Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is nowhere near as bad as its Rotten Tomatoes score suggests. Far from the worst movie released by Marvel Studios, it isn't without its issues, but you'll know from our review that there's fun to be had with this trip into the Quantum Realm.
Despite a disappointing "B" CinemaScore (yes, that's considered bad), the threequel's Audience Score is vastly higher than the one generated from reviews. A recent poll right here on ComicBookMovie.com - there's still time to cast your vote - also suggests that the vast majority of you enjoyed the movie. However, we can surely all agree that Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was lacking a certain spark, and that might just be found by looking back at 2015's Ant-Man.
Originally developed by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the movie was handed to Peyton Reed relatively late into pre-production. The script did go through some rewrites, but many of the duo's ideas remained, and that could explain the particularly inventive scenes related to Ant-Man's size-changing abilities.
Whether it was the hero finding himself awed by the dust particles floating around him while standing in an empty bathtub or the final battle that took place mid-air inside a briefcase, Ant-Man was a movie that did a phenomenal job of portraying this character's powers on screen.
2018's Ant-Man and The Wasp wasn't quite as thrilling in that respect, though the size-swapping car chase and Hank Pym's lab being made out of everything from LEGO bricks to paper clips was very clever. It's also worth noting that both movies featured quite a lot of ants, and that's something else Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is lacking.
Despite Scott's abilities being key in retrieving what Kang the Conqueror needs, the movie is light on any real inventive or visually exciting displays of the hero's powers. He gets small, he gets big, and that's about it. Giant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania may well have been a more fitting title, while that lack of ants is, frankly, perplexing. After a brief glimpse inside an ant farm in the movie's opening, they don't return until the movie's final act. There, they help beat Kang, but remain superfluous to Ant-Man's fighting style and everything he goes through beforehand. It would be like removing Spider-Man's webs and Spider-Sense; he'd be able to pull off some fun moves, but would be just another superhero kicking and punching people.
Throw in the fact that this movie missed the opportunity to deliver what could have been a compelling heist story with Kang at its core, and it's easy enough to come to the conclusion that where this story went wrong is by lacking the charm of its predecessors. Somewhere along the line, Ant-Man has just become a hero who shrinks and grows, and the Quantum Realm is definitely somewhere we could and should have been wowed by that.
Perhaps The Avengers movies, where there wasn't really time to show the world from Scott's unique perspective, are to blame. Alternatively, it may be down to how much more experienced he is as a hero. Maybe the VFX needed to create ants he can communicate with to help save the day is too expensive. Whatever the case may be, Marvel Studios needs to go back to the drawing board to discover what made this franchise so great if they hope to get us to return for Ant-Man 4. A new director would be a good starting point, as would remembering that, if they want us to believe Scott hugging Cassie feels like hugging Godzilla, they need to make the audience feel that as well.