About a week ago, Eternals became available on Disney+.

We haven't had the opportunity to watch it in full yet but have seen the first half hour and it doesn't impress. Not that our expectations were high based on its low critic scores at cinema release, which have dropped even further since then from 71% to 48%.

What is interesting is that having been able to see even part of the film we can see what the problem is and it's not what critics were claiming - which was everything but Chloé Zhao.

Having been showered with critic praise and awards for Nomadland and being one of the few prominent female directors currently in Hollywood, there may have been a campaign to shield her from fair criticism.

An important part of the director role is being able to recognise that actors haven't nailed a particular scene - eg. their facial expressions, vocal tone etc. aren't absolutely perfect - and being able to give them direction on how to do it better on the next take.

More skilled actors, like Nomadland's only actor, the brilliant Frances McDormand need that less or perhaps not at all. Everyone else was real people just being themselves. Which might be why Nomadland shone.

Because in Eternals it doesn't look like the directing is up to Marvel's typically very high standard.

It has to be noted that Chloe's directing credits are few. Eternals was only her fourth film and it's far from awful. Just not up to the standards of previous Marvel films.

Eternals is available now to watch on Disney+.

[ Main Image: Eternals poster. Credit: Marvel via IMDb.com. ]

References

Dinh, Christine (January 12, 2022). 'Eternals' Is Now Streaming on Disney+. Marvel.com.

Rotten Tomatoes. All Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer. (viewed January 20, 2022)