Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - Spoiler Review

Now that Quantumania has hit theaters, I have all kinds of spoiler thoughts on Kang, returning characters, characters who DIDN'T return, the quantum realm, and more!
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0:00 - Intro & reviews
2:36 - Kang
9:47 - Janet & the Quantum Realm
19:27 - Scott
23:44 - Cassie
26:33 - M.O.D.O.K.
29:43 - Bill Murray
31:15 - Returning characters
33:07 - Editing
35:12 - MCU & wrap-up

[@DanMurrellMovies]

Just to head this off at the pass - I noticed while watching back the upload that I said you could see "the Rick & Morty influence" in regard to the Council of Kangs. That was a muddled version of what I meant to say, which is that Rick & Morty WAS obviously influenced by the Council of Kangs, not the other way around. I'm aware the Council of Kangs preceded the Council of Ricks. Poor wording on my part, should've been clearer!

[@blackpanthro]

I do think its fun that art imitates art imitates art

[@GrantGarcia1996]

Dan, for my birthday, can you squeeze in a Skinamarink review?

[@Namtrix]

How dare you not word it perfectly, you will be yelled at by me accordingly!!!! Jk all good I know what you mean. Tip toeing around rick and morty stuff stupid annoying atm

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

I don't think he who remains originally discovered the multiverse in fact Rama Tut might be the first Kang BUT he who remains was the proactive pragmatic guy who decided most Kangs are bad for the universe and starting eliminating the other Kangs existences because if you don't prune timelines then you have infinite Kangs and each one is generally evil with a couple of exceptions

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

Lol Rick and Morty stole the council of Morty idea FROM KANG THE CONQUEROR...one is a really famous goofy comic scene from like the 60's that nerds always discuss and another is from a pretty recent TV show...like OBVIOUSLY Rick and Morty COMPLETELY bit off of Marvel comics

[@airmett8939]

Scott wanting back lost time with his daughter and then making a deal with the devil to get it, making a choice between memories he could never have or upholding his duty as a superhero, would have been such a compelling storyline in this movie. I was disappointed the writers didn’t explore it.

[@Weaponator18]

Wait, that's not what they do??? That's the single easiest idea to have a home run movie with these specific characters. I mean I probably wasn't going to see this movie anyway, but how do you not do that if you're making decisions at Marvel? Sheesh that's dumb.

[@Lamenteinglesa]

Couldn't agree any more with that. Apparently, that was the initial plan for Black Panther 2 if Chadwick Boseman hadn't passed (the exploration of the time lost during those 5 years being gone after the events of Thanos). The choice aspect is also a constant theme with Captain America where he had to choose between his own duty and love with Peggy.

[@shanetaylor761]

@La mente inglesa I mean in all fairness it's not exactly a surprise when a marvel movie/show doesn't take that route considering every hero lost something from the blink. I mean you could have wondered the same with Hawkeye. Do we really want a show about larping or him catching up with his daughter. Doesn't the same go for doctor strange? When you make an event as big as the snap in a world as shallow as the mcu you gotta expect some things to be glanced over. Also the entire movie is about him trying to protect his daughter. It's fair enough he's not exactly concerned with "catching up" when their lives are constantly in eminent danger. My problem isn't with the story direction. It's maybe not v for vendetta with depth but I thought the story the chose had plenty of potential. I'd say the movie minus kang lived up to 25% of it. Honestly even taking out the badly placed jokes and writing certain plot moments to make more sense would have done wonders for the movie. Also less scenes that feel completely pointless. Personally i thought the daughter was one of the worst parts of the movie and a movie with less of her in general would have been a plus.

[@thebortthe]

I don’t think that would happen though, because Scott Lang does not seem at all the character who would make a deal with the monsters just for his own selfish gain. He begrudgingly helps Kang because his daughter’s life is threatened. I can’t see a world with Scott Lang helping a genocidal maniac just so he could have the five years that he lost.

[@nuvjoti]

@@thebortthe exactly. In the movie he is presented with this option and turns it down immediately until Kang threatens his daughter. Scott working with Kang for his own selfish interests would be totally out of character!

