And as Zhao keeps lubricating the machinery with feeling and tears, her efforts seem to mirror the battle that her likable superheroes are waging against a force seeking to thoroughly control their destinies.
But since humanity keeps getting attacked by snarling enemies called Deviants, the Eternals keep stepping into the fray, an interventionist habit that more strongly suggests that of the United States.
It’s best categorized, though, as a getting-the-band-back-together flick: A group of former playmates reunite — warily, eagerly — to make music again or, in this case, kick cosmic butt.
As the potential first installment in a new series, the movie serves as an extended meet-and-greet, so it’s heavy on introductions , a caring, somewhat reluctant champion who’s living in London and dating Jon Snow, a.k.a.
The actors are the movie’s great superpower and give it warmth, even a bit of heat, and a pulse of life that’s never fully quelled by the numerous clamorous action sequences.
The intimacy of her earlier work, its scope and relative quiet, may have made her seem like an unusual choice for Marvel, but her movies steer clear of overt politics, in the way of most American indies, which makes her a fine fit for a global company that’s interested in alienating exactly no one.
It doesn’t happen enough, but sometimes, when the movie quiets down, the Eternals and their worlds converge, and the larger questions of existence percolating through this story — why are we here, who am I? — finally resound more strongly than even its branding.