ETERNALS

Gemma Chan     Richard Madden     Angelina Jolie     Salma Hayak     Kumail Nanjiani

Lia McHugh     Brian Tyree Henry     Barry Keoghan 

            In the Marvel universe jumping through time and space are de rigeur, as seen in this film, which starts from 5,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia and goes through the centuries to the present, touching on Babylon, Chicago, South Dakota, Tenochtitlan, Mumbai, Australia, the Amazon, Iraq, and spaces in between and up in space.  It will make you dizzy trying to keep track.  Not only that, one must also keep track of tricky names:  Thena (not Athena), Sirsi (not Circe), Ikaris (not Icarus), Phastos (not Hephaetus), all tied to Greek mythology.  They are clever and make you smile.

            Anyway, the story is roughly that a being called Arishem has created not only humans but also Eternals who are intended to survive anything, and… what? Deviants are sent to destroy the Eternals?!  Well, like any god-like figure, Arishem is quixotic—at least seemingly.  Through his own reasoning, he decides to foster the emergence of a Celestial transformation that could dispose of humans in the interest of furthering civilization development.  This sets up a fierce battle among the Eternals—one siding with Arishem and the others wanting to preserve humans and the earth planet.  This constitutes the rest of the story in Eternals.

In wresting with these conflicts, there are some philosophical discussions/arguments about life paradoxes to tease the mind, such as that creation always involves destruction; some have to die in order for other life to be born.  Also to be wrestled with is that even though Heresham created humans, Eternals, Deviants (which he lost control of), in the offing he plans for the emergence of the Celestials.  Life is a cycle of creation and destruction.  But some are questioning Creator Arishem’s requirement that Eternals not interfere in human conflicts because he says that conflicts and war are necessary for the development of the human world.  

The script adapted from Jack Kirby’s original comic books by Chloe Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo is reasonably good, but goes on far too long for this type of movie.  It does meander into some of the Eternals’ lives, such as Sersi’s relationship with Ikarus and a human named Dave, Phastos’ complex relationship with Thena and his subsequent attachment to a human who will give him a family, and Druig’s going off on his own to establish a community with the Amazonians—which is always interesting, but none of these pairings are highlighted enough for us to cheer them on.

The crafts in Eternals—cinematography (Ben Davis), music (Ramin Djawadi), special and visual effects, art, and sound—are extraordinary, easily transporting the viewer into the mythological realm.  As Marvel movies go, this one seems to be one of the better ones, having some grounding in literature and wrestling with contemporary issues.  I think the upshot of it all is that any group needs to stick together as one, united against forces against it.  But—there is likely to be a sequel, so we’ll see where it goes from there.

 

Eternals are eternal, except…The twists and turns will keep you engaged, but leave you wanting more.  It’s more the crafts that will amaze you.

 

Grade:  C+                            By Donna R. Copeland

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Constance Wu     Michelle Yeoh     Ken Jeong     Henry Golding    

 Gemma Chan     Harry Shum, Jr.     Awkwafina     Sonoya Mizuno

     The story begins in New York in 1995, showing the Young family arriving at a hotel, expecting their reservation for a suite to be honored, but the dismissive clerk and his supervisor unsympathetically turn them away, until they are informed exactly who the Young family is:  the wealthiest family in Singapore who has bought the hotel!  This sets the stage for a depiction of friction and animosity among social classes, probably in all countries.

     Cut to New York in 2018, when one of the children in tow that trying night is now grown up. Nick Young (Golding), who has become a professor at NUY, is courting a fellow professor of Chinese descent, Rachel Chu (Wu), and inviting her to go to Singapore with him when he is best man at his friend’s wedding. And, by the way, she can meet his family.  Now, he is so overjoyed about not being “recognized” by Rachel (he has hated the “fame” his family enjoys, so has decided not to clue her in on his family’s cushy situation).

     Rachel gets a brief introduction to his background when they are given first class seats on the plane over, and he has to explain that the family business gets complimentary treatment.  She puzzles about this, but brushes it out of her mind.  She is in for a big surprise.

     As she is introduced to more and more relatives and arrives at stunning mansions, its overwhelming, but she soldiers on, partly with the help of her old college friend, Goh Paik Lin (hilariously played by Awkwafina), whom she finds lives in her own mansion, although not of the grandeur of the Youngs’.  Lin helps her dress more appropriately and provides moral support throughout Rachel’s stay.

