Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

A recipe for Marvel’s whatever phase: Assemble a core cast of characters who withhold cruel information from each other for no reason and act like idiots just so the central plot of the film can take place. Add annoying new characters who are instantly the best at everything and on whom you can build future movies. Sprinkle in a ton of digital effects, a handful of awful dialogue and a dash of lame humour. Stir the whole mix with the fact that although each of the characters should have their ring-fenced characteristic abilities, conveniently they are constantly either forgetting them or only using them when it suits the screenwriter. Or to be sure, do not specify this abilities at all, so that anything can happen. And don’t forget to spice it with a pointless cameo role. What you get out of it is a nasty concoction that consumers will still eat up with gusto, because you are a brand: Marvel Studios. (02/18/2023)

Comic book worlds often get a lot of leeway, but the Quantum Realm felt like a bit too much. In Quantumania, it seems like Ant-Man has no boundaries, allowing for anything and everything to happen in his story. Unlike other comic book characters who have some grounding in realism, this film abandons that entirely. The result is a visually over-the-top, chaotic, and somewhat dull spectacle, featuring veteran actors like Douglas and Murray performing against green screens. The dialogues are stuffed with clichés, making the whole experience feel uninspired. One of the weakest Marvel films to date. (05/30/2023)

Another movie expanding the MCU, so despite of how bad it is, it's still a must see, but I have to agree with the rest of the audience that the quality of the entire franchise is going down drastically. The whole thing is just so... bland, uninteresting and not very impressive. The action is unremarkable, the story is a classic template, the Quantum Realm comes across as an infantile combination of Star Wars, Mad Max and B-movie sci-fi, and while there are a few imaginative elements, there was so much more that could have been extracted from it. And that brings me to the famous Kang the Conqueror that the entire MCU has been talking about for years, who is supposed to be the ultimate villain. Well, the entire third Ant-Man he comes off as a dull side character and the ultimate dork without the necessary traits, motivation, or on-screen visual fun. All in all, it's one of the weaker Marvel pieces and even though it's watchable, the quality is all over the place compared to others and I'm just waiting for the day when we all run out of nerve and simply disregard the entire Marvel brand... (02/20/2023)

Not groundbreaking, but certainly a more than fine film, which I think is hurt most by how clumsily Marvel has promoted it. So much talk about the start of a new phase, the arrival of the big villain that would make Thanos look like a schoolboy. But in the end, that doesn’t really happen, which, after all the expectations, is a bit of a shame. Even if you know Kang from Loki, you probably won't get the feeling that something big is going on, but he's definitely an interesting character, and he can make visitors to the quantum realm feel the heat. As far as the Ant-Man trilogy goes, I'll still prefer the first film, the second one still seems a bit too chatty, and this third one is completely different than the previous two, but the fact that the same director was in charge of all three makes it probably the third best Marvel trilogy after Iron Man and Captain America. And that’s not bad, at all. (02/20/2023)

Starship Troopers! A solid digital adventure, without fatalities or major surprises. The trailers that teased a fatal clash are rather a disservice. The Lang and Pym families are sucked into the quantum realm and have to fight a familiar arch-enemy. Douglas shits and wonders why a guy who looks like broccoli is hitting on his daughter. Pfeiffer confesses to quantum infidelity and Paul Rudd teaches his daughter the proper way to punch people, or whatever. The amazing world now, after Avatar: the Way of Water, boggles the mind with its lack of thought, lack of sophistication and the inconsistency of the visual effects – Disney probably should have timed it differently. I was annoyed by the breaking of the rules set in the first and second episodes regarding the quantum realm and augmentation, and MODOK is more annoying than scary. Still, quite an entertaining chapter about perhaps the only happy Avenger. (02/15/2023)