[@ferallemur]

#1 gripe - Scott cooperates. He 100% does what Kang wanted him to do. And then he's like, "Okay, time to hold up your end of the bargain. Where's my daughter?!?" Kang does not hold up his end of the bargain. Fast forward to the end of the movie, and Kang is taunting Scott with, "You could have just gone home... But you just had to resist!" Um, hello! NO, he didn't resist. He literally just asked for you to give him back his daughter. You could have sent his ass home, and then you wouldn't be stuck fighting him right now! You can have the hero decide he can't go through with the villains plan, or you can have the villain double-cross the hero. Either is fine. But you definitely can't have the villain double-cross the hero and then complain that the hero refused to go through with the villains plan. That's not a thing.

[@sleepycrusader8871]

He couldn’t send them back because Cassie escaped. So he was unable to honor the deal for that reason. He also couldn’t admit that to Scott as he would lose leverage. So in the end his point was if he and Cassie just followed the deal he would have sent them home. I believe he was honest on that because he was urging Janet to go home to hope before she broke his ship.

[@alexp601]

Heh I thought that too, when Kang was telling Scott he could have just gone home. No, Kang double-crossed him, that's why they were fighting!

[@klass_1221]

Good point. I was thinking about that as well after the movie.

[@mojo782]

YES! I totally caught this too. These Rick and Morty writers ain't cutting it

[@alexp601]

@@mojo782 it’s not just on the writers though. Dozens of other people probably saw the script and saw edits of the film at various stages and could have pointed it out at some point. But if something goes all the way through to the final product, that’s on the higher ups.

[@taha_boy]

The editing was also something I noticed. Scenes where Scott and Cassie are taken but the next scene shows them seperated and Cassie already having drank the ooze which was also like a 1 Min scene and felt so awkward there. Multiple other instances as well of characters waking with someone and then meeting up again with them a min later in a different way. (Janet and Kang)

[@StephenShepherdOfficial]

That was my biggest gripe. They cut out seemingly two important scenes that would've established locations.

[@_jolie_]

Yeah Janet and Kang were really noticeable. He takes her through a portal and the next time you see them a Kang soldier brings her in to see him... You guys... were /just/ together?

[@alexmaverick6647]

There’s a reason why Kang is the only character that people are praising in this movie. It’s because he’s the only character that exists in this movie. The main cast of heroes are just action figures and exposition machines.

[@randomcharacter6501]

@Siddharth Sriram Did you post this on Campea's review? Lol

[@15Candles]

What's weird is that the marketing focused on him more than Ant Man and The Wasp. Like I love Majors as Kang, he carried the movie so much that I forgot this was supposed to be an Ant Man and The Wasp movie. At least in The Winter Soldier, despite Bucky and Alexander Pierce being the main villain, you're still remembering yourself that you want a Captain America movie. Here this is more so a Kang movie than it is those two characters

[@theitalianalien8477]

Uhm not sure about this statement

[@GDSprodify]

@Siddharth Sriram The Ants had superior technology, Hank Pym sent them there since he was in his 20s so they have technology the Ants developed that’s thousands of years ahead of Kangs.

[@keldorthebluemack]

@Siddharth Sriram Thor 4 is the worst MCU movie case closed

[@malekaius]

Oh man. Thank you! The Janet thing peeved me A LOT for the first part of the movie. She kept saying tropey stuff like I’m doing this for your protection without revealing information that would actually HELP. I hate hate hate that stuff. When eventually she starts to talk about Kang the movie begins for me. I was mixed but I enjoyed it overall. I really like Dan because his reviews touch on everything I feel watching these movies. But explains it better than I could. I can’t believe this Kang is gone because I’m apprehensive about the other Kangs. To an extent I feel it would have helped to have a completely Kang-centered movie because I feel it’s a lot of work for Jonathan Majors to carry that we might end up with a trash final Kang

[@Tzgrey77]

She was pissing me off Like bisb if you actually said something maybe Cassie wouldn't of created the machine

[@muzzynat]

I just want to point out that Kang The Conquerer is defeated by being sucked into the core- which earlier we learned created a probability storm. So I THINK that the movie is telling us that Kang is both alive and dead- trapped in Schrodinger's box.

[@hiimanhuman]

Great point

[@alcoballic9593]

Great analysis but I’m confused on why Dan has a problem with the Council of Kangs saying Kang is dead. The credits literally say “Kang Will Return”. I doubt they mean a variant of Kang bc they all have different names. It would be too confusing for them to be referring to someone else.

[@cpu1639]

@@alcoballic9593 and I believe that Victor Timely is THE Kang the Conqueror right before he created the TVA. In the comics, he travels to 1901 upon an embarrassing defeat from the Avengers and becomes Victor Timely so I think they'll do that here.

