Ten immortal beings sent to Earth thousands of years ago to fight monsters reunite when they learn their true purpose will destroy the planet. They disagree about whether to stop it. It is worth watching as a Marvel movie shot with real locations and natural light.
Eternals is a 2021 science fiction, action and adventure film directed by Chloé Zhao. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (1 cinematography, 2 narrative and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Social Network uses several of the same techniques.
Filming in recognizable real places so the setting acts like part of the cast. Streets, buildings and landscapes shape the mood of the story.
How this film uses it
Zhao was given freedom to use more locations and natural lighting than earlier Marvel films. The film shot at Pinewood Studios and on location in England and the Canary Islands. The real landscapes make superhero fights feel like they happen in the world instead of a studio.
Where to see it
Location shoot: the production filmed in England and the Canary Islands in 2019 and 2020. The real settings stand in for the many places and ages the Eternals have lived through.
Telling the story out of order by jumping between time periods. The order you see events in changes how you understand them.
How this film uses it
The story jumps between the present and the long past, from 5000 BC to the year the last Deviants die in 1521. Each jump shows how the team has lived with humans for centuries and why they now disagree. The order you learn things changes how you judge the betrayals.
Where to see it
Backstory: the Eternals are sent to Earth in 5000 BC to destroy the Deviants. After the last ones fall in 1521, they stop fighting and mostly live apart.
Writing an opponent the film never fully labels as evil. Their motives mix ordinary human wants with real harm, and they may even help the hero grow.
How this film uses it
Ikaris is a friend of the heroes and also the one fighting their plan. He believes in Arishem's mission, and the film shows he once let Ajak die for it. You see his side and he never feels like a plain bad guy.
Where to see it
Ikaris and Sersi: Ikaris breaks free of his restraints to kill Sersi but cannot because he loves her. He joins the Uni-Mind with the others instead.
Letting a character's guilt over a past wrong shape what they do now. The wrong may come out late or only be hinted at, but it colors every choice.
How this film uses it
Ikaris keeps a secret that drives everything he does. He led Ajak to the Deviants and allowed them to kill her. When it comes out, the guilt ends with him flying into the Sun.
Where to see it
Ending for Ikaris: after the Uni-Mind turns Tiamut to stone, Ikaris is guilt-ridden and flies into the Sun.
Questions
Eternals: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Eternals use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Eternals (2021): Real Locations as Character, Non-Linear Narrative, Ambiguous Antagonist and Guilt as Hidden Motive.
Who directed Eternals?
Chloé Zhao directed Eternals, released in 2021. CineCode also covers The Rider (2018), Nomadland (2020), Hamnet (2025).
What films are similar to Eternals?
Films that share techniques with Eternals include The Social Network (2010), Polytechnique (2009), Anything Else (2003), In Bruges (2008).
