Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania: Flop or Not?

Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was released on February 17, 2023, after filming since January 2021. The film completes the hero’s trilogy and kicks off Phase five for the Marvel universe, the productions being released in 2023 to mid-2024.  

Paul Rudd returned as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne/Wasp, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. The movie was directed by Peyton Reed and produced by Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard. 

The film follows two previous Ant-Man films, the original released in 2015 when the Ant-Man character was introduced to Marvel films. The second, Ant-Man and the Wasp, was released in 2018. Both films received positive reviews from critics and fans, grossing $519.3 million and $622.7 million respectively. 

Reviews of Quantumania have been mostly negative from critics and viewers. However, after interviewing several students at Champaign Central High School, the critical reviews seem unjustified. Central students agree that despite its faults, the movie was entertaining and vital to the Marvel Universe. “If you’re a Marvel fan, you have to watch it,” says Gavin Brown, a Sophomore. Tony Walden, a Junior, says, “The movie does a great job of setting up Kane as a major villain, which is going to be important in future Marvel movies.” Wesley Collins, a Junior, says, “It definitely sets up Kang to be a powerful opponent, especially with the post-credit scenes. It also sets up Loki season two, which is going to be fun.” 

Students agree that the character Kang was the star of the movie. “Jonathan Majors as Kang was so good. He outshined everyone else in and I only really cared about his character, not even Ant-Man,” says Brown. Contrastingly, students disliked the character MODAK. “Every time he came on the screen I laughed. The CGI was so bad on him”, says Walden. “I really disliked how they did MODAK’s arc since they just turned him into a comedic relief character,” says Collins. 

Another let-down of the movie was the writing and jokes that didn’t land. “Some of the jokes didn’t hit, some of it was just Marvel writing. I was laughing more at the movie than with it most of the time,” says Walden. Brown says, “This movie was important to the Marvel movies so I thought the jokes took away from that. The first two Ant-Man movies weren’t as important so it made sense for them to be funny, but in this movie, the jokes didn’t really make sense and were sometimes thrown weirdly into fight scenes.” 

However, it’s agreed that the film was worth the watch. “There were moments that could’ve been better with the dialogue and MODOK, but overall I think the jokes were pretty good and every single Kang was great,” says Collins. Brown says, “If you are a Marvel fan it’s a must-watch. If you’re not a Marvel fan, it’s still better than most movies but it probably isn’t the best.” Walden says. “It’s kind of mediocre, but it’s not painfully mediocre. It’s entertaining and a lot of the action scenes are fun. I also thought a lot of the background and quantum realm CGI was beautiful and the ending was a good conclusion for the Ant-Man trilogy.” 

Overall, students agree that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania isn’t one of Marvel’s best films, but the errors were overshadowed by the set up to other Marvel plotlines and general entertainment of the movie. However, if you don’t follow Marvel closely, you may want to think twice before watching the film.