Amid a seemingly endless amount of entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” marks the 31st film (yes, you read that right) in the franchise. It also marks the third and assumedly final film in the “Ant-Man” trilogy.
Ever since the release of “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Endgame,” the MCU has been on a steady decline over the past four years. It seems that they have taken the quantity over quality approach to the creation of their seemingly endless amounts of shows and movies that have come out since the end of phase four in 2019. “Quantumania” is no different and is arguably Marvel at its lowest in the hands of Disney.
For a film with the subtitle “Quantumania,” one would think that the aesthetic would be off-the-wall wacky, colorful and engaging; the film is anything but. For starters, the film’s main color palette is brown. I wish I was joking when I say this. In a franchise that is known for having less-than-appealing color palettes, “Quantumania” fits right in sadly. This simply should not happen in a film that markets itself as exploring unknown realms in the MCU.
The main appeal and charm of watching Ant-Man in all of his outings in the MCU are how he interacts with everyday objects when he shrinks down and grows. Both of the first two films, despite their many flaws, showcased how engaging and interesting the use of size-manipulating technology can be. “Quantumania” makes the baffling decision to take Ant-Man and the Wasp out of the earth and place them in the Quantum Realm.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Quantum Realm is essentially a domain that is outside of both time and space that aids in time travel within the MCU. However, for the purpose of this particular criticism, I am simply focusing on the aesthetics of the Quantum Realm.
Visually, this world looks akin to a planet in a “Star Wars” film; however, it lacks the overall charm that many “Star Wars” planets have. It’s very brown, drab and contains nothing that would be found on earth. Subsequently, Ant-Man’s shrinking and growth abilities do not look nearly as good or engaging on-screen. Sure, both he and Wasp are shown doing both; however, it simply does not have the same impact or charm compared to when they are on Earth interacting with familiar objects.
The awful look of the Quantum Realm is mainly due to terrible visual effects and CGI work throughout the film. I simply cannot blame the VFX artists that work tirelessly for these Marvel films. They are truly great at what they do; however, they are simply overworked and underpaid most of the time. With so many television series and films released per year, the work that these artists are supposed to do is simply unrealistic. Given the amount of content and time restraints, the VFX in most of these films is simply not good. Again, I cannot stress enough how these talented VFX artists are not the problem; Marvel and Disney are.
It’s genuinely baffling that a cast consisting of Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors and even Bill Murray can be acting in a script as terribly unfunny and uninteresting as “Quantumania’s.” The fact that the legendary Murray was not funny in this film is a testament to how painfully cringeworthy it truly was.
Humor is ultimately subjective; however, most of these jokes feel extremely lazy. The script honestly feels like it was AI-generated at times. Jeff Loveness, the sole writer of the movie, has never written a feature film before this, notably having credits on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “Rick and Morty” among others. It clearly shows that this is his first screenplay. There is absolutely no tension, stakes or well-written humor present throughout the film. “Quantumania” genuinely feels like a two-hour waste of time.
The only bright spot of the film has to be Majors’ performance as Kang. Judging by the comics and the general plan of the MCU, Kang is going to be the next main antagonist of the upcoming “Avengers” films. Though I didn’t love the way that he was written and generally portrayed from a powers perspective, Majors’ performance was great. His presence as Kang is excellent; he simply exudes power in the role.
Overall, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is another film in the Marvel machine. Though I wouldn’t say that it is the absolute worst in the franchise, “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Thor: The Dark World” are both worse, the film feels like a gigantic waste of time and money. It doesn’t progress any of the Ant-Man characters, it is not engaging and it looks terrible. The only positive I can attribute is that Kang has the potential to be an intriguing antagonist in future “Avengers” films. However, that goes to show that most Marvel movies are simply extended trailers for future projects.
3/10
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