternals. The funny new episode points out the MCU film's similarities to the DCEU, namely with Richard Madden's Superman-like Ikaris and the story's darker themes. Check out the new episode below:
The critical reception to Eternals proved to be a major surprise when it sat at a "Rotten" approval rating of 48 percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes in its opening weekend. The film's Honest Trailer points out a number of issues reviewers took with it, though most were divided on the themes of the story, with some feeling them to be ambitious and a new direction for the MCU while others found it to be too overlong and underexplored. The divisive response to Eternals has drawn numerous comparisons to the DCEU, given its Rotten Tomatoes score resembles those of Warner Bros.' early franchise efforts and the story's efforts to deconstruct superheroes and their purpose in the world.
Despite the mixed critical reception, audiences have been more favorable towards the Eternals, giving it a 78 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, putting it above the similarly derided and disliked MCU titles Thor: The Dark World, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, and catapulted it to breaking records upon its Disney+ debut. The film would also fare well at the box office, bringing in over $400 million to become the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2021 behind fellow MCU title Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Though a sequel has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios, multiple cast members have confirmed they will return to the MCU in the near future.
Source: Screen Junkies