Eternals: The Apostasy Edit

You just turned one of my favorite film of Phase 4 into one of favorite MCU film period. Loved the fact that you built the story chronologically by having the flashbacks at the beginning, that way we feel more invested with the characters. The adding of the titles cards describing each phase of the apostasy just adds weight to the overall story, that's the best change you made. And last but not least, the music is freaking awesome, Massive Attack and Tool are two of my favorite bands ever, hearing them in the action sequences with the deviants made me feel so freaking good. Thanks for sharing!

I want to start off by saying that the intention for this edit is excellent, and many of the stated goals are reached. The narrative is great though sort of sudden to start due to a lack of scenes set in the past within the theatrical release itself, but there's not much that can be done there. What is done largely works, but I do have some issues that didn't make the edit "unwatchable" but leave it personally unsuitable as a replacement for the original cut.

As many have noted, there are some concerns with the audio. It was noticeable in some of the transitions as well as within the scenes where soundtracks are added. The transition from the rock song in the early battle leading to Ajak's communication with Arishem and the accompanying song there was jarring. Another scene that comes to mind in this regard is the one with Makari and Sprite talking, where there seemed to be some intermittent static. Maybe it's a personal thing, as well as something that goes against your vision for the edit, but I also just found the added music to mostly be distracting. Particularly at the start of the movie, but also throughout, it feels like there aren't any scenes that are allowed to be largely silent, dialogue aside. One very cool moment with the music, though, was when it cut off as Ikarus arrives to save Sersi, Sprite, and Dane.

Another very nice detail that was tied to some concerns I had was when it was the stage of apostesy, because I didn't much like the stages (partly due to the different font from the subs and the establishing text), but I absolutely loved the mapping that allowed Sprite to walk past the text. That looked excellent and deserves props. Even still, though, I feel that the stages might be better used in discussion of intention and outcomes rather than as a visual for the film itself. My final issue for the film, really, is the fade to white that was used in numerous transitions. It reminded me that the movie I was watching was a fan edit, rather than an edit -- if that makes sense.

The addition of some of the deleted scenes and the reorganization of the film's structure were great decisions. What absolutely worked for me was the prologue with Arishem's narration.. excellent. The only one I had any issue with was with the flashback to Ajak's death because of its placement feeling kind of odd, but the transition to Ikarus looking at Sersi was done very well.

Overall, I really appreciate your creativity and the work put into this edit. I have to default to the original, though, because the fact that it is an edit feels noticeable in a few ways that leave me a bit dissatisfied. However, I wholly recommend this edit so that the approach you took to editing Eternals can be seen, because it still resulted in a better overall narrative in comparison to the original release.

This edit is wonderful.
Presenting the film in a chronological order works wonderfully, in my opinion, compared to the theatrical cut. It really helps us see the team's dynamic evolve through the years. Furthermore, the extended scenes help us care more about the characters - more than the TC for sure, but I think that even more than the Chronological Cut. This is a major plus for an ensemble film such as Eternals.
The new soundtrack was a hit-and-miss for me. I love each of the songs separately, but I'm not sure I understand why they were chosen for those scenes. Additionally, there were notable audio differences in some of the deleted scenes.
Basing the narrative on the principles of Apostasy through doubt and dissent worked very well, and focuses the plot around the characters' journey. However, I was not fond of the usage of title cards. The terminology felt too different from the script.
All in all, my criticism is fairly minor. This edit is highly recommended, as it transforms the mediocre theatrical cut into an enjoyable film.

Simply an enjoyable edit to watch! The Excellent music that was added made the film more enjoyable than the original one. Recommended highly!!

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.