[@alcoballic9593]

@@cpu1639 Possibly. The only problem I have with that is basically the only problem I had with the movie. Kang is described as an Avengers level threat but gets beaten by Ant-Man. That wouldn’t have happened to Thanos.

[@cpu1639]

@@alcoballic9593 well, he only got his suit back but his "powers" are not at their full potential because time and space works differently in the Quantum Realm. Kang was not able to showcase his true potential there and his suit was damaged/destroyed for the final confrontation. Kang is human, he doesn't have powers so he has limits but I'm very confident that we will get to see Kang the Conqueror again at his full potential in another movie.

[@Arsalan.Sarwar]

Not just Cassie every new character MCU introduced is already expert in their skills.

[@iSupamon]

Think of it the same way each new generation of athletes “better” at the same skill. They “build” ontop of the original formula and they make it their own. But they wouldn’t be where they are without the original hero laying the ground work.

[@iSupamon]

We definitely don’t wanna see the same old origin story over and Over again.

[@mark2graves-movies689]

When Hank made a big deal about the "smart ants" and they got sucked into the quantum realm with everybody, I thought to myself: "it's chekhov's ants!" ... So I was happy when they showed up during the climax of the film

[@junatan25]

For me it was the chekov’s living giant buildings.

[@metallicnole4514]

Chekov's ants lol

[@alwaysardent1125]

Kaiju Ants are the bomb.

[@markbrierley6367]

I literally said Chekov's ants out loud in the scene when they were being pulled into the quantum realm. I don't think my seat neighbor enjoyed me being correct, but it was so obvious.

[@emhullum4120]

When the ants took out Kang, i started laughing hysterically in the theater. This movie is just embarrassing

[@kristagray5474]

I laughed out loud when you talked about the "I could do this all day" line, because my husband whispered it during that scene!

[@jimmyboy7817]

It felt like Antman was now in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie and Tatooine and Naboo inhabitants had crossed over with him.

[@alexandergusdorf65]

THANK YOU for mentioning the editing. I was sitting in The imax theater last night and I was thinking both “I feel bad for whoever has to edit this movie” and “what the hell is the editor doing.” So many times a scene would cut and like seconds later back to the same characters and they have moved so far or have acquired something that was before the cut. I felt like I was going crazy or missing something

[@mark2graves-movies689]

Your thoughtful descriptions of each section that you had problems with is refreshing compared to the countless reviews out there that just say "it's messy". Thank you

[@NisGaarde]

Scott should have said: "I can do this all...." and then get punched by Kang before being able to say "day". Scott is NOT Captain America.

[@RicardoMoralesMassin]

After the movie I also wished so hard that this Kang is not dead. He's calm, murderous, no scruples, I love this villain.

[@ChristopherYeeMon]

No one can possibly believe that Kang is dead. We didn't see him die. We saw him get shrunk down further along with the power core with the Pym particle tags. He's gonna figure out how to unshrink himself. No way he's dead

[@sleepycrusader8871]

I agree, if anything he will come back more powerful

[@metallicnole4514]

We all know that was not a real death. He can always come back

[@MrKangorilla]

If he does come back he's going to be truly insane due to being stuck in the probability storm of that power source. If he somehow isn't totally unhinged he might actually fight with the avengers against the other Kangs in the big hurrah but it will be an alliance of necessity. That, or his new target will be the lang family specifically

[@sleepycrusader8871]

@@MrKangorilla I think the probability storm for him will be the opposite of Scott. Instead of working together like all the Scott’s, the worst version of him will destroy all the others and come out the most evil and powerful.

[@herefishyfishy13]

I mean we spent the whole movie watching people get bigger and smaller and they're fine. And then at the end of the movie the big bad just ...gets smaller. (I know he gets sucked into the engine but, whatever) The established pattern is not a character, gets smaller and then is super for real very much actually dead.

[@ruffpool2139]

There is a secret Loki cameo at the beginning of the movie when Scott is walking up the street. Hes wearing a TVA uniform but the camera is slightly blurred and im willing to bet that we see that same scene in Loki S2

[@rw835]

Wait WHAT???

[@TypicalSpider]

I…… don’t know if that’s true

[@ruffpool2139]

Go rewatch it

[@avtolick]

Bullshit.

