“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is out in theaters making money at the box office. However, the third solo film earned mixed reviews form critics, fans and movie goers alike. For those who’ve yet to see the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU for short, SPOILERS are listed.
Huge & Puny Aspects
Huge: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas & Michele Pfeiffer reprise their roles and they all did a excellent job for their respective performances.
Newcomers to the MCU such as Jonathan Majors & Kathryn Newton both did an excellent job for their respective performances as Kang the Conqueror & Cassie Lang.
Action Sequences were awesome showcasing the Lang and Scott families’ powers and abilities.
Cinematography captures in-depth imagery of the Quantum Realm.
Humor has some legit funny moments that made me laugh.
The Tone is slightly darker than the last two solo films. Indicating, Kang is a much bigger threat than Yellowjacket and Ghost.
The third solo movie takes cues from “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” Which also focuses on a family exploring a bizarre world.
Chemistry between Scott, Hope, Cassie, Hank & Janet serve as the main highlight. Their interactions move the story forward.
Christophe Beck (Big Fat Liar, Edge of Tomorrow, WandaVision) orchestrated the soundtrack.
Scott promotes a book called, “Look Out for the Little Guy.” The book will also be released in stores on September 5th, 2023. Don’t forget to pre-order a copy.
Although having bad press recently, Bill Murray makes a brief appearance.
Is it me or does Hope’s hair remind me of Angelina Jolie’s hairdo from “Hackers?”
Randall Park makes a cameo appearance reprising his role as Jimmy Woo.
A Mid-Credits Scene and Post-Credits Scene sets up the next installment of “The Multiverse Saga.” The former sets up “Avengers: Secret Wars” and “Kang Dynasty.” The latter sets up Loki’s second season.
Puny: Peyton Reed returns to direct the third solo film. Sadly, he didn’t double check the script for rewrites.
Jeff Lovness (writer for Rick and Morty) did Janet dirty. She never told Scott, Hope, Cassie & Hank about Kang’s evil plan to wreak havoc upon Earth. She lacks common sense without telling them before they entered the Quantum Realm.
M.O.D.O.K.’s appearance gave me horrendous flashbacks to George Lopez as Mr. Electric in “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.” This makes the cartoon version from “The Super Hero Squad Show” less dumb.
Jeff also did M.O.D.O.K. dirty. In the comics, M.O.D.O.K. was a human scientist named, George Tarleton who volunteered to become a guinea pig using a serum to grant him vast intelligence to develop cutting-edge weaponry. However, the serum causes his head to swell like a bobblehead, his arms and legs shrunk like a baby. Leaving poor George to use a hoverchair to move. The third movie ruined a great villain’s background only for Darren Cross/Yellowjacket the bad guy from the first Ant-Man movie, to become M.O.D.O.K. I have nothing against Corey Stoll. It’s just Yellowjacket isn’t the original M.O.D.O.K.
New Characters are forgettable except a red blood cell lookin’ creature voiced by David Dastmalchian. He also played Scott’s pal Kurt and portrayed Polka-Dot Man in “The Suicide Squad.”
A preview for the film accidentally gave away The Third Act. Particularly Kang betraying Scott. Oh jeez! It’s “Batman VS. Superman” giving away Doomsday’s involvement all over again! Other trailers that gave away a movie’s secret like “Free Willy,” “Cast Away,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Funny People,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” When will Hollywood learn their lesson?
Sentient Bulidings somewhat resemble Dr. Evil’s rocket from “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.”
The Final Verdict: C, FOR CRUMMY!
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is an underwhelming start for Phase Five. As a critic and Marvel fan, I have to give it tough love. It’s not horrible like “Morbus.” Just a huge disappointment. Hopefully, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” will do justice. It’s my highly anticipated MCU film of 2023. I have faith in James Gunn. I’m also looking forward to Loki’s second season.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 