The first critics reviews for Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” are now out and with 39 reviews counted on Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits at 72% and 6.3/10.
That puts it as the third-worst of the MCU films to date, behind “Iron Man 2” (72% & 6.5/10), but ahead of both “The Incredible Hulk” (67% & 6.2/10) and “Thor: The Dark World” (66% & 6.2/10).
The same goes for Metacritic where it sits at a 61/100 – on par with “The Incredible Hulk” and ahead of only the first two “Thor” films and “Iron Man 2”.
More “Eternals” reviews are expected to come out and so the score will change with time, but at this point, it’s likely only by a few digits at most.
Reviews are divisive, but even the positive ones seem to have many caveats. Here’s a sampling of quotes:
“Zhao seamlessly uses expert filmmaking skills weaned on a smaller scale to great effect on this HUGE canvas.” – Pete Hammond, Deadline
“You walk out in the depressing realization that you’ve just seen one of the more interesting movies Marvel will ever make, and hopefully the least interesting one Chloé Zhao will ever make.” – Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“With characters and concepts this strong, Zhao’s quite right to take her time.” – Charlotte O’Sullivan, London Evening Standard
“A convoluted cosmic misfire and one of Marvel’s dullest efforts in years.” – Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
“It’s constantly engaged in a kind of grit-toothed authenticity theatre, going out of its way to show you it’s doing all the things proper cinema does, even though none of them bring any discernible benefit whatsoever to the film at hand.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
“Can’t these movies do anything else? Is it too much to ask the most dominant kind of cinema on the planet to shake things up and challenge itself in a more significant way?” – David Ehrlich, indieWire
“It’s not exactly boring – there’s always something new to behold – but nor it is particularly exciting, and it lacks the breezy wit of Marvel’s best movies.” – Steve Rose, The Guardian
“While not without messiness and over-plotting that bogs down and overcomplicates the narrative, Eternals succeeds as a vast and unrepentantly serious bit of world-building with a moral quandary at its center.” – Esther Zuckerman, Thrillist
“The depth of feeling helps counter the choppy storytelling in this new tangent in the MCU narrative.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
“After so many Marvel movies that give lip service to the thornier ramifications of its hero narratives, there’s an earnestness to the operatic stakes in “Eternals” that somehow helps fuse what’s physically spectacular and philosophical about it.” – Robert Abele, TheWrap
“Eternals may not be the worst of Marvel’s movies, but it’s undoubtedly the most disappointing.” – Nicholas Barber, BBC.com
“Director Chlo Zhao’s entry into the superhero world is assured, ambitious and told on a dizzyingly cosmic scale- but even it can’t escape the cliches of superhero storytelling.” – John Nugent, Empire Magazine
“Eternals” will be released theatrically in the United States and around much of the world on November 5th.