[@Quanic2000]

I too feel that the writers and producers of the film missed out on some compelling storytelling by not following through with the premise of Scott wanting to help Kang because of the promise of being given time with Cassie back. I also felt there would've been more weight to the end of the film if Scott "died" with Kang, which I thought was going to happen with the line "I don't have to win, we both have to lose", which motivates Cassie to join the young Avengers moving forward. And in a later film, say The Kang Dynasty,it's revealed Scott didn't die but just got stuck in the Quantum realm.

[@randomcharacter6501]

I haven't seen the film but if Scott died he'd have to stay dead. They've done "stuck in quantum realm" to death already.

[@elmerromero6694]

@@randomcharacter6501 really how many times 🤔

[@randomcharacter6501]

@@elmerromero6694 twice... Hank's wife and Scott were both hopelessly stuck in the quantum realm. But I guess third times the charm lol

[@WRDend]

Agreed, and I'd go a step further and turn Scott into a villain. Years in the Quantum Realm makes him twisted..

[@WRDend]

@@elmerromero6694 If Scott were to return as a villain it would work

[@Ductos]

I think that really was the Prime version of Kang, aka the one everything will revolve around in the upcoming years. The way he talks about himself makes me think, even the Council of Kangs was afraid of him and that's why he got dumped into the Quantum Realm when they all banded together. He might also be the one who founded the alternate TVA Loki is now stuck in and their whole mission is to get him back. One thing I'm certain of: He isn't dead. We will see him again.

[@bivins0826]

We didn’t see a body…so he’s not dead. He’s in the core somewhere.

[@alwaysardent1125]

He was the rickest rick

[@spidermonkeynuts3851]

why didn’t they just kill him

[@PhilFromSchool]

I'm just bugged that Scott had no real stake in this whole mess. The guy almost died because he fell into a machine his daughter built, and had to clean up the mess Janet made It felt like Kang was Janet's villain, but Scott was forced to fight him

[@andrefiremaster]

the thing about everytime we meet Kang it's a different version COULD be interesting, because I know it's better knowing all the bad things were done by the same person, but the idea that the Avengers have to stop different versions of the same guy and no matter what they do in THIS universe, they don't stop coming, translates better into the concept of Multiverses

[@BardWannabe]

It occurred to me that the ant-family is effectively taking the Fantastic Four’s role as a family of scientific adventurers. This would have been better as an FF movie because the ant-family’s powers are so redundant.

[@ymcavalier3555]

Came away annoyed at this movie that there weren’t much stakes (everyone survived) and this kang was defeated so easily. The whole rebellion thing was lackluster

[@GoopieG]

This was an excellent, well thought out review. From editing choices to plot details with specific examples. Bravo Dan.

[@teruphoto]

Not sure if this is an inconsistency or if I missed something. Early on we find out that Janet was part of the resistance (i.e. fighting against Kang). Bill Murray's character says that she left the resistance to join "him", supposedly meaning Kang. But the way the story unfolds, Janet actually inadvertently helped Kang become a conqueror. So how did she leave the resistance for him if she left Kang before the resistance even started?

[@itsreelydalin]

Dan, THANK YOU, for mentioning the editing issues with this movie. As someone who also studied editing, I had a hard time explaining this issue with my family and friends, but glad to know it isn't just me who noticed that.

[@Vaajraath]

What's really causing the fatigue to set in for me is how the MCU is feeling less fun for me and more like a homework assignment. Too many shows, and if I don't watch them, then I won't fully understand what's happening in the movie. Starts to suck the entertainment value from the movies for me.

[@bobthegrinch]

I do think they've put too much stuff out the last two years with the films and the Disney+ shows. One of my issues with the comics is there's just too much stuff happening to keep track of and big crossovers events are baked in at this point and it's so hard to follow. I'm not there yet with the MCU but I can understand why people are. With the comics, even if you read the main story there'll be characters who just disappear and you have to pick up another 4 issues of a spin off title to find out what happened with them. It's really annoying.

[@ricebrown1]

hey dan. i hope everyone has a great day. can't wait to see your picard review. season 3 just hit the bricks running.

[@dorianr4770]

I didn't think Kang was killed (just sucked into another dimension, soon to return), which was maybe why I enjoyed the movie a little more. I would be bummed if I thought Kang could so easily be defeated... this Kang specifically.

[@luxurybuzz3681]

Red Skull wad sucked and I pretty much forgot about him until Infinity War

[@christatum5715]

That variant is but kang actually is not dead at all after credit scenes confirm it

[@ouszaim1]

there was a very very heavy star wars vibe to it from the moment they entered the microverse. I MEAN quantum realm.

