Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Director: Peyton Reed
Writers: Jack Kirby and Jeff Loveness
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Evangeline Lilly, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton, Jonathan Majors...

IMDb link.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) is the direct follow-up to Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), marking the third installment in this franchise. Aside from Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, this is actually the third MCU film to form its own trilogy without being part of a shared project—unlike the Avengers, which already has four films under its belt. As I'm writing this, Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently in production, which will be the fourth franchise to hit that trilogy milestone.

The MCU is also gearing up for the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023, while meanwhile, Thor: Ragnarok is set to become a quadrilogy.

The big news here is that Kang will show up as the main villain. For those of us just following the MCU movies and series without much prior contact with the comics, you could compare Kang's threat level to Thanos. Actually, he might even be a bigger threat. In the comics, Kang has the intellect to build and master technology that far outclasses anything Stark's tech can manage. He can travel through time and across multiple multiverses. His suit can mimic Thor's lightning attacks, create weapons on the fly, and allow him to fly. He’s conquered countless worlds and possesses incredible military expertise as a top-tier commander.

Long story short, Kang is basically the evil version of Tony Stark.

Alternative logo



The ship used for traveling through the quantum realm. It honestly looks more like something Kang built rather than anything from the Pym family.



Here’s the latest leaked info:

- Someone from the Fantastic Four might show up in the movie
- They'll suddenly pop up in the MCU looking for help from the Pyms
- Both Kang's time ship and the Janet van Dyne quantum realm should make an appearance (though plenty of people are skeptical about this, especially regarding the realm part)
- Maybe the trap theory exists because things are getting mixed up with Kang's Chronopolis
- In Kang's Chronopolis, time flows slowly; you see ancient pyramids and early humans on the outskirts, but as you get closer to the center, it feels like you're racing into the future.
- At the center of Chronopolis lies Kang's castle—it's massive. Maybe that's where the TVA is located, or perhaps it houses the tech used to build the TVA later on. We have to remember how the variants were experimenting with all this and opening time gates.
- So, it's possible Kang is born in the future—rumors say the year 3000—maybe because he was born in the very city he ended up creating. A grandfather paradox, kind of like in Terminator...
- Without a portal or a time ship, you just can't travel through the different eras within Chronopolis.

In the meantime, critic reviews have dropped, and they confirm it: Marvel is facing a creative crisis.
It’s currently sitting at 53% from 149 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which doesn't inspire much confidence.

https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com...first-reviews/

Caught the 3D screening today and honestly? I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't exactly blown away either.

The Good Stuff:
- Kang. Seriously, the guy is convincing—the performance was top-notch.
- The humor is actually well-paced; it’s not overdone and doesn't devolve into total parody like Thor: Ragnarok did.
- The first and second act of the film.
- You actually get a decent amount of info on the quantum realm and how Kang ended up there.
- The balance between action and plot felt just right for me.

The Bad Stuff:
- It felt totally unrealistic that Ant-Man and Wasp could go toe-to-toe with Kang.
- The third act film has those "please, just don't *****" moments (it's not as disastrous as the BP third act, but it's getting uncomfortably close).
- MODOK (for the love of God, why was that even in there?)—completely useless to the story.

Actually ok movie to watch, serves as a solid intro for Kang.
I'd give it a 6.5/10 overall, or maybe an 8/10 if I'm being generous and only judging based on Phase 4 and 5 movies.

Even Bill Murray showed up. That alone bumps the movie's rating up for me! It's a solid family flick. Plus, the guy playing the main villain is awesome. Can't wait to see him in the next Rocky!🎉

I'm only sitting through this one for Paul Rudd—his sense of humor is the one thing keeping me interested. Honestly, besides Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, there isn't a single MCU movie I'm actually looking forward to. As far as I'm concerned, the MCU is dead.

I’ll probably catch it over the weekend. The reviews are pretty bad for an MCU movie; apparently, it starts off strong enough, but then it just kind of loses its way while trying too hard to be this massive epic.
It feels a bit like Age of Ultron. Though, if you ask me, that one was actually great.
Come on, it can't possibly be worse than the last Thor movie...

I caught the preview yesterday and I have quite a bit to unpack:

-Jonathan Majors was impressive; his portrayal of Kang is strong, though I walked away feeling he wasn't given nearly enough space to breathe. In my view, Kang deserved significantly more Screen Time, and it’s a missed opportunity that we didn't get a deeper dive into Kang's backstory.

-I went in expecting Bill Murray to play a much larger role than he did.

-The humor generally missed the mark for me. The only moment that actually landed was when MODOK was referred to as a dick—they localized it as pee-pee. 🤣
The entire theater erupted.
And that expression on his face, just completely blank and wide-eyed... 😂

-They marketed this as being on the scale of an Avengers movie, but honestly, it didn't feel that massive to me.

-Those two post-credit scenes were excellent; the second one actually caught me off guard in a good way. 👍

-I even managed to snag a poster at the theater.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ant+...bRVi5-AyVX-7vM

wearybison63 said:-I even got a poster at the theater.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ant+...bRVi5-AyVX-7vM

Did they ask you to pose with the poster or what?
😁 I'm dying to know why they need those photos—where are they even planning to post them?

