Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: Directed by Peyton Reed. With Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer. Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne, along with Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, explore the Quantum Realm, where they interact with strange creatures and embark on an adventure that goes beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

“I enjoyed watching Quantumania. Itu0026#39;s a mostly solid and fairly entertaining movie. But relative to MCU standards, itu0026#39;s a bit underwhelming and feels like more of a throwaway movie than something memorable I will keep coming back to.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy biggest issue is that I wasnu0026#39;t fully engaged for at least the first half of the movie. I was enjoying it but I wasnu0026#39;t locked in. The story was unfocussed. When the villain becomes prevalent, the movie jumps a level. But it doesnu0026#39;t completely make up for the much weaker first half.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe other thing that surprised me was not being mesmerized by the visuals. Itu0026#39;s very creative and I didnu0026#39;t notice poor CGI like some others. But it didnu0026#39;t wow me like it frequently does. Maybe weu0026#39;re just getting spoiled with the visuals in movies like Doctor Strange 2 and more recently Avatar 2.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is still a lot of good here. Itu0026#39;s pretty funny but doesnu0026#39;t overdo it. This is the second movie in a row where the MCU seems to have dialed back on the u0026quot;insert joke hereu0026quot; strategy. Itu0026#39;s probably a result of the negative reaction from the cartoonish Thor 4. Also, I love the villain. I wonu0026#39;t say who in case youu0026#39;re smart (and crazy) like me and donu0026#39;t watch trailers. But heu0026#39;s so damn awesome.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs someone who loves almost everything in the MCU, Quantumania is near the bottom of my MCU rankings. And itu0026#39;s making me a little nervous that it comes only two movies after Thor 4 which is below it (5 stars). But I still have faith and am not joining the MCU doom and gloom crowd. Phase 4 has three of my favorite entries in the entire MCU (Shang-Chi, Loki S01, No Way Home) and I only disliked two (Eternals, Thor 4). They just need to be more consistent while also not playing it so safe. (2 viewings, opening Thursday IMAX 2/16/2023, IMAX 2/28/2023)”