[@twincast2005]

34:00 That back-and-forth cut felt odd to me, too, but my bigger issue with that part was that there was very clearly a sequence missing between first encountering the freedom fighters and Scott being dragged to "drink the ooze" during which he and Cassie got separated.

[@mark2graves-movies689]

Most people fail to note that there are 2 sets of Ant-Men & 2 sets of Wasps in this movie... I feel if you look at this movie with the knowledge that Janet *IS* the Wasp, then calling this movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp makes more sense. She is a prominent part of this movie and she is the original Wasp

[@StriderRyu7]

Ready to hear your thoughts on the whole movie,Dan….🔥

[@AlexMercedCoder]

I enjoyed the movie, was entertained, had fun, never bored from beginning to end. Was it endgame, no, but not expecting that anytime soon. Is it a fun theatre experience, yes, people should see it and just enjoy the ride.

[@jimmygee9189]

I was also so convinced Scott was gonna say "I can do this all day" during that fight as well, especially as Ant-Man references Cap a couple times earlier in the film.

[@CuteFluff8]

So well done, sir! Beautifully executed! 🙇🏼‍♀️👏🏻🫡

[@EasyTarget83]

Great review Dan. I also did a "Jim from the office" face at some of the weird edits/ screen jumps

[@Quanic2000]

For me, this movie had the same problem as The Multiverse of Madness as it serves more of a prequel to future projects instead of as a sequel to a film series. In addition, it follows the current predictable MCU formula of 2 opposing CGI armies fighting alongside the main villain and hero that I feel is unnecessary as it detracts from the main conflict. I hated MODOK and how Kang is supposed to be this "big bad guy" that killed numerous interpretations of Avengers, but he loses to Hank Pym's ants. However, I do feel Johnathan Majors as Kang is phenomenal, and I didn't think I was going to like Cassies as much as I do. It's not as bad as the critics say it is, but I can understand how a more casual MCU fan and the average movie goer can walk into this film and leave going "WTF did I just watch?"

[@lynettedavis6356]

21:48 THIS! I honestly was waiting to hear Scott say “ I can do this all day!”! The theater I was in would have lost it!

[@thu6muff1n]

I spent a lot of time as a critic and studying the space. My man, you're really good at this.

[@Obi-ThreeKenobi]

I remember when Kevin Smith was on Movie Fights, he said he wanted Bill Murray to play Kang, and while we don't get that, we were SO CLOSE!! Almost makes you think Kev knows a little something about making movies lol. Great Review, Dan!

[@briankotler853]

Our whole group that went last night liked it. Not top-tier Marvel, but we all had a good time. Kang was definitely a standout

[@MySuperman78]

I just saw it today. Overall, I would say it was fine. I’m too familiar with Kang as a character, but I can the slow approach that Marvel is taking with him. It’s not quite time for him to “beast out” yet, but I’m looking forward to watching how he progresses to that point. Jonathan Majors and Michelle Pfeiffer definitely stole the movie, I really enjoyed everyone in the Ant Family. It’s like Star Wars meets Honey I Shrunk the Kids and occasionally plays with Avatar. I’ll give an 6.5 out 10. Not a big hit, but certainly not a miss either.

[@Monicoist]

I had the same thought of this feels like "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" meets "Star Wars" lol

[@joezagorski1507]

i think the opening narration could have been luis summing up everything and it would have been a thousand times more entertaining

[@brendonspencer5788]

I definitely think the movie was Disney+ level, a mixed bag indeed. Jonathan Majors was phenomenal though. I wish he wasn't so nerfed in the last few scenes for plot convenience (like vaporizing dozens of people but setting his phazers to "slightly injure" when he faced the Ant-Man family). Also, it felt very Rick & Morty when Janet, Hope, and Hank are escaping Bill Murrary, and they had to pause to do a bit about Janet's needs.

[@batrico]

Hi Dan great video.Only watched half so far cause i started ir at 2am and I need to sleep. Will watch the rest tomorrow.

[@BamBamTheInfluence]

The original ending was Scott & Hope got stuck & Kang got out... That was part of the re-shoots

[@bradew2]

Just because it's called Ant-man and the Wasp doesn't mean it has to focus on Hope. The focus on Janet was a nice surprise, they just needed a deeper dive into her character and how the trauma of being trapped for 30 years weighs on her and the family. Then the family could heal through the course of the film. There was little to no change of any character from the beginning of the film to the end.