As for the movie, visually? Totally stunning, like a literal dreamscape.
For me, Kang is easily the best part of the whole thing. Honestly, feels like we're gonna be seeing way more of him, if not in movies, then definitely in a series tied to that last post-credit scene.

🍿

I just finished watching this, and look, it’s okay, but I really expected more. To me, the first two films were definitely stronger. It’s not a total disaster like Thor: Ragnarok or Black Panther, but I’m still sitting here waiting for Marvel to actually drop a truly great movie.

Grace Sanders24 said:And Bill Murray showed up. Honestly, that alone bumps the score for me! It’s a pretty solid family flick. Plus, the guy playing the main villain is great. Can't wait to see him in the next Rocky!🎉

He's probably the last person you'd expect to see in this one...

Caught it in 3-D today.

The good stuff:
- I actually liked how they visualized the quantum realm.
- Jonathan Majors is great as Kang; easily the best villain across all three Ant-Man films.
- For once, the post-credit scenes were actually worth it. No regrets sitting through until the end (especially the second one).
- Action was solid, particularly that final showdown.
- Acting was on point—everyone did their job well.

The rough patches:
- The jokes felt forced. Honestly? Nobody in the theater was laughing.
- Could’ve been a better movie if Kang had more Screen Time.
- It felt a bit unrealistic how Ant-Man managed to beat Kang like that at the end, but whatever.
- They really dropped the ball on MODOK; I expected way more from him.
- Was hoping for a Fantastic Four cameo, so that was a bit of a letdown.
Conclusion:
Overall, a decent flick. To me, it's the darkest and most ambitious Ant-Man film yet. Better than the second one, and maybe even the first, simply because the villain actually works.

RATING 7/10

The way they introduced a new cosmic threat on par with Thanos was spot on. This Kang is portrayed as so ruthless that Ant-Man basically treats him like a child, and then Wasp delivers the final blow. To top it all off, after the fight, Ant-Man breaks down in tears and runs to hug Wasp, saying "don't let me go," while she comforts him like a restless baby.

We certainly can't let it slip that the four-letter agenda is running at full speed.

🤣

Honestly, the movie was a blast—perfect theater fodder. Yeah, it’s super childish, but that’s exactly why you gotta go see it without expecting some cinematic masterpiece or trying to tear it apart with deep critiques... it’s not even trying to be a serious flick. It’s built to be simple, fun, low-brow humor where you can just shut your brain off and enjoy the ride. Personally, I liked it better than Avatar or Black Panther; the time flew by and there wasn't any boring filler. And seriously, don't be a total tool 😁

Alright, after catching the movie:

+ New villain. Majors is a fantastic Kang, and the whole time-traveling through different universes bit feels genuinely fun. We've seen the "prisoner who shouldn't be released" trope before, but since this is the 31st film in the MCU, I guess we can let them slide. I would’ve loved a bit more depth regarding Kang's origins and what he's actually aiming for, though.
+ The cast. From Paul Rudd to veteran Michael Douglas and even the return of Corey Stoll, everyone has great chemistry. Rudd and Majors work perfectly together. Also, little Kathryn Newton isn't nearly as irritating or grating as the kids of main characters usually tend to be.
+ Michelle Pfeiffer. She was given an opportunity and she absolutely nailed it.
+ A bold move. For a franchise that doesn't exactly break box office records and isn't quite at peak popularity, Ant-Man has used his last two films to set the stage for a showdown with Thanos and establish Kang (well, Loki came first, but that was a series). Plus, they ventured into the quantum realm, which is a nice change of pace after being stuck on Earth or in space.

- Zero consequences. Kang gets defeated in the quantum realm, and Scott Lang ends up exactly where he started. None of this seems to impact the outside world, and unfortunately, there wasn't any massive cliffhanger to make me lose sleep waiting for the next installment.
- Uneven movie. At first, it felt like it might turn into a mess similar to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2—just a bunch of bright colors and goofy sidekicks—but once the Conqueror enters the fray, the tension and anticipation actually kick in. By the end, though, when the crowd starts rioting and tearing up the city, that tension just evaporates into disappointment, leading to a somewhat infantile climax reminiscent of the last Star Wars sequel I saw.
- Humor and side characters. There are attempts at jokes, but they didn't land for me like they did in the first two films. Sadly, the supporting cast from the previous entries is nowhere to be found.
- It needed more clarity and a firmer grasp on the overarching themes for this multiverse saga.

Look, it’s not a bad movie; it’s a good movie with some bad elements. Out of all the Avengers movies leading up to Endgame, I liked Eternals better, mostly because they also stepped into uncharted territory. Quantumania is a more than solid start to this new phase. I really hope we see these characters together more often since they work so well, and I'm hoping a future film adds some much-needed weight to this story.

Marvel star arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman, reportedly causing head and neck injuries

That’s likely the end of Kang in the MCU. ☕

Roid rage 🤣
It’s honestly a mystery why that isn't some kind of common side effect for Hollywood actors.

I feel like I was totally misled... I watched a few interviews and he had such a great energy about him, but hey, I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it actually pays off... or if this is all just some personal vendetta from a woman who caught him messaging someone else.

Disney is definitely pulling their hair out right now—they put so much money into casting the actor for Kang.

Did they really sink that much money into it? I mean, wasn't his paycheck capped at just $550,000?