Eternals: The Apostasy Edit

Simply incredible. The Eternals is a movie I saw twice in the theaters, and I wanted to love it so bad. But there were always a few things that took me out. Mainly, the pacing. It's more noticeable on each re-watch, and a few other things really damage my enjoyment of the original cut. But almost all of those issues are remedied here!

This is the version of Eternals I didn't know I wanted. I love the new opening sequence that doesn't give the Eternals a false mission. It sets up Arishem as an imposing and possibly malicious force from the start. The new structure of scenes, and chosen deleted scenes, add so much to the development of the characters, I found myself caring so much more by the final act.

The creative decision to focus on the religious angle is brilliant and really gives the film a much needed tonal focus. This now feels like a truly different kind of Marvel movie, while still playing into the lore of the MCU.

The only things that I docked points for were a few audio transitions that were a bit jarring, and some deleted scenes where the audio mix is not as clear as the rest of the movie. Very miniscule problems that didn't take me out at all!

On a personal note, I really like the deleted scene of Dane Whitman and Sprite and would love to see that incorporated here. I understand why it wasn't included, but I appreciate the extra screen time for those characters.

I'm not a big fan of non-chronlogical storytelling, and having not grown up reading the Eternals comics, the original movie had two big things going against it. It was serviceable, as most MCU movies are, but nothing that stood out. Keo's edit was a vast improvement, his trims and the reordering of scenes allowing a better and more natural flow. The chapter cards were a neat inclusion that helped set it apart from other MCU films, and while there was some audio issues, I preferred Keo's choice of music over the original songs.

This edit will definitely be my go-to version of "The Eternals" for future viewings. Highly recommended!

This is an extremely professional edit. I was completely unable to tell what things were added and removed. The story is tighter, the title cards are INCREDIBLE, and the cuts made are seamless. It felt like this was the way the movie was supposed to be.

I think it could have done with maybe another 10 minutes removed, but as it is it felt cohesive and confident in its delivery. It's pretty crazy what can be done with clever editing and a plan. Great work!!

Edit: holy cow I just read through your list of changes. The amount of work you put into this is enormous and it really shows. The added effects, the tightened dialogue, the extraneous shots removed, it all adds up to a very enjoyable movie.

Short review - Great edit of a not so great movie. I still don't completely enjoy the movie, but it's far better than the original. The narrative is really improved here, and just overall a better experience.

I'm not sure if it's because I downloaded the lower quality file or if it's with the 4k version as well but the audio quality wasn't the best. I'll have to download that version and compare. I did enjoy the added songs, and didn't notice them too much except for the Tool song. Though I really enjoyed having it in there.

First things first, this is definitely an improvement over the original Eternals and it is certainly worth checking out -- though it was not what I was expecting at all! Now onto my few quibbles... I love the idea of the different stages, but I found the title cards to be a little distracting, as I thought there were too many of them and they were not spread out evenly throughout the film. I think three stages would have sufficed and could have been used to mark each main act in the movie. Still on the subject of narrative, I believe there is a continuity mistake when someone appears to know about a character's powers, but is later told about this and acts surprised, There were also some issues with the music. While for the most part, it added to the film and made it seem like it belonged in the MCU, there was one action sequence in particular that felt more like a music video than an actual movie, as the song just seemed to go on and on and on. At the other end of the spectrum, there's a very mellow scene near the start of the film where the sound of a harp was included and this sounded more like something out of Final Fantasy than what should probably be in a Marvel movie. Other than these issues though, I thoroughly enjoyed this edit and my partner and I both agreed that it was a lot easier to follow than the original film. In fact, this is the edit's greatest strength, as the chronological sequencing of events makes for a much more enjoyable and far less brain-straining experience. I do recommend it!