February 8, 2023
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’s First Reactions to Marvel Phase 5: A Frustrating Start
“Ant-Man and the Wasp – Quantumania” was the first reaction to the Los Angeles premiere. However, Marvel’s Phase 5 debut saw many people bewildered by the story… but they were delighted to welcome Jonathan Majors Kang the Conqueror.
Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man) return with a new mission to explore the Quantum Realm. Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas reprise their roles as the van Dyne scientists, original Ant-Man and Wasp, and Kathryn Newton (“Freaky”) is the older version of Scott’s daughter.
It’s obvious that “Quantumania”, belongs to Kang. Majors’ performance is a highlight. The cast also includes William Jackson Harper, Katy O’Brian and David Dastmalchian. Peyton Reed will be returning to direct. The first reactions to “Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania” are in.
After a frustratingly rough act 1, #AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania finally gets going, only to end where this story should’ve begun,” critic Courtney Howard tweeted. Although the stakes outside are high, emotions were not as strong and levity was even more apparent. Jonathan Majors is the best.
Uproxx’s Mike Ryan has added, “ANTMAN AND THE WASP, QUANTUMANIA… trying out to imagine a Marvel novice. ‘One ticket please’ and then two hours of variant talk. The movie’s main character is Kang, played by Jonathan Majors. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the role for a good part of the movie. Majors is the perfect actor to play Kang. We will be seeing a lot of Kang, but I am not sure about the whole “You think Thanos was evil?” thing. Meet Kang!,’ strategy. He is a great guy, but he wants to be the bad guy in multiple projects.
CNET reporter Sean Keane wrote, “#AntManAndTheWaspQuantumaniahas way too much going on — it’s tough to connect emotionally to any of it. Jonathan Majors’ Kang is charismatic, intensely baddy, and visually amazing, but the threat that he represents is too abstract.
The Wrap’s Scott Mendelson wrote, “My son changed his mind at the last moment and skipped seeing ANTMAN AND THE WASP QUANTUMANIA tonight. He had, unfortunately, the right idea.
Buzzfeed writer Nora Dominick tweeted, “Jonathan Majors is a force in #AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania. He is compelling, charismatic, and gives a great performance. He brings Kang so much complexity with just one look. MCU won this casting.”
Collider’s Steven Weintraub praised Majors, saying, “Marvel’s #AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania is a strong start to Phase 5. It’s now clear why it’s called #Quantumania. JonathanMajors is a great Kang, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. There are 2 scenes after the credits and both of them are excellent.”
Erik Davis, a journalist, shared that “PHASE 5 HAS STARTED!” The #AntMan movie has a psychedelic ride with many frightening and hilarious oddities. Plus, there is a very menacing Kang. The MCU is at its most bizarre and inventive with big STAR WARS vibes. MODOK is a wild ride, but Jonathan Majors wins. It was a great ride. I really dug how #AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania is both a Part 1 of Phase 5, but also a self-contained #AntMan story that’s funny & sweet & features a kick-ass Michelle Pfeiffer.”