The highly anticipated Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is off to a rough start as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is being ravaged by critics. The film is currently sitting at a "rotten" 48% rating on the popular review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience score of 84% is significantly better and on par with some recent MCU offerings like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the first Ant-Man movie.The CinemaScore grade of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has also been revealed, and it’s the lowest for any MCU movie in history, with the exception of Eternals. CinemaScore surveys opening night moviegoers and is considered one of the most reliable parameters of a film’s audience appeal. The audiences polled by CinemaScore gave a B grade to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. 2021’s Angelina Jolie starrer Eternals also received the same rating and currently holds the record as the MCU’s first and lowest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes (47%). The first two Ant-Man movies received A and A- CinemaScore grades, respectively.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is ahead of Eternals on Rotten Tomatoes by just a hair, though fans seem to like it much more. Paul Rudd’s return as the goofy size-shifting superhero Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Jonathan Majors’ first film appearance as the MCU’s new big bad, Kang the Conqueror, are said to be the highlights of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The film also features Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, Evangeline Lily as Hope van Dyne/Wasp, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. David Dastmalchian, Katy O’Brian, Bill Murray, and Corey Stoll also star. Directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jeff Loveness, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is playing in theaters worldwide.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Kicks off Phase 5 of the MCU
Kang the Conqueror is one of the most formidable Marvel antagonists in the comics, so Feige and co. had a daunting task of incorporating the multilayered character into live-action. Jonathan Majors debuted as Kang in the Loki finale, but Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania really sets him up as the MCU’s next Thanos-level threat.
As such, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had a high bar to cross but seemed to have failed to live up to expectations. Although audiences are more appreciative of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania than critics, it’s undeniable that the film marks a new low for the MCU. From 2012 to 2019, there was barely a Marvel movie that polarized fans or critics, but it’s becoming increasingly common now. Thor: Love and Thunder, She-Hulk, and Eternals were all heavily criticized. Doctor Strange 2 and Black Widow fared slightly better, but both disappointed audiences as well.
Hopefully, the future of Phase 5 will be better. The next Marvel movie to look forward to is James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, set to hit screens on May 5. Judging by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, we’ll be getting a lot more of Jonathan Majors’ powerful Kang the Conqueror in the MCU. Kang will next appear in Loki season 2, arriving on Disney+ this summer.