Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

In general, the Ant-Man films have been well received by critics and audiences alike, with the films' unique blend of humor, action, and heart, as well as the performances of the cast members, widely praised. particular Paul Rudd as the titular Ant-Man So "Ant-Man 3" is likely to be eagerly awaited by Marvel fans and moviegoers in general. You can find the full review at https://aarcflick.blogspot.com/2022/12/ant-man-and-wasp-quantumania-2023-movie.html

Life for Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is good. He is basking in the recognition and fame that has come with his work with the Avengers and saving half the universe from Thanos and has even become a best-selling author. He has a successful relationship with Hope (Evangeline Lilly) who has taken her father’s company to new heights and they have managed to blend their personal and professional lives and enjoy a very happy life. Scott does worry about his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) as he lost several years with her during the Blip and she is an activist who has been arrested for her efforts including a hysterical prank on the police with Pym technology. Cassie is constantly on her father for not doing more as she feels that he is more focused on the past battles with the Avengers and not the day to day struggles people are facing. Over dinner, she tells Hope and her dad as well as Hank (Michael Douglas), and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), whom she studied Hank’s journals while they were in the Blip and has developed a Quantum beacon which can map the Quantum Realm without having to venture to the sub-atomic relay where until recently nobody had been able to return from. This news sends Janet into a panic during a demonstration and the four are soon sucked into the realm and discover a diverse and thriving ecosystem as well as an abundance of strange and dangerous creatures. Janet is clearly hiding something and is frantic that they must leave but their party has been scattered and they soon learn that she fears and individual known as Kang (Jonathan Majors). While she was trapped in the realm for thirty years, Janet encountered King and helped him regain his power source but in doing so, learned he was a banished conquerer who can manipulate time, space, and the multiverse. Her actions to trap Kang and lead a resistance to the vast empire he created has set the stage as Janet has now returned to see what has developed and Kang will stop at nothing to regain his power source to escape and wreck his wrath on trillions. Naturally, it is up to Scott, Hope, and the team to find a way to fight the evil and powerful Kang to save the day. The film is a darker tale than people might expect from an Ant-man movie but in kicking off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie is a visual splendor filled with amazing visuals, landscapes, and characters. The film takes a bit of time to get to the action but when it arrives it delivers and the performance of Majors as Kang is captivating it will be interesting to see where the storyline evolves over the next series of films leading up to “The Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and beyond. “Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania may not break loads of new ground in terms of a Marvel film but Director Peyton Reed knows the characters well and delivers a story that should resonate with the fans and the strong cast and addition of Majors along with the great visuals make this another winner for Marvel. 4 stars out of 5

I was really excited for this film; the trailers made the stakes seem high with a story that was somewhat mature in tone. Unfortunately, I was ultimately let down. The overarching plot was pretty good. I liked the arcs our characters had, particularly Scott and Cassie Lang. But the minor details are where things get messy. We get introduced to so many new characters, concepts, and story details in the quantum realm, resulting in an overall film that is not very digestible. There is too much going on and not enough time to fully flesh out the details. The dialogue is pretty poorly written. At some points in the film, I was literally laughing out loud at what the characters were saying. It felt exactly like a TikTok skit exaggerating and mocking superhero movies. Cassie Lang has one line that is probably THE MOST CRINGY LINE EVER SPOKEN IN THE MCU. The performances were decent overall. Most of the acting in the Ant-Man films is a little cheesy and campy, which mostly works in the small-scale stories they tell. But with the large, expanding story that the film is attempting to deliver, it just felt cheap. Kang is really amazing. Jonathan Majors was a tier above the rest of the cast; I can't wait to see more of him but also feel like he was wasted here. Finally, the visuals were really inconsistent. Some scenes looked quite good, with interesting and detailed settings, while others clearly featured three characters standing in front of a green screen. I mean, in some scenes I swear I could see slight black outlines from the keying technology. Where is the budget going in these films? They really need to slow down in postproduction because this is becoming a major theme. One thing I will note is that I thought MODOK looked really good. It was always going to be difficult to pull off a live action version of him, but they did a stellar job. Overall, I am pretty disappointed in the movie, but the movie gave me enough to make this a somewhat average experience. The MCU needs to pick it up this year because it is on a major downward trajectory. Score: 52% | Verdict: Average

