Eternals (2021), directed by Chloe Zhao

There is an awful lot going on in this latest iteration of the Marvel universe. The 10 Eternals have been around for 7,000 years, influencing human development and history. A worldwide earthquake triggers a crisis that makes the Eternals question their purpose on Earth. While there are many references to events and characters of previous movies, it is essentially a standalone story. It is however a very complicated tale, with many characters, requiring much explanation. This makes the running time of almost three hours both too long and not long enough. It’s a very long time to sit still for one story and not long enough to do it justice, with much skimmed over and not explained. It would have worked better as a six-part series, allowing the space to flesh out each character and their complicated skills and stories. There is a nice blend of action and drama, and a few laughs, with a truly diverse cast including Salma Hayak, Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden and Kumail Nanjani.