Marvel’s Eternals is set for release on November 5, but the film has already received negative reviews on IMDb.
Eternals is the latest installment in the MCU, and the hype for the film is real because of the all-star cast and having an Academy Award-winning director at the helm. But it looks like not everyone is excited to see the film. According to The Direct, IMDb’s rating for the film received a bunch of negative reviews a week before it was set to hit theaters, with over 400 1-star reviews.
Marvel is taking steps to making the MCU a more diverse and inclusive universe, and Eternals is part of their efforts towards achieving this goal. The film will feature a lot of firsts for the MCU — its first openly gay superhero (Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos) and its first deaf superhero (Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari). Director Chloe Zhao herself has said that she hopes Marvel Studios will not censor the film when it premieres for overseas audiences.
Marvel’s move to make its films more diverse and inclusive is admirable, but unfortunately it seems not everyone is on board for it, and that’s most likely the reason why Eternals had been bombarded with negative reviews even before its release. The review-bombers are particularly unhappy about the LGBTQIA+ representation that the film will be featuring.
Phastos, Brian Tyree Henry’s character, will be Marvel’s first openly gay superhero. The upcoming film is said to have a gay kiss scene, and this was a common subject mentioned in the negative reviews that the film has received.
Due to the spike in negative reviews that were dropped for the film prior to its release, IMDb has since temporarily disabled the audience rating section for Eternals. The audience rating system will be enabled only after the Eternals’ theatrical release, when people have actually watched the film.
Unfortunately, review bombing is nothing new. Review bombing is done by a large group of people who coordinate to drop negative reviews on something to promote a negative perception of it, even for films they haven’t seen. Marvel is no stranger to review bombing either. Before Eternals, Marvel had a similar experience with Captain Marvel, which was the studio’s first female-led project. Due to the review bombing on Captain Marvel, Rotten Tomatoes had to remove their audience score section.
Even though studios like Marvel are taking action to make their films more diverse and inclusive, these moves are often met with mixed reactions. Some fans are all for it since it can make their films more authentic and inclusive with proper representation, but sadly some just can’t wrap their heads around hearing and seeing more progressive ideas in the films that they watch.
Sometimes it can even go as far as saying “nope” to a film that conveys more progressive ideas and messages, even if they haven’t seen it. In the case of Eternals, based on the negative reviews it seems these reviewers aren’t ready to see a gay superhero in the MCU.
Marvel’s plan to shift the MCU into a more inclusive universe is highly relevant, especially for those who long to see proper representation in the movies and shows they watch. Hopefully the review bombing won’t deter audiences from watching Eternals when it comes out so they can see for themselves how Marvel will handle taking this progressive step in their storytelling.