[@davidkaneradio]

Really good review Dan, new viewer

[@pasindubulegoda3799]

Great review. Exactly what I felt like watching the film.

[@pittpittong]

In the middle of the movie, Janet mentioned she did tell Hope to stay away from the quantum realm, plus she did not even know others experimented on the quantum realm behind her

[@KingKeshane]

Man that specific edit you mentioned was the exact same one I thought was jarring. The drink the goo thing had a little intensity to it and cutting killed it

[@LuckyDogPodcast]

Great thoughts 👏🏽

[@Amoraszune]

Thanks Dan

[@randomcharacter6501]

9:04 Dan having a "Don't ask questions. Just consume product then get excited for next product" moment lol

[@TheFBoner]

@@LuisSierra42 Say hello to my chocolate blend!

[@loxo_0]

Dude I also thought about that line. I saw him get up again and thought "That's the Steve Rogers spirit" 🤙🏻🤙🏻🤪

[@emperorbailey]

His existential crisis at the end was so chilling, such a tonal shift, I loved it more than almost anything else in the movie. It served to really ground it to a real person's life, connecting the CGI craziness of the quantum realm to normal life: a dad carrying his daughter's cake down the street in San Francisco. I feel like it gave us such a huge insight into Scott's mind, and it seemed like a real mind.

[@GabrielMartinez-su8di]

Spot on review, Dan. Had a lot to agree with you on this one. My boys and I went Saturday to see this and me and my oldest were fighting to stay awake at times lol...we all agreed that it almost felt like a Star Wars movie

[@shadows1192]

This might be the silliest thing to be excited about, but I love that Dan is wearing a Demon Slayer shirt.

[@alexputnam1930]

Fuck yeah, not silly at all.

[@ChemyNoSurfea]

This!

[@ellicel]

The lack of character building is why I just can’t get into any of the new Marvel heroes. The original movies were not all cinematic perfection. In fact many of the quality issues now (e.g., the villain problem, uneven storytelling, poorly choreographed fight scenes, etc.) have been problems since the beginning. I think the difference for me is that the movies were primarily about the motivations, frailties, and personal struggles of the heroes and there weren’t so many things they had to get accomplished. I loved the original characters so much that I didn’t mind the story or technical weaknesses. And it’s not that I was a fan of the heroes from the comics-I only know them from the movies. But I feel like I know more (and am more emotionally attached to) even some secondary characters from the first phases than I am to the new central characters.

[@dayoolaleye1265]

There are now two versions of Kang that I really love how they are portrayed by JM and I’m really excited for the definitive version that we get to hang on to

[@pittpittong]

I think the MCU in phase 4 and 5 is missing the movies like Avengers to gather all the characters to build the storyline and to have the connection between the individual movie/show. They have The Avengers in phase 1, Avengers: Age of Ultron in phase 2, Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame in phase 3.

[@coolheitz5499]

That line that he said I can do this all day got me 😢 I wish that was in the movie

[@NGamer181]

I'm glad you brought up that trailer marketing beat about Scott being offered a chance to get back lost time with Cassie. It felt like a major missed opportunity.

[@austinhale5699]

People forget that at the end of the second ant man movie, they talk about time vortexes so I'm guessing the ants went through a time vortex

[@misscellaneous5329]

So glad you mentioned that weird series of cuts😂

[@AggToaster]

One of the things for me was I felt kang wasn't scary enough. He talked a talk and the performance was good, but I never really got the impression anyone should be worried like they were with thanos. If he had wiped the rebellion out and beat up Scott, maybe have him narrowly escape, I would of have a sense of stakes and escalation. Instead we had more of what loki left us with.

[@StarsAndAngels]

Solid review

[@cfosnacht]

Marvel really, really needs to stop killing villains in all of the movies. The villains are often the most interesting characters in the comics. There are ways to stop a villain without killing them.

[@me45116]

I was also sure they were going to stay in the Quantom Roam and build the resistance to Kang, ahead of Secret Wars. Wonder is that was a late change

[@king2kx]

I sort of agree with you in this version of Kang dying, I think it was an amazing portrayal of this character and if he's dead its kind of a loss but I hope they have other versions on par with him in the future. As for Janet being down there and sending a signal through Scott she was in an different level, when they were in the quantum forest area she says they are deeper than they have been, deeper than they could get using the quantum tunnel thing. Casey was sending a signal to map the entire realm so that was able to go deeper and why Janet flipped out.

