Eternals

In the beginning were the Celestials (yes, I know how that sounds and it isn’t coming from me I assure you). These beings are supposedly responsible for the creation of multiple universes and energies that exist. They are also responsible for the creation of a group of other-worldly beings called Eternals. The Eternals’ prime purpose is to protect the people of Earth from the Eternals’ enemies, the Deviants, who create nothing but chaos and kill all life, including humans, on Earth.

Eternals have been on the Earth for 7000 years, For the last 500 years they had believed they had eradicated the last of the Deviants. Since then, the 10 Eternals: Sersei, Ikrais, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Gilgamesh, Ajak and Thena have since parted ways, having fulfilled their purpose. So why do they remain on Earth? Why not simply return to their home, Olympia?

The peace does not last forever. Out of nowhere it seems, in front of Cersei and Sprite, a Deviant begins attacking both of them. It is incredibly stronger than other Deviants and has the ability to heal itself, something other Deviants haven’t been able to do. This is a major problem. Once Ikaris arrives on the scene to help, the three of them decide they need major reinforcements… they need to call the other Eternals back together.

The Eternals are about to find out that not everything is always as it seems and that it will take every last one of them to defeat this new threat, or face extinction themselves.

Do you know where I got the first sentence of my synopsis from? The film itself. It is from the first line of text of the opening to “Eternals.” My mouth dropped when I first saw that pop onto the screen. The rest of the description, as you can see, on the foundation of the universe and Earth and life flew across the screen so fast I couldn’t catch it all, but needless to say my mouth was still open. It was a good thing God was guarding my heart and mind.

One critic, in his review, stated that this film draws upon elements from other religions and spiritual beliefs (Babylonian, Greek, Aztec, etc.) and that explains most of the history of the “Eternals” and the Earth. There is a solid amount of Hinduism, as well as other religions as well. It’s like the film is trying to be “multi-culturally inclusive and sensitive. But it comes at a price…

There are lines you must not cross in a film, and “Eternals” crosses too many of them. Polytheism, sacrilege, and blasphemy are seen and heard in this film. These themes can be found in the dialog of some of the characters, in the symbolism of the weapons the characters use, or in the fact that the film mocks the very concept of Creationism. What does Scripture say about these things? With regards to worshipping or believing in anyone or anything other than God Almighty and his Son, Jesus…

“You shall have no other gods before me.” —Exodus 20:3

“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” —Isaiah 45:3

And by the way, the book of Genesis tells the true story of how the Earth and the Heavens were formed:

“In the beginning, GOD created the heavens and the earth.” —Genesis 1:1

However, even without its spiritual issues, this film is just plain stale in general. The dialog is relatively flat, and there is far too much of it and too little action for a MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movie. In trying to “redefine the MCU” (as one producer put it), Director Chloe Zhao made some artistic decisions that made the film dialog-heavy and plot-confusing (the flashbacks get annoying after a while).

Lastly, in redefining the MCU, apparently producers found it necessary to introduce a brief, but unnecessary, sex scene for the first time to ever occur in a Marvel film, as well as include a prominent, openly gay (male) Eternal (and yes, we see him with his “husband” and their kid in a couple scenes).

Other Content of Concern

VIOLENCE: Very heavy and intense. Please note, I did not list every instance of violence, just some major moments of concern. There are multiple heavy sequences of action between Deviants and the Eternals. The Deviants are usually stabbed through the head, beaten, sliced into bits or lasered. We see a Deviant’s head blown off and its blood coming out and spilling onto an Eternal. We witness a Deviant destroying and terrorizing the people of an Amazon village. There is a scene where we see an entire city on fire and people panicking and also fighting each other. We even see Eternals fighting each other in one scene, including a moment where two are wounded and another goes into a trance. A character commits suicide.

An Eternal is slammed to the ground by another Eternal and knocked out. A Deviant is crushed by a tree. A Deviant is frozen alive and turned into a tree. People are seen being tossed around in one scene. Deviants stab some characters, drain their energy from them, thereby killing them. We see a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb, in a flashback, and the after effects of the attack on Hiroshima during World War II (just a city burned to the ground, I didn’t see corpses). Someone is pushed off a cliff. Another character is stabbed and one is kidnapped. There is also an earthquake scene in a classroom.

