On Nov. 5, the MCU gave us a new team of superheroes in their latest release, “Eternals.” Directed by Chloé Zhao, known for directing “Nomadland,” and including celebrities like Angelina Joelie (Thea) and Richard Madden (Ikaris), the film is certainly not the MCU’s best work in terms of plot. It is, however, worth watching to learn the story of the MCU’s new heroes. A part of the MCU’s fourth phase, after the Avengers and the Infinity War story arc, “Eternals” sets the stage for a new team of heroes that take the MCU in a new direction.

Arriving in ancient Mesopotamia, this group of Eternals, an immortal human-like race with superpowers, make a powerful entrance by landing just in time to save a village from what they believe is a sea monster — which the Eternals know to be a Deviant, a race of predatory monsters wreaking havoc on humanity. Led by the Prime Eternal Ajak (Salma Hayek), and under the guidance of Celestial Arishem (voice of David Kaye), the team came to Earth with one goal: save humans from the Deviants.

Upon wiping the last of the Deviants on Earth, Ajak gives them one last instruction: “I want you to go out there and live a life for yourself, not as soldiers, not with the purpose you were given. Find your own purpose.”

Flashforward to modern day and all of the Eternals are still on Earth. Sersi (Gemma Chan), who has the power to change the material of inanimate objects, is walking down the streets of London with boyfriend Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) and fellow Eternal Sprite (Lia McHugh), who has the power to create illusions. On their peaceful walk home, the group is attacked by what they thought was extinct: a Deviant.

The mysterious appearance of a new Deviant combined with an unexpected loss forces Sersi, Sprite and the Eternal Ikaris — who resembles Superman with his power, lazer eyes and flying ability — to bring the team back together to save humanity from this returned threat. Through many twists and turns the Eternals face their largest battle yet to save planet Earth and its residents.

For a superhero movie, “Eternals” has a lot of talking. There certainly are big fight scenes throughout the movie, but unlike other MCU movies the battles aren’t as much major plot points — the focus is more on the characters themselves than the heroes fighting the bad guys. This lack of focus on the battle scenes makes the film different from the rest of the MCU movies.

The plot does have some shortcomings. There is one particular Deviant that sucks powers from the Eternals and does nothing for the plot. It is a great concept and feels as though the story is setting up for the Deviant to face off with the Eternals, yet nothing comes. It is almost as if it is just there. While there is merit to the fact Zhao was likely trying to keep the story’s focus on a different battle for the team, the addition of this particular Deviant’s power feels unnecessary if it is not going to be a major focus point.

Furthermore, the final twist of the movie lacked buildup. It needed much more development to make it feel shocking and impactful. To their credit, the writers did a good job of developing the character involved in the twist to show they did not have evil intentions, thus adding a layer of complication to a villain. But still, the twist did not feel like it had the necessary momentum to be truly shocking to the audience.

As for the acting, the casting was good for the characters. Chan was perfect for the role of Sersi, who portrayed the passion the character has for humanity and her struggles and heartbreak alongside her strength and calm demeanor. Madden did well depicting Ikaris’s internal conflict and the motivations behind his actions. The actors for the rest of the Eternals did well at bringing their characters to life with the somewhat limited development given to most of them in the story.

Despite the drawbacks of the film, there is one really strong positive for the movie: the representation of minoritized groups. The primary characters included a diverse range of races and a balance of men and women.

Zhao also gave LGBTQ+ audiences representation, with a prominent kiss between a man and his husband that led the film to be banned in certain Middle Eastern countries. The queer representation in the film deserves paticular praise because it is not a major plot point — it normalizes two queer men married with a son as family. This normalization is key for advancing equality for sexuality and gender.

Overall, the “Eternals” film has some areas to be improved. But, particularly with the twists in the two end credit scenes, the film is set up to explore the consequences of the sacrifice the team made for the planet in a second film coming in 2023 or later. The film will continue to provide a different kind of superhero movie for the MCU fan base as it ushers in the new era of heroes.