Richard Madden | Screenlife Reviews

With 25 films under its belt, it feels like there is little left that the MCU has not yet explored. Their 26th effort Eternals, from Oscar winning director Chloé Zhao, aims to subvert expectations again with an epic, history-spanning cosmic adventure that introduces audiences to a new team of space-travelling, god-like heroes. But what should be the most vibrant and distinct Marvel film ends up one of the most bland – a cold, strangely emotionless slog that descends into CGI madness. When the most satisfying piece of an almost three hour long film is the post-credits scene, you know something is wrong, and Eternals is one of Marvel’s weakest efforts to date.

While the rest of Earth’s heroes were off fighting Thanos and any number of other threats, a team of 10 immortal space warriors – the Eternals – existed on the planet, tasked by their Celestial (giant space god) creator Arishem (David Kaye) with protecting the species against otherworldly abominations, the Deviants, but otherwise leaving the human race to fend for itself. With the Deviants all but defeated, the team disbanded to live out separate existences until the creatures’ return forces Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Sprite (Lia McHugh) to rally their family of heroes – the Superman-like Ikaris (Richard Madden), mind-controlling Druig (Barry Keoghan), warrior god Athena (Angelina Jolie), leader Ajak (Salma Hayek), Bollywood star Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), speedster Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), super-strong Gilgamesh (Don Lee) and genius Phastos (Bryan Tyree Henry) – to uncover the cause of the Deviant resurgence and save Earth from certain destruction.

That’s an absolutely barebones summary of the giant film that is Eternals; which immediately struggles under the weight of juggling ten main characters, a world-ending, history-spanning storyline and connecting it all the to the biggest shared cinematic universe of all time. That MCU link means the army of writers that contributed to the script go into overdrive from the get-go to explain where the Eternals came from, why they didn’t fight against Thanos and where they’ve been for all this time, regardless of how uninteresting that all is. It’s the first sign that something is wrong, with Zhao’s film taking on a cold, business-like tone; giving the sense that boxes are simply being ticked rather than a meaningful examination of character or the fascinating found family dynamic.

A large portion of the film is devoted to assembling that family – as Sersi and Sprite travel the globe reconnecting with everyone – and this is easily the most enjoyable aspect, with snappy banter and a light tone (apart from Richard Madden’s permanently dour Ikaris) keeping things fun as you come to understand the dynamics of the team. Barry Keoghan and Bryan Tyree Henry are particular standouts, both layered characters with their own demons; with Keoghan’s Druig frustrated at being kept from using his powers of mind control to simply cease conflict. Henry’s Phastos has a much more sobering burden to carry – tasked with drip-feeding technological advances to humanity, including those of a negative persuasion – that forces the guilt ridden god to do some serious soul searching. Never in short supply are the usual quick fire Marvel jokes of course, but they rarely hit as intended, a shame considering the comedic talent in Nanjiani alone. He tries his heart out – Kingo’s other life as a Bollywood superstar makes for some great one liners and a standout side character in his valet Karun (Harish Patel) – but Madden and Chan bring things down by never seeming to know how to respond to his levity.

Despite being the lead characters of the piece, Ikarus and Sersi are woefully underwritten, with Zhao choosing to show their relationship through the ages as well as telling us. It’s a heavy-handed approach made especially worse when the two come together and couldn’t have less chemistry; opposite thematic mouthpieces constantly discussing huge, world-ending stakes rather than estranged lovers that were together for 5,000 years. That’s a problem that is rife almost everywhere you look: over-explanation. Eternals is cosmic sci-fi on a grand scale and the characters are constantly discussing it; throwing in new facts and reviewing assumed knowledge at every turn. Yet you never fully feel that you understand what is going on until the third act devolves into the tried and tested “big CGI battle”. It seems as if Zhao is constantly shooting for thematic examinations of how different experiences shape different responses to life only to be pulled back into familiar territory to reset the pieces for the next Marvel instalment. Sadly ironic that the only scene that seems to fully see out its vision is the post-credits scene teasing a future film.

Audiences have endured Marvel’s bad villain syndrome over the years in more than a few films but Eternals’ might be the worst yet. The Deviants are a thoroughly uninteresting race of dinosaur-like creatures – all tendrils and snapping teeth – that serve as nothing more than glorified CGI punching bags to put our heroes powers on full display. Unlike the endless streams of enemies in an Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, there is no charismatic leader behind them all. Discovering the origin of the Deviants doesn’t make them one bit more interesting as villains; they continue to crop up only to be thoroughly knocked back to where they came from: rinse and repeat throughout. What should be a bone-shatteringly vicious showdown at the halfway point is undermined by the hazy way Zhao chooses to shoot the action; a combination of a shaky camera and terrible lighting making things almost as incomprehensible as that infamous Game of Thrones episode.

