It’s rare that an MCU flick flops, but Eternals proved that when the franchise fails, it fails hard.
The 2021 film is broadly considered the worst of the MCU lineup, and not due to its abysmal box office performance. Eternals simply doesn’t manage to hit the beats that make an MCU flick popular — and, despite a truly stacked cast, it doesn’t even sport the performances fans have come to expect from the franchise’s stronger releases. The result is a visually stunning but fleetingly entertaining film with over-explained plot points and a talented, but wasted, retinue of A-listers.
One of the most commonly-shared opinions in the MCU fandom is Eternals‘ trash status, but time might just be serving the film well. Viewers, upon returning to the release for a rewatch, are finding themselves impressed by the emotion and sincerity woven into the film’s plot. Despite the initial disappointment, Reddit user Initial_XD is finding a surprising amount of support for their viewpoint that “Eternals is probably the most sincere Marvel Studios film next to Wakanda Forever” — but only on a rewatch.
It takes multiple viewings for the quality of Eternals to set in, it seems, but those with the constitution for a rewatch or two are finding themselves impressed. It might not feel like it belongs among the ranks of many of its Marvel peers, but that’s not to say Eternals is a bad movie.
In fact, some commenters believe the film tells a “beautiful” and “sincere” story, one unlike anything else in the franchise. Quite a few people seem to share this opinion and their shining praise might just be enough to encourage other Marvel die-hards to give it a second shot. It will never deliver the laughs of Thor: Ragnarok, the easy nostalgia of Iron Man, nor the charming youthfulness of the Spider-Man films, but there’s something to be said for taking risks, and Eternals certainly took risks. Those didn’t pay off in box office returns but they may serve the film well on a rewatch.