One Group Hates Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Even Though You Probably Love It
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania has received positive reviews from fans, but movie critics hate the Marvel movie.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania finally hit theaters, earning $225.3 million at the global box office during its opening weekend. While fans loved the first film in Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, critics are still unimpressed. The movie currently holds a 47% critic rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but the audience score sits much higher at 84%.
Critics maligned its screenplay, tonal inconsistency, and visuals. The site’s general consensus also said Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania lacks the spark of fun that elevated the earlier adventures of Ant-Man. The only aspect of the film safe from condemnation was the acting, especially Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror.
However, audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B” on a scale of A+ to F. And, 75% of those polled by PostTrak gave the film a positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it. Still, Variety called Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fun and numbing, stating that someone should “save us” if this is a window into the rest of Marvel’s slate.
While the BBC hailed Marvel’s next big villain, the publication said the film has nothing more to offer beyond drab-looking action. Despite the negativity, audiences have been flocking to cinemas. Box Office analytics corporation, EntTelligence shows that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was a movie exhibitor’s dream.
The film played evenly throughout the day, with 20% admissions before 1 pm, 32% before 5 pm, 24% before 8 pm, and 24% after 8 pm, Deadline reports. While some of the lows are similar to those that Eternals hit in 2021, there are some differences. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania introduces Kang the Conqueror to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while the former was impossible to understand.
In PostTrak polls, 25% of audience members said they watched Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for Jonathan Majors’ Kang. Another 54% said they bought a ticket because it’s part of a franchise they love, while 41% went to see the film purely due to its links to Marvel. The lukewarm reception isn’t surprising since all the Ant-Man movies performed lower than their counterparts.
This is largely due to their self-contained stories and less-popular source material. Directed by Peyton Reed from a script by Jeff Loveness, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne as they explore the Quantum Realm along with her parents and Lang’s daughter Cassie. And the entire team survives their encounter with Kang the Conqueror.
The first post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania introduces the audience to three Kang variants. They’re recognizable from the comics as the ancient Egyptian ruler Rama-Tut, Immortus, who has cosmic power learned from the Timekeepers, and someone who looks like Scarlet Centurion. While their reason for meeting isn’t disclosed, we can assume that it will not be good for the Avengers.
The second scene sees a Kang Variant called Victor Timely giving a presentation about his technological inventions. We also see Loki and Mobius in the crowd, serving as a tie-in to the second season of the Disney+ series. So, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania might not be a massive hit, it’s still worth watching for various reasons.