Perhaps it’s Chloé Zhao at the helm fresh off her Best Director Oscar win or the promise of the next great superhero team that makes Eternals feel like such a disappointment. What should be another slam dunk hit from a studio that has made billions out of well characterised heroes and their action-filled exploits feels strangely hollow and devoid of life; a largely humourless affair that feels both universe expanding and inessential at the same time. The fantastic cast is largely wasted, the villains are only that in the most base sense and the plot alternates between an incomprehensible mess and the worst parts of the worst Marvel films. The heroes might live on but Eternals feels destined to fade from the Marvel memory.

Eternals stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Bill Skarsgård & Kit Harington – In cinemas now.

5/10

Elton John is one of the most larger than life figures in musical history, donning ridiculously over-the-top outfits as he belts out tunes on his trusty piano. As such, one would expect a biopic about the man’s life to delve deep into the factors and events that made John the icon he is today, both the good and the bad. Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman certainly delivers in being larger than life – a true story told in the style of Mamma Mia – with characters bursting into song in the middle of a scene and a powerhouse performance by Taron Egerton as the Rocketman himself. The choice to incorporate these fourth wall breaking musical performances into the story is also something of a double-edged sword; lessening the impact of the story that should be told.

Rocketman explores the life of Elton John from his experiences as a child – under his real name Reginald Dwight – dealing with his parent’s divorce through to his life of rock and roll excess until his inevitable fall from grace and admission into rehab. Throughout all of this there is the common theme of Elton’s search for love that he has been denied his whole life. He is constantly derided by his parents and those around him – apart from his grandmother (Gemma Jones), who supports his initial musical endeavours, and his best friend and writing partner Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) – and as a result Elton surrounds himself with people that he mistakenly trusts with his wellbeing who are actually after his fame and fortune – enter John Reid (Richard Madden), Elton’s lover and business manager. The film focuses on the toll this struggle takes on Elton and the physical and mental effects that inhibit his ability to truly connect with those around him as his star burns brighter and brighter in the musical world.

What differentiates Rocketman from its contemporaries is the way in which the story is told, with most scenes transitioning into full fledged musical numbers featuring the hits of John. These scenes serve as visual representations of Elton’s emotional state over the course of the story and are generally extremely well performed – often relying on the full cast to help belt out the tunes. Whilst entertaining, these sections of the film also take away any opportunity for real investment in the plot. Every time the film gets close to some sort of a realisation or major moment in Elton’s life, a song and dance number breaks out with everyone involved. It’s frustrating and I often found myself getting invested in a scene only to be taken out by some ridiculous aspect of a musical number – such as Elton floating mid-concert as if on the moon. It’s almost as if the real Elton John, executive producer of the film, didn’t want to paint himself in any negative light and so used these musical performances as a way of skirting around uncomfortable interactions where he admittedly has done some pretty terrible things. It is a real shame given the life the man has lived, with audiences surely looking for a biopic that told the story in all of its detail – good or bad – rather than this airbrushed attempt at telling the highlights of Elton John’s life while literally dancing around the darker side of his actions.

Due to this odd story structure, it’s no surprise that the character we spend the most time with is Elton himself, who is played to perfection by Taron Egerton. From a purely physical standpoint, the effort that has gone into making Egerton look like Elton is astounding, from the teeth and the way he smiles to the outlandish outfits and the way he carries himself in them. Egerton is the only actor in the film with something of a narrative arc as he plays the transition from an innocent outcast in the streets of England with dreams of being a rockstar to the drug addicted mess that Elton ultimately becomes believably, making the audience empathise with him in the brief moments before a musical performance beats them over the head. There is a strong supporting cast around Egerton who rarely get time to shine due to the laser focus on John, but Jamie Bell as Elton’s best friend and confidant Bernie Taupin is a highlight and the best performance after Egerton. He plays the role with a sense of wonder and innocence at the musical world, with less drive to succeed than Elton. Where Elton is critical and unsatisfied, Bernie is simply happy to be around these people he has admired his whole life and Bell brings a lot to the table – making Bernie the most relatable character in the film. Bryce Dallas Howard and Richard Madden both deliver good performances as Elton’s mother and business manager/lover but they are ultimately thankless roles, written as one-dimensional plot devices that get Elton from point A to B.

Rocketman is a film that could have been great. With a truly incredible performance from Taron Egerton and the story of one of music’s biggest icons to follow, it’s hard to see it play out so wrong. The bizarre and jarring style of presenting the musical performances as asides to the narrative, rather than as performances in the narrative of the film, means that the plot is robbed of any urgency and weight – ultimately making the whole affair feel irrelevant. This glossy, one-sided film is not the full account of this legendary rockstar’s life fans came to see, and one can only hope that a filmmaker comes along in the future with a clearer vision – one that doesn’t have Elton John himself on the payroll.

Rocketman stars Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden & Bryce Dallas Howard – In cinemas now.