Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

The critic praises the wild and weird Quantum Realm and Jonathan Majors' performance as Kang, calling it a promising start to Phase Five and a fun standalone adventure. They single out the inventive creatures and settings for praise.

Despite some CGI and saga-building issues, the film offers the MCU’s most tripped-out sci-fi material yet with terrifically imagined results. It stretches Ant-Man effectively while stirring up family intrigues and peril, even as the finale lands flatly.

The review notes it amps up stakes with Jonathan Majors as a compelling Kang but finds results predictable, with the MCU losing steam creatively. It praises Majors' layered performance and the series' modest likability.

The critic finds the film sinks under CGI bloat, bad jokes, and the pressure to set up Kang, turning the once-charming Ant-Man into another uninspiring MCU slog. They criticize homogenized visuals and glib themes.

The film is plotless and emotionless, a depressing example of special effects overwhelming storytelling and charm. It offers little beyond generic CGI spectacle.

The film is described as atrocious, with listless performances, unconvincing universe, and a lifeless bitterness in its humor; the critic singles out the lack of feeling and commitment from the cast and filmmakers.

The film struggles to deliver truly trippy or mind-bending visuals despite its quantum setting and feels more like a setup for future MCU entries than a standalone story. It finds strengths in Jonathan Majors' eccentric and captivating Kang and the tense interactions with Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet.

The film is a baffling and illogical special-effects dump dominated by exposition. Jonathan Majors’ magnetic performance as Kang provides the sole saving grace.

The critic notes the film trades humor for scale and extravagance, praising the visual design of the Quantum Realm and Jonathan Majors' performance as Kang, while observing that humor is in shorter supply.

The critic finds the film busy, noisy and thoroughly uninspired, a hash of recycled ideas that serves mainly as a launchpad for a new villain. She notes it bops along at first thanks to the cast's charm but ultimately fails to take flight.

The Marvel machine feels broken, with an atrociously lazy script that even strong performances cannot rescue. Jonathan Majors excels as Kang amid the dirge-like result.

The critic calls it a state-of-the-art world-building exercise that is fun, bedazzling, relentless and numbing all at once, with the series going full Marvel in the Quantum Realm. He praises Jonathan Majors' commanding presence as Kang but notes the busy plot feels like setup for future chapters.

The movie delivers delightful weirdness and goofy fun through its imaginative Quantum Realm and strong ensemble performances, making it an engaging chapter in the MCU despite some messy world-building. It embraces the serialized nature of the franchise while prioritizing entertainment over gravitas.

The critic finds the film leans toward the upper end of the MCU spectrum despite a few lapses in the first act. The characters and performances are terrific, the world-building in the Quantum Realm is superb, the stakes are elevated, and Jonathan Majors' Kang is compelling.

The review commends the film's impressive balance of comedic and darker tones, with Paul Rudd's charm and Jonathan Majors' intense villainy providing the central dynamic. It notes that the movie works as both a standalone entry and a setup for future stories while making good use of most of the ensemble, though Evangeline Lilly's Wasp is underused.

The film stands out for its ambitious introduction of Kang the Conqueror and the visually inventive Quantum Realm but feels like it sidelines the core Ant-Man family story in favor of setup for the larger MCU. Jonathan Majors' performance is the standout element that elevates the proceedings.

The critic calls it a mixed bag that retains the series' lighter comedy while venturing into a subatomic universe filled with colorful creatures and new threats. Jonathan Majors as Kang is singled out for strength and potential as the next major MCU player, alongside praise for the returning cast including Paul Rudd and Michelle Pfeiffer.