[@brandonandcharlene9527]

Great Review as always. Honest and forthcoming. As for the Critics vs Audiences and ratings... Unfortunately I think a lot of it is perpetuated by the Media and other online outlets. Sires such as Wikipedia frame their content on movies such that Critic ratings are Valid whereas Audience ratings are not. Whenever you here a general term "RT ating" it comes from the critic rating, which isn't helpful. I agree that a lot of it is unnecessary, but whenever I hear my friends talk about RT ratings I just explain that it's not the whole story at all.

[@colinmatzkows5839]

Dude if Scott said "I can do this all day", I would've flipped. That's so good.

[@2025Productions]

dan giving us the whole spoiler filled kitchen sink with this video

[@drjwww]

Believe it or not, Mr. Murrell, but this could well be the best review you've ever done.

[@ZachBobBob]

I really hope they keep going with this specific Kang. Following one Kang would be a way bigger threat and more investing to follow than random Kang #89765 popping up. MODOK was handled really well too in my mind despite the CGI being absolutely no good.

[@pittpittong]

I liked it and had a good time in the theater. The things to complain about are the lengths of the film and editing, I wish I could have it longer, to make certain things have better established and less rushy. And quite surprised and happy to see Janet/Michelle Pfeiffer has such an important role in this, I would call it "Ant man and the 'former' Wasp" 😁. It deserves a much higher positive score than just tons of negative criticism. I give it 70 and above.

[@alwaysardent1125]

I readily agree. It was messy but I really liked it any. It could have been more finely polished, but whatever, overall I really went into this with the lowest of expectations after Multiverse of Madness and Thor Love and Thunder. but instead I found it very enjoyable, entertaining, and I can continue to say Paul Rudd as Ant-Man is a blast. I like Kaiju Ants, I like Gi-Antman, and I loved the fantastic voyage/strangeworld/truly zany organic feel of the environment.

[@kpaul]

I was so disappointed by this movie. I hated that Kang was the big bad guy instead of MODOK. Kang should’ve fought alongside ant-man, gotten out, and then revealed to be a huge threat. We could’ve sympathized with him, rooted for him, and then feared him. And it would’ve been THIS variant. I hated that he’s supposedly dead by the end. And everything in the quantum realm just felt low stakes because we never got invested in any of the resistance stuff. It felt like a rehash of the rebellion in Thor ragnarok. To top it all off, this really didn’t feel like ant man 1 or 2: lower stakes with more humor than action. This was a huge CGI fest with very minimal humor.

[@kuririnad]

Loving your newfound respect for anime via the Demon Slayer shirt.

[@willfromw00tsup29]

My thoughts exactly. I’m glad you brought up that weird translation after Scott drank the goo. It felt kinda jarring. The Cassie moment with MODOK to me felt kinda cheesy too. There was just something off with the delivery of it.

[@willfromw00tsup29]

But I didn’t hate the movie, I enjoyed it. Just don’t think I’ll rewatch it.

[@zeadsi]

I really admire how thorough and measured this critical assessment was. Felt like a proper impartial analysis and not pointless peacocking to appeal to one side or another.

[@deanlewis6109]

One Shot Of Woo is my new band name, thanks Dan.

[@twincast2005]

6:00 He Who Remains had also once been called Conqueror, and he only established the TVA after he'd defeated all his variants, to prevent more of them (and others) rising anew, so I'm pretty certain this Kang (the Exile) and that Kang (HWR) are (or would've been, had this one not died) one and the same at different points in their life. If not, then close enough to make no difference.

[@Laurendamon]

Agree with your assessment of the MCU currently-been saying all their movies have been Aggressively Fine.

[@cliffbeavers6158]

Perfect review

[@studio500]

You have to put the Heist scene in an Ant-Man movie!! I so missed that in this one and agree that it didn’t feel like an Ant-Man movie.