**Quantumania is a step up from most of Phase Four. It felt like a Thor: Ragnarok impersonation, and lost the fun of the other Ant-Man films.** My feelings are so mixed on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The first two Ant-Man movies were so great because they were low-stakes with self-contained stories that weren't consumed with saving the universe but instead were set in less a fantastical world that allowed the goofy size-changing antics really shine. Quantumania threw Ant-Man into an outrageous world, changing him from the zany character of the film to the normal character and stripping him of some of his charm. Quantumania felt like a cross between Thor: Ragnarok and Rise of Skywalker with some Power Rangers sprinkled in there, and the result was… decent. It really wasn't a bad movie. It has some funny parts and was better than most of Phase 4. Bill Murray was loads of fun for his brief part and Jonathan Majors is going to be an awesome big bad in the MCU. But it all felt like a familiar save the universe comic book movie and sadly made Ant-Man feel out of place in his own film.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-review "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania warrants the divisive reception. Immersive visuals, more than satisfying action, and absolutely exceptional performances, aside from Kathryn Newton due to lack of direction. Unfortunately, the excessive, repetitive, unnecessary dialogue driven by exposition, along with a lack of stronger tonal balance - fewer jokes by Marvel standard, but the cringe level affects transitions to/from more serious moments - and an underdeveloped narrative devoid of true stakes - character arcs are almost non-existent - make this an overall very inconsistent watch. Still, JONATHAN MAJORS AS KANG! Wow!" Rating: C

"Oh, Daddy - It's all my fault!". Well no "Cassie" (Kathryn Newton), not quite. You certainly developed the piece of communications kit that lands everyone in the quantum soup, but the blame really must go to Peyton Reed and Jeff Loveness for directing and writing this latest emanation from Marvel's increasingly un-special film factory. It starts off with a great little device that could quickly put Papa John's out of business before we are sucked into the cantina from "Star Wars" (1977) where our recently arrived travellers find themselves pursued by the ridiculously un-menacing "M.O.D.O.K" - a sort of robotic killing version of the golden statue from the top of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) after it had had a good time with "V.I.N.C.E.N.T" from "The Black Hole" (1979) - before Michelle Pfeiffer "Janet" explains to her family (and to us) just what has led them to a predicament where they must avoid the evil clutches of "Kang the Conqueror" (Jonathan Majors). Now this gift that keeps on giving for this studio never struggles to impress visually, and the imagination of those who create these magical effects and alien shapes and sizes must be commended. However, this latest offering featuring, in my view, the weakest of their arsenal of characters is just entirely derivative and unremarkable. Aside from a very few bon-mots from Paul Rudd the dialogue is dry and the action scenes are all concentrated in one or two sequences whilst the rest of this serves as little better than colourful padding for the thinnest of storylines. Rudd is quite an unassuming kind of actor. Engaging, yes - but somehow just too lightweight for the grandness of the surrounding imagery. Michael Douglas ("Pym") features sparingly and the cameo from Bill Murray might have worked better in "Guardians of the Galaxy" - here it is almost laughable. If these are to keep coming off the production line as thickly and quickly as seems likely, then somebody somewhere is going to have to spend much more effort on developing stronger and more compelling stories because the audiences are surely immune to the vibrancy of the special effects by now. This is really forgettable fayre.

A fun one! I had a terrific time watching 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania', despite hearing 'meh' things about it here and there online. It surpassed my expectations, to be honest. Great cast, entertaining action, super interesting world building (my favourite from the MCU for a while, in that regard) and the humour is good. Star of the show in my opinion is Michelle Pfeiffer. I don't recall her standing out in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp', but here she's excellent from beginning to end. Elsewhere, Jonathan Majors is brilliant - great to see that guy all over the place recently. Paul Rudd remains a strong lead, while the likes of Michael Douglas and Kathryn Newton are positives too. Love the Quantum Realm setting. I'm nothing like an MCU nut, I'm only aware of the films, so didn't know what to expect, but the place looks fantastic - from the enviroment to the creatures; shoutout Veb. Like Pfeiffer, Corey Stoll didn't really register on my radar in prior films, but him as M.O.D.O.K. is a lot of fun. Looking at my personal MCU ranking, this goes in at no. 8 - I didn't anticipate that! A literal quick glance at the average rating on here suggests I'm in the minority but I truly found much enjoyment from this. Quite the improvement on Ant-Man 2, which is at the bottom of my aforementioned ranking.