PROFANITY: “Geez” (short for Jesus) (1), “G*d” (2), “H*ll” (4)

VULGARITY: an obscene gesture (1), “Sh*t” (5), “A**” (1), “S*ck(s)” (2), “Get a room” (1), “Saliva beer” (1)

SEX: A couple kiss and talk about moving in together. Another couple kisses passionately, and the audience watches them get undressed, followed by a brief scene involving sexual intercourse. As mentioned, one superhero is openly gay and has a gay partner he is married to. We see this couple in a home with their young son they adopted, and the couple passionately kiss. The sexually suggestive song “Feels Like the First Time” plays during the end credits.

NUDITY: In the moment of intercourse I mentioned, we briefly see a female character’s bare shoulders and upper chest, and the male character’s backside. Some of the female Eternals wear tight fitting outfits.

ALCOHOL: There are a couple scenes involving alcohol, including one during a post-credits scene (by the way, there are two of them).

OCCULT: The Eternals are considered divine beings that have powers and abilities that allow them to do the most incredible and mystical things, include making copies of themselves, conjuring up images, and the ability to wipe the memories of humans. One Eternal controls human minds. A Hindu prayer is seen being chanted in one scene.

Other: In one scene we see a character walking by a statue and picture of Charles Darwin.

Closing Thoughts

Earlier this morning I was watching a special on TV about Disney and Disney World, seeing that it’s Disney World’s 50th anniversary. I kept thinking about Mr. Walt Disney and wondering if he would be proud of what is being produced in his name? Would he say, “Yea this is what I want my company, the Disney Company, to represent.”

I doubt that he would, especially with a film like “Eternals.” Look, I’m an avid Marvel fan myself (having seen 25 of the 26 films) and I’ll gladly recommend a Marvel film when it offers something good, something just, something worthy of praise. “Eternals” doesn’t offer much to praise, apart from some good cinematography, costume-designs, special effects and the musical score.

Overall, I strongly advise Christians to avoid “Eternals.”

• Violence: Very Heavy
• Sex: Moderately Heavy
• Occult: Moderately Heavy
• Profane language: Moderate
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderate
• Nudity: Mild
• Drugs/Alcohol: Mild

Editor’s Note

Followers of Christ should be alert to this film’s promotion of a variation of the ANCIENT ALIENS theory (human encounters with supposed ancient superior beings), because this is an issue that has truly deceived many people, partly because it is often presented as scientific and archaeological (both false claims). At its base, it is a lie being used by godless people to explain away Divine Creation and God Himself. Jesus Christ and His Gospel become irrelevant.

This tactic started with atheist author H.P. Lovecraft. Years later, this pseudo-scientific idea was famously promoted by Erich von Däniken (Chariots of the Gods) and others. This idea has particularly been used by some whose worldviews are New Age or Evolutionism/Atheism (or both).

The claim is that extraterrestrials with advanced abilities came to Earth in ancient times and were mistaken for gods—and that out of these encounters with supposed naive and unsophisticated people who misunderstood what they witnessed, humans began to worship these beings—and the world’s religions and Christianity are the end result.

The so-called evidence for this fantasy is filled with foolish errors and serious outright lies and deceptions.

Nonetheless, numerous sci-fi books, movies and TV shows have eagerly used and promoted what is essentially a dangerous Atheist-inspired worldview.

What difference does it make? When accepted, this pseudo-science leads people directly away from Biblical truth about Earth’s Creation, mankind’s place in God’s plan, Earth’s history of wicked rebellion against the Creator, and the record of His judgments. Inherent in this worldview is rejection of belief in God and the Bible. People are less likely to perceive their spiritually bankrupt state before God and are more unlikely to want—or listen to—the Gospel.

If nothing else, the mere CONSTANT REPETITION of this view of history in numerous movies and other entertainment media is causing it to become embedded in the minds of billions of people, making it seem to them less ludicrous than it really is. Discerning Christians know that God and the human race have a hate-filled Enemy who is the father of lies who seeks to deceive the whole world.

Learn about DISCERNMENT—wisdom in making personal entertainment decisions

Every time you buy a movie ticket or buy or rent a video you are in effect casting a vote telling Hollywood, “I’ll pay for that. That’s what I want.” Read our article