Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

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