Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Review: Critics Were Wrong and the Audience was Right

A quick disclaimer before the review. We understand we are late to the review party. As a small but growing network, we, unfortunately, don’t receive the privilege of watching the film prior to being released to the general public. I work a normal full-time job as well as this so my time is also limited on getting to the cinema. It’s also worth noting this review will contain heavy spoilers.

The movie is the first of phase 5 and also the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie of 2023. As of February 26th, 2023, the movie has raked in $273,113,861 according to Box Office Mojo.

Overview

Let’s begin with Rotten Tomatoes then. The critics have absolutely devoured this film. Here are the current scores;

I can safely say, the critics were wrong and the audience was right here. There is no way this film deserves 48%, it simply doesn’t. 83% is a range I find super fair for this movie.

I’m not in any way saying the film is perfect because it’s not, it does have its issues. However, it’s not an awful movie. Hell, it’s not even a bad movie. It’s fun, it’s enjoyable and it’s what you expect when you walk into an Ant-Man movie.

The third installment obviously had a more serious tone compared to its predecessors but it still had some comedy in there. That’s what I liked about this film, the comedy wasn’t in every line and it was in the right places at the right time to make it funny.

Of course, the tone of the movie was generally quite serious and I liked that. I’ve read complaints that the CGI is a huge mess. I’ll be honest, I didn’t see much wrong with the CGI. MODOK was obviously disgustingly bad but the only other moment that stood out to me was when Veb wiped Cassie and Scott’s mouths. I didn’t see a lot more but this may become more obvious when I watch it again. However, from the first viewing, it didn’t look bad at all.

In fact, the world they created within the Quantum Realm looked amazing. The world, the characters, the environment, the buildings, the weapons, I thought it was all done very well.

I’m not in any way saying the film is perfect because it’s not, it does have its issues. However, it’s not an awful movie. Hell, it’s not even a bad movie. It’s fun, it’s enjoyable and it’s what you expect when you walk into an Ant-Man movie.

Story

The story centers around Cassie mainly, who has been working on a satellite to connect with the Quantum Realm. When Cassie shows the group the satellite, Janet gets mad and it basically pulls them into the Quantum Realm. We see what Janet was up to for 30 years and it wasn’t all just sitting there waiting to be rescued, she was actually originally helping Kang who’s been exiled there until she learns who he is and what he’s done.

That’s the origin of it. Kang wants to fix his multiversal core but can only do it with Pym Particles. This then results in a standoff between the heroes and him. Janet knows what he’s done and what he’s capable of. We also get to see Kang in action for the very first time which was always going to drag people in considering he’s the next big bad of the MCU.

The entire film was in the Quantum Realm except for the beginning and end but I was okay with this. We’ve had 2 Ant-Man films now, plus his appearance in Civil War and Endgame, but we’ve never actually got to see the Quantum Realm in the full picture until now. This is why I enjoyed it so much. I love it when new universes or worlds are explored. Asgard, Wakanda, Talocan, Titan, Knowhere, the TVA, and many other places. It’s always fun to see just how creative the team is. They do it well with this universe that’s presented to us, it can also further explore new possibilities. That’s what the story did for us.

As this movie was the first for phase 5, it has set the tone moving forward. The story surrounding Kang and just how much of a threat he is stemmed from this. We never got to see Thanos in action until Infinity War. They’re setting this up early because Kang is a much bigger threat than Thanos ever was. It’s why this film was necessary.

Yes, the film didn’t feature any amazing cameos (I’ll explain the post-credit scenes shortly) and it was a fantastic movie that never set out to be full of rumors like Multiverse of Madness or No Way Home. It’s an Ant-Man film. The story is basic throughout and it keeps you on track. It doesn’t veer off into something completely different. The story set out to make sure that you as a viewer KNOW who Kang is, what he is, what he wants, and how powerful he is.

Characters

I’d like to start this section with huge kudos. That’s to Kathryn Newton who plays Cassie Lang. I’ll be honest. Prior to the film and just judging via trailers, I was not particularly pleased that this is the third time Cassie has been recast. However, that aside, she was my standout character in this. She fits into the role of Stature very nicely with a lovely suit to match. She bounced off Scott very well and held her own in a fight. I really did enjoy her debut as a hero and I’m excited to see more.

Next on my list of standouts is the obvious Scott Lang. After all, he’s the star of this thing and he did exceptionally yet again. I’m a huge Paul Rudd fan and I’ll always be forever thankful that Marvel cast him as Ant-Man. He did the job in this and his fight against Kang, in the end, hit hard in many ways. It was actually nice to see him in a proper 1-v-1 fight.

The next and final standout of the film was Kang. Jonathan Majors is a perfect fit for Kang. We got to finally see just a glimpse of what he’s capable of. I’ve spoken about him during this review a lot but he’s absolutely terrifying. It becomes even more frightening after the mid-credit scene when we see all of the different variants. It’s going to be an exciting couple of years with him in the realm of pure villainy.

I could be here all day but all of the characters were brilliant. Hope, Janet, and Hank were all amazing as always in the film. The new characters introduced such as Veb (weirdly voiced by Dave Dastmalchian who plays Kurt in the first 2 films), Quaz and Jentorra were also fabulous additions to the cast.

The one I want to point out the most is MODOK played by Corey Stoll (Darren Cross). It just looked a mess. I know the jury is still out on whether he looked great or not but I couldn’t help but think of how poor he looked. I know it’s always going to be difficult to get his look right and I’m grateful Disney took a chance but it just didn’t look fantastic. Despite the look, I did actually like MODOK. I loved his end scene where he died, it was weirdly hilarious when he believed himself to now be an Avenger after everything he’s done. A brilliant way to go out.

For the full cast list, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.

Hype

Quantumania was mainly hyped due to Kang. We obviously saw Kang in Loki season 1 but this was a variant who was at the end of his time. This Kang was a different variant, a more brutal version. He’s conquered worlds and killed billions. We knew this prior to the release of the film.

However though, unfortunately, due to a lot of critics unfairly shitting on the film – it’s hurt the hype in a big way. I don’t hear many people talk about it and it’s such a shame because it is a fun movie.

5 Favorite Moments

1. Ant-Man vs Kang. The final fight was great. It didn’t feature any powers from either of them and they just fought with fists. Kang got the upper hand until Hope intervened but I loved this entire scene. I also love seeing fights like this where it’s two behemoths going up against each other.

2. Cassie going big was a great moment. Throughout the film, Cassie was only able to shrink and didn’t really offer much more than that until she switched out her gauntlets which allowed her to grow in size to help Scott.

3. The final after-credit scene. It linked up with the next season of Loki as we see him and Mobius watch a play by Kang. Loki looked absolutely terrified of him as well.

4. Veb. Just everything Veb did. The little blob loves his holes.

5. The final moment that sent shivers up my spine was when Hank was able to bring the ants into the final battle to turn the tide and also take Kang away so the group could escape. This was just that badass moment he needed. We’ve heard the stories of what Hank has done in the past but he’s never had THAT moment. This was it.

Dislikes

1. I wasn’t a fan of MODOK’s CGI which I have already discussed further above. This is a torn subject where some people liked it and others didn’t. Unfortunately, for me, I’m on the side of disliking it. It just pulled me out of the film at times.

2. The movie is called Ant-Man and the WASP. Hope felt like a huge afterthought in this. Granted, she featured a lot during the movie but it felt like she was always in the backseat of things.

3. No Luis. Shocking.

Recommend?

I do. I’ve already touched base during this review on how the critics have destroyed this film. Obviously, people listen to critics. I’m not a critic. I’m just a guy who gives my opinion on things, it’s up to you to take that on board. My opinion is that I do recommend the film. It’s not the greatest MCU film, not by a long shot but it’s also not as bad as some of the more recent films like Love and Thunder or Eternals.

Verdict

The film has beautifully set up the next phase of the MCU. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I am looking forward to watching it again. As I’ve mentioned, it’s by no means perfect but it’s still a good damn watch.

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Rating 8.3/10

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is available in cinemas now.