[@JoeBReactions]

Time moved differently because of time votex, antman feel into one at the end of antman and the wasp. I'm guessing the same thing happened to the ants

[@gerrigarrick]

Fantastic review! Thanks Dan! Yes yes yes to the MCU being character driven in the past. That is what I have tried to explain to people who think the MCU is just a bunch of action. But this film for sure loses the character based MOJO and greatly suffers without the fabulous Luis and Veb as you mentioned. The quantum realm IMO needed more humanity. Can you imagine Luis and Veb witnessing all of that madness down there?Perhaps the film could have explored friendship themes or something with the addition of their characters. As is, What themes does the movie explore? I'm at a loss. Without character development or exploration, the script seems to suffer thematically. When the characters are strong and make us care/feel for their arcs, even a crazy setting filled with broccoli men can be beloved. Agree with the things you enjoyed about the film. Thanks for the nuance and care in all that you do and for such a well thought out, eloquent review. #loveyourwork!

[@Revdrum]

I don’t think he’s dead. He def got sent somewhere else in the meantime. Maybe to play a bigger role as Kang the Conquerer

[@thebortthe]

I love this movie. I was completely sucked in when they entered the Quantum Realm. Majors is fantastic, I loved the battle scenes, and all of the bonkers science fiction imagery. They embraces the ludicrousness of MODOK, the Council of Kangs, and more and I loved it.

[@batrico]

My brother was an extra in the book reading opening scene.Need to see a slomo to see if he made it into the movie.

[@SuperFlik]

The biggest question I have about Janet is how long has she been *out* of the quantum realm? She comes out during Ant-Man & the Wasp, gets turned to dust in the post-credits scene of that movie and then brought back in Endgame. So how long has it been since Endgame?

[@Akinwalesegun]

and she sent scott back to QR before they turned to dust yet in this movie shes acting like she does t want anyone to know about the QR

[@Powerman293]

According to tineline needs she's been out of the Quantum realm for a year or two.

[@thedarkemissary]

They played it so safe with this one. Didn't take any chances at all. All sunshine and rainbows by the end. Zero consequences. Just another fun Ant-Man romp. You can't even really say there was a completed character arch in this.

[@kelsanggyudzhin2340]

When they cut to credits on that cake "joke," the silence in my theater was *deafening.*

[@DanMurrellMovies]

Same for me, both times. One critics screening, one public screening. Same lack of reaction

[@straightedgeveganbel2453]

I loved it!!

[@fabianmorales4203]

This movie had the same problem that the previous multiverse movies, in that the rush in the first act to get to the multiverse. In no way home, you have the brilliant set up from far from home just rushed to the Dr. Strange solution. Multiverse of madness, the same. The had the brilliant set up from wandavision only to immediately rush into Wanda being evil. This film, immediately has Cassie opening the door to the quantum realm. There was no real build up. We saw basically the entire first act in the trailer. You are so right about the added bookend at the end of the movie. It really was not necessary. Really didn't need the v.o. of Scott doubting whether Kang is really dead. We already know that he will be back in some form because it has been announced ahead of time. Then of course a bit of the effect of the mid credit stinger is lost. So either marvel needs to stop announcing their story beats ahead of time or all together just stop announcing big bads. Like I said the trailer revealed the entire first act. As did no way home and multiverse of madness. If we had no idea these things were happening, they would be much more effective and would've forgiven how much of a hurry the 3 films are. No way home is the best of the 3 of course, but it was also the first one to come out. Now at the 3rd movie we really need more character before we get to the ultimate plot.

[@fabianmorales4203]

Having said all that I still enjoyed them. I felt that quantumania had a lot of star wars in it. I loved the different beings and sets. The movie kind of played like a season finale. It was fun. But that's it. On to the next season.

[@Manifibell]

I agree with you on most points you make. I felt like the death scene of Modok was confusing. Why did he start talking about the avengers? I thought he was partly controlled by malfunctioning AI, but I guess he just had a character arc? I don't buy it. When Scott and Cassie went "big". We are still in the quantum realm. They are incredibly small, and when I saw it I remember thinking ah, he is gonna need a fruit after and then I realized he is not actually big. And then the scene came where they mention fruit.

[@PolarisCastillo]

I'd love to hear your retrospectiv on *The Dark Knight Rises*

[@twincast2005]

17:20 Well, a deus ex machina doesn't have foreshadowing, at least not typically, but these ants very much did multiple times throughout the movie. I was heavily leaning towards the ants from the high tech ant farm showing up in at least some noteworthy manner as soon as Bill Murray's character asked whether they also have ants in the quantum realm, and as soon as they picked up crashed Hank Pym, I knew they'd have a big hero moment toward the end, which, given that the obligatory CGI-fest battle was a clash of armies, meant I spent it awaiting the army of ants.

[@alwaysