Salma Hayek | Craig's Movie Report

Viewed – 21 January 2022 Disney+

A group of immortal super beings who have lived amongst us for centuries, travel the planet seeking out and killing a race of creatures knows as deviants. Their mission is to aid mankind’s development through the ages. In the present day, an estranged Eternals have to regroup when a new threat endangers the planet.

This latest Marvel Studios effort introduces a new group of heroes, and after countless Avengers, Spider-Man and Captain America movies it was refreshing to see these newer characters (outside of the comics). Casting is decent, with names like Angelina Jolie and Salam Hayek being joined by Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden and Train to Busan’s Don Lee. What this generally is, is an epic saga following the lives of these characters over the ages, feeling at times like a pilot to a TV series. However under the direction of Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) a lot is crammed into an energetic 2hrs 38 minutes. The cinematography is often gorgeous, aided by not only a globe-trotting storyline but also the wealth of IMAX shots (yes I watched that version) and it certainly delivers a visual treat. Action is also plentiful and the various abilities of the characters make for some exciting and imaginative encounters.

The story is a bit ‘out there’ and doesn’t entirely add up, and an appearance by Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington comes off as an after-thought. Yet with some good character melodrama amongst the action and spectacle, I must admit I enjoyed this. The CGI is decent and the various twists and turns definitely caught me off guard. Better than it’s lukewarm reputation may have you believe and I for one look forward to what we get next.

Verdict: Good+

Viewed – 21 October DVD

I liked the first two Skrek movies, their clever spin on fairy tales and nursery rhymes, with likable characters and often spot-on humour. Naturally one of the most enjoyable characters was Puss, voiced brilliantly by Antonio Banderas, and getting his own feature seemed on obvious thing.

Now you might ask, does the character, who is basically a ginger cat in boots and a hat, sporting a Musketeer-style sword really have enough going for him to carry his own movie? In a word – yes. Now what the writers here have done is pull from some of the most famous children’s stories (this time Jack & The Bean Stalk and to a lesser extent Humpty Dumpty) and throw our smooth womanizing (well, female cat-nising) hero into the middle of it all. This is funny, if a tad too steered towards children for my liking, but has a good story and some interesting characters (Salma Hayek’s Kitty Soft Paws for instance). Sadly the jokes don’t all hit the mark, much of the adult-aimed humour from the Shrek movies is missing, and towards the end the bad guy’s evil masterplan doesn’t make a great deal of sense. Thankfully though it all looks lush, with gorgeous CGI animation and plenty of action.

At the end of the day however, it doesn’t quite have enough ideas or character (the villainous Jack & Jill are rubbish) to stand alongside the greats like Toy Story or Monsters Inc. But if like me you fell in love with ol’ Puss In Boots in the Shrek movies … you’ll undoubtedly still have a good time.

Verdict: 2.5 /5