     What we’re treated to next is the lavish lifestyle of rich Singaporeans, with abundance and excess everywhere.  It’s ironic that some of the natives are dismissive of Americans’ materialism, when what we see in many of the characters is even more exaggerated. Imagine a “rare Cambodian bong” to call people to dinner, emerald earrings costing over a million dollars, groom’s and bride’s parties at exotic islands, and a wedding that cost $40 million (scandalous, when no one should spend over $20 million!).  

     Well, to most of us, it will be an enjoyable fantasy to “live” for a while in this setting.  But, indeed, all is not happy in fantasyland.  Some must deal with marital infidelity, Rachel will encounter livid jealousy (expressed in an atrocious gift on her pillow), her boyfriend’s mother will be piercingly cruel, and she will be forced to reconsider what she is getting herself into.

     Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon M. Chu, succeeds in what it set out to do—entertain and, perhaps, enlighten us on the issues encountered by people of mixed heritage and class, which is especially graphically presented when Rachel herself is given information about her past that she never knew about.  The actors capture their roles perfectly, the music by Brian Tyler lyrically supports the action, and there are enough soulful moments to elevate the film above simple entertainment.

A crowd pleaser that just may be eligible for the Academy Awards’ new category, “Best Popular Movie.”

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT

Mark Wahlberg   Anthony Hopkins   Josh Duhamel   Laura Haddock   Isabela Moner   Stanley Tucci   John Turturro   Peter Cullen

Reno Wilson   Gemma Chan   Jim Carter

     We start out with a bit of history of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table—with the addition of “knightly” autobots who stand behind each knight and who will help the English save their country from the Dark Age invaders.  They’re at a standoff with the invaders and are calling for Merlin the Magician, for aid.  He is on his way to engage a dragon—ancestor of the autobots—to align with the English to renew their partnership and save England.

     Fast forward to modern times.  The hero-bot Optimus Prime is missing, and autobots—which have been outlawed on earth—keep falling mysteriously from the sky.  Some land in a Bot junkyard overseen by Cade Yeager (Wahlberg), who regards the autobots as friends.  He is trying to repair their injuries by restoring lost parts.  Unbeknownst to him, a young girl Izabella (Moner) has lost her family and is now living in the junkyard, having made friends with the bots, especially Squeeks, trying to restore them just like Cade is.  But when he discovers she’s there, he tries to get rid of her, saying she is just a kid.  Little does he know, she is his persistent heir apparent, and will turn up intermittently throughout the film.  Needless to say, in this testosterone-filled fantasy, it takes him a long time to realize her value.

     Earth is in a state of panic now as it has realized that the autobots are attacking earth, and doesn’t really know why.  We the audience do; it has something to do with intrigue among the Bots.  Optimus Prime is devastated to find his beloved planet Cerberon—his home—has been destroyed.  Quintessa (Chan) the sorceress tells him that to save his planet he must go to earth, where a valuable artifact is buried.  If he brings it back to her, Cerberon will be restored.  He is bewitched, so although his reclaiming the artifact will destroy the earth, his ally, he proceeds to recapture it.

     Back on earth, Cade gets a message that he is to meet with Sir Edmund Burton (Hopkins) in London, and is transported to his estate by his trusted Bot Cogman (Carter).  The earl Burton explains his historical connection to a family descended from Merlin, one of whose ancestors has passed down the power of the artifact sought by the Autobots.  She is Vivian Wembley (Haddock).  She and Cade, who has a significant medal picked up from the junkyard wrapped around his arm signifying that he is the last knight, must recover the artifact, thereby saving earth.

     Just as in all action movies these days, multiple intrigues and battles ensue between the autobots and earth, the central struggle being the recovery of the artifact to the rightful heir. 

Michael Bay has directed all five of the Transformers renditions, and his experience is evident in this production, in that the film perpetuates the theme of humans vs. robots, has impressive special effects, and recruits fine actors to play the roles.  Where it lapses is its repetition of well-worn themes and too many battles in which the protagonists are not well defined.  This rendition could have been reduced from its 148 minutes by eliminating extraneous elements, such as the Izabella character trailing after Cade and the spoof of a bad scientist.  Why discount science in this day and age??!!  Humor bits could also have been eliminated:  Vivian’s mother and aunts trying to marry her off and wise cracks made by many characters are tired jokes that fall flat.

     Parents, please don’t bring your children to this movie unless they’ve shown a particular interest in robots and have loved previous Transformer movies.  A measure of interest for children is the 20+ exits/entrances during the movie by people from my row, mostly by children. 

This is a continuation of the theme of humans vs. robots in the Transformers series.

Grade:  C                   By Donna R. Copeland