The third in its series and sequel to phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and an introduction to Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp, made its way into theaters on February 17 in India. And the reaction to the movie is mixed, with the critics not satisfied with this marvel adventure movie and fans defending, supporting, and even praising the movie.
This review on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is based on audience reactions and critics’ reactions and not just my personal opinion. People, especially marvel fans, were waiting for this movie. But very few people had high expectations for the movie because Marvel has been churning out new movies in different universes and with various characters, introducing new characters. And has been making people somewhat tired with the number of superheroes and universe, or rightly put, maybe kind of exhausting people out.
I mean, too many cooks spoil the broth. But, many others have also been waiting for Marvel’s redemption and hoping the thief turned Antman will be the way to that redemption.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jeff Loveness, as of now, has collected about 62.27 Crores US Dollars and received mixed reviews from moviegoers. The movie was created by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studio.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Plot Summary & Review
So, Ant-Man, aka Scott, a former thief but current superhero, is living his life with his family after having found success as an author and, of course, saving the world. But peace is not much of an option for a superhero, especially if you have a teenager who is not close to you because you were absent for a part of her life.
So while Scott is in a meet-the-author event, he gets a call informing him that his daughter Cassie, played by Katherine Naughton, is in trouble for shrinking the cops. After this incident, Scott calls a family meeting, including his girlfriend Hope, Dr. Hank Pym (his father-in-law), Janet Van Dyne (Mother-in-law), and Cassie.
Thus a revelation happens. Cassie reveals to her family that she invented a new device that can contact (locate /map) the quantum realm (Hank and Hope may have been a part of this discovery). Everyone is happy about her invention, and Scott is proud of his daughter.
Janet is not because she spent 30 years in the Quantum realm, and she gets paranoid and asks them to turn off the device; she then manages to turn off the device by herself. But the device turns back on by itself and creates a portal to the quantum realm, and we know what is going to happen next.
Yes, the family gets sucked into the portal, and Scott and Cassie are separated from the rest of the family. Thus the first part of the series involves the family trying to figure out the quantum realm, except Janet already knows about it all because she was stuck there for 30 years.
While wandering around the Quantum realm, Cassie gets kidnapped by M. O. D. O. K, aka mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing. It is Darren from the prequel, which was sent to the Quantum realm after a fight with Scott, aka Ant-Man. Now, he is the prisoner of Kang the Conqueror, a relatively new but powerful character introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While this is happening on one side, we have Hope, Janet, and Hank going to meet an old acquaintance of Janet, Lord Krylar. Here, we get to see another secret revealed, this time that of Janet’s. Lord Krylar mentions that Janet is not who she seems to be. The trio also finds out that Lord Krylar is now actually working for Kang the Conqueror. After this, they hijack Krylar’s ship and escape.
After making their escape, Hank and Hope confront Janet, asking her for an explanation for Lord Krylar’s words. Janet tells them that while she was stuck in the quantum realm, she met with a man who claimed to be a multiverse traveler whose ship got wrecked, and she tried to help him fix the ship believing his words.
But then she finds out that the man is the conqueror, aka world killer (by touching his ship, she was able to realize this because it was neurokinetic). After realizing the truth, Janet makes his ship’s core bigger using the Pym particle and destroys his plans to return.
Then, we see Scott is being blackmailed by Kang to bring the core of his ship back to its original size by threatening him with his daughter. But Kong has many enemies because while he was building his empire, he destroyed many people in the quantum realm.
So, during the showdown, aka the fight, Scott and his family were helped by many who wanted revenge for fighting Kong. And finally, they defeat Kong, the conqueror, and return home, but we see Scott wondering if they defeated Kong, the conqueror. Two post-credit scenes have been getting praise, so maybe don’t get out of the theater very fast.
According to many, the plot of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was quite intense compared to its counterparts. Maybe this was an attempt by Marvel to completely transform the Antman movies into a proper MCU franchise. The initial part of the plot was rather slow compared to the second part, which saw a change in its momentum after the appearance of Kang, the conqueror for whom everybody was waiting.
The first part of the plot mainly deals with the introduction of Scott’s current life, and then they have to figure out how to deal with the Quantum realm, sort of like an adventure movie where they are trying to explore and understand the world they are in and running into trouble. So, if you get bored during the first half, try not to get out of the theatre because the second half gets better, mainly due to Kang, but the plot pace also gets better.
Also read: Marvel Phase 4: How Much of it is Fulfilled & What’s Coming Next.
The Cast and the Characters
Despite being the lead and central character, Ant-Man does not stand out. This is not to say that Paul Rudd’s portrayal of Ant-Man is bad. But it is not an understatement to say that his character was overshadowed by Kang the Conqueror, portrayed by Jonathan Majors.
According to many, the main reason to watch the show is Jonathan Major’s portrayal of Kang the Conqueror. After the adieu of Thanos, the marvel universe needed a powerful villain, and it’s safe to say that Kang the Conquerer is one of the most powerful MCU villains.
The performance of Michelle Pfeiffer as the original Wasp or Janet was also noteworthy. Even though she is in the film title, she didn’t get much screen time as one would’ve expected, considering she was supposed to be a titular character.
The acting of other members of the cast is not bad, but there were too many people, so they were all kind of scattered throughout the movie. The actor portraying Cassie is receiving quite a bit of negative criticism from the audience and critics for her portrayal of the Character.
Dry Humours That Missed The Mark
The Marvel movies that are being released are not hitting their marks with their dry humor, especially if we compare the characters of anime with their movie counterparts. The repeated use of cliches and expected jokes is kind of becoming a norm for marvel movies, and the audience is not appreciating it. The majority of the jokes and dialogue that were delivered by the characters in the film were not even able to produce a chuckle from many who watched it.
The Visuals and the CGIs
The constant creation of new movies which require a lot of CGIs and other technical and other visual effects is maybe taking a toll on the artists behind the movie because people are not impressed by the effects. People are even jokingly, of course, comparing the CGI of the movie to that of Spy Kids. Twitter is having a field day with the movie. But in all seriousness, the CGI could have been better.
This is an extreme drawback of the movie because a majority of the best moments in Marvel Cinemas are from CGI. Except for a few main characters, everything else, even the surroundings and the quantum universe, need CGI to show their impact. The unflattering CGI also made the ultimate showdown a difficult watch for many. The unflattering CGI could be the reason why the Antman Quantumania might become meme material.
The Dynamic Between The Characters
Now the dynamic between characters was a plus point for the movie. The scene between Janet and Kang was well-acted. The two actors who have been stealing the shows were able to portray a great interaction with the right amount of acting.
The dad-daughter dynamic between Scott and Cassie was also, in a way, heart Warming. The director also intended to develop the relationship between the duo because that was kind of the focus in the previous movies.
Comparing to other Ant-Man Movies
Compared to the previous movies of the Antman saga, many consider Antman Quantumania to be better than the second movie, that is, Antman and the Wasp. The third installment also seems to have a better plot than the other installment, and it also has a seriousness and even a quantum realm. The movie is also introducing the next supervillain, so all these give the third installment extra points.
The Credit Scenes
We do not intend to spoil what the post-credit scene exactly is, but these scenes are the ones that got the audience hyped up. We see a character that we are familiar with in the other Marvel movies. That is a hint. And something in the post-credits got people looking forward to the phase 5 movies.
Our Verdict
Though the critic’s view and the majority of the audiences’ reactions weren’t that great and called the movie mid, there are also many that genuinely liked the show. The reaction to the movie is kind of mixed, but one thing everyone agrees with is that Kang was the true Main Character of the Movie.
This, in a way, also serves as the introduction of Kang as a major MCU villain, as he is soon to be seen in other Marvel movies of Phase 5. So based on the audience reaction and critics’ reviews, we can give this movie 3 out of 5.
Our Rating: 3/5
Also Read: Top 50 Character Deaths In MCU That Were Shocking
