‘Eternals’ is tasty, satisfying, but still feels like twice reheated leftovers

“Eternals” (Rated T)

Cast: Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan

Genre: Action/Adventure

Where to watch: In theaters

Dwight’s Rating:

Have you ever made a photocopy of a photocopy?

Sure, with almost everything online these days, and in this era of scanning and even cell phone photography, the reasons to photocopy anything are now few and far between.

But back in the (not-too-long-ago) day, plenty time and money was spent making copies. And if people couldn’t find or afford the original source material, they would make copies based on your copy.

Thus, quite often you wound up with a photocopy of a photocopy – several copies removed from the crisp clean original. And you can end up at a point where you can barely make out some of the words or charts or pictures. And where you’ve got just a gist of what’s going on, but you’re guessing and assuming too.

Welcome to “Eternals” – the latest in this new chapter (Phase Four) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, introducing us to new heroes and characters.

The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.

They’ve apparently been here all along, watching us kill each other in every single war. That’s both in the real world and even in the Marvel world. So that means they watched the Avengers trying to kill each other in “Civil War”, and Thanos trying to kill almost everybody.

Instead, Eternals have been laser focused on Deviants. Got it?

In many ways, “Eternals” feels a heck of a lot like what we’ve seen before in films about other teams of superheroes, including the aforementioned Avengers, the X-Men and even “Guardians of the Galaxy”. (And it also reminded me quite a bit of last month’s “Dune”).

More surprisingly, it feels a lot like something from rival DC Films.

Without humans and mutants, and with mainly “superhumans”, memories of “Justice League” floated in my head, but with a slightly better sense of humor, in typical Marvel style.

Despite the sense of familiarity, there are still things in “Eternals” to be impressed about. For one, it looks and sounds fantastic. You need to see this one in theaters to fully appreciate it.

Real effort was also made to explore some new themes as well. Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), who co-wrote the script, delves into notions about religion that may raise quite a few eyebrows. The cast is impressively racially diverse, and we have Marvel’s first on-screen gay superhero. Some people’s minds will be blown.

The cast is also vast. But some have much more to do than others.

In addition to legends Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, we have Gemma Chan (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Brian Tyree Henry (TV’s “Atlanta”), Kumail Nanjiani (“The Big Sick” and TV’s “Silicon Valley”) and a couple of “Game of Thrones” alums: Kit Harington and Richard Madden.

Perhaps because of the size of the cast, and because a lot is happening, as the story hops and skips over thousands of years, “Eternals” feels… um… eternal. At an exceptionally long just over two-and-a-half hours, it often drags on with bits that likely belonged on the editing room floor.

And being a Marvel film, you know you still have to sit through all the credits. (But it’s totally worth it, though, as you get a very big taste of what’s to come with the inevitable next flick.)

However, even with the new ideas and characters, “Eternals”, while quite tasty and even satisfying, still feels like the twice reheated leftovers of what was once an unforgettable, groundbreaking meal.

• Dwight Strachan is the host/producer of “Morning Blend” on Guardian Radio and station manager. He is a television producer and writer, and an avid TV history and film buff. Email dwight@nasguard.com and follow him on twitter @morningblend969.

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