Marvel’s Eternals: A team film that lacks build-up

Marvel’s Eternals certainly has its struggles, whether it be the sheer number of new characters introduced or the number of lore fans are expected to remember consistently throughout the film. But, one of the fundamental issues also stems from the lack of build-up seen in the leading group of superheroes.

This is not a film about a group of strangers learning to work together, which functioned in The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Instead, it is immensely clear from the beginning that these are a group of people who already work perfectly in sync.

Although they do not always agree on everything and have been known to conflict, they have spent thousands of years together. They may not have spent every moment side by side, but they still know each other very well.

Part of the problem lies in that the audience never sees the Eternals learn how to be a team. Viewers do not get to watch this group learn how to collaborate because the movie does not consider the team-building element to be a critical focus. Ignoring how they came to prevent their conflicts and struggles from having a sense of legitimate stakes.

In The Avengers, while some had known or heard of each other, there is still an understanding that they are still learning how to work together as a team. Between their slower build of individual introductions and how The Avengers makes a point to show their growth as a unit, it becomes a very satisfying moment to watch them unite and fight as a team. Understanding the character dynamics and how they have changed also helps to monitor their gradual development throughout the following movies.

Guardians of the Galaxy had the advantage of having fewer characters to worry about. But still, the movie takes the time to show everyone meeting and slowly understanding how to work as a group.

These moments of watching the superhero teams turn into a force to be reckoned with are crucial to the character journeys and the MCU as a whole.

Eternals never earns a moment like this, mainly because when the audience sees the big betrayal, it is already so late in the film after watching the group reunite that the remaining time left is dedicated to the lackluster final battle.

Had Eternals taken the time to show the group re-learn how to work together, perhaps more of the emotional stakes could have been raised.

As it stands, while it will not be shocking to see the Eternals return to the MCU in future movies, it is unclear how exciting it will be to watch this group work together in comparison to the other MCU team-ups.