KumailNanjiani – Credits Rolling

Migration is the newest of Illumination’s offerings. The Mallard family have a pretty great set up in their New England pond. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani), the father in particular, isn’t bothered when everyone else flies south for the winter. This year is different when his wife Pam (Elizabeth Banks) convinces him otherwise. Together they set out with their two children Dax (Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (Tresi Gazal) as well as Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito) on the adventure of a lifetime.

Though the plot may be simple and straightforward, there’s plenty to enjoy. At the heart of the film the theme of family and this was depicted prominently throughout. The ways in which they worked together was heartwarming to see. You could tell they were close and would do anything for each other, no matter the trials and tribulations they faced.

At times it felt like the events unfolding were predictable. Sometimes this can be comforting because we know that everything will turn out okay. That was the case here. It was the journey leading up to the final destination that kept me invested with the scenes in New York City being my favorite. Chump (Awkwafina), a tough on the outside yet warm on the inside pigeon, and Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key), a down on his luck macaw, were introduced here and elevated the story.

From the tranquil pond where the Mallards live, to the skies up above and the bustling city down below, ending in the exotic beaches and waters of Jamaica, the audience is transported to many places over the course of the film. The animation was pretty to look at and really made me feel like I was along for the ride.

Overall Migration is the perfect film for all the family. Not only is there adventure, there are many laughs and a lot of heart thrown in that make for a perfect combination.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Sersei (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan) and Gilgamesh (Don Lee) are Eternals, aliens that have been sent to Earth by Celestials to defend humans against the Deviants. Learning to balance a normal life, they must reunite after years apart to defeat the Deviants once more.

I honestly had zero desire to watch Eternals at first. The storyline just did not interest me in the slightest. Eventually I caved and figured I’d probably be missing out on something if I didn’t give it a go, not to mention the fact that it is all part of Phase 4. The early critics weren’t great and so I went into it hesitantly.

The movie was better than I expected it to be. It wasn’t groundbreaking by any means and it’s not up there with my favorite Marvels, but because I went in thinking it would be awful, I was pleasantly surprised. One positive was the introduction and exploration of the characters. We really had a proper backstory and that was much appreciated. However, there were some that I still would have liked to know more about, such as Makkari and Druig, and felt that some definitely had more screen time than others. I also couldn’t help but notice many similarities in these individuals to those from the DC universe and I’m not really sure how that made me feel.

As usual, the cinematography was stunning. I don’t think I will ever watch a Marvel movie and not be in awe at the way it was filmed. I was curious about Chloé Zhao and the direction in which she would take things. She had a great approach and I hope that for future Eternal films, she will be onboard for them.

In addition to some characters being overshadowed by others, I also felt like the runtime was too long. A lot of the scenes dragged and I found myself checking my watch for the time. Not only that, but it seemed like there wasn’t enough build up to the climax of the movie which resulted in it happening too fast.

Overall, Eternals is not a bad Marvel movie, it’s just different. I believe that it will take some time before we really learn to appreciate how these superheroes will fit into the bigger picture. Does it deserve the negative reviews it’s been getting? No, I don’t think so. It was fine for an introduction film, however, it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Rating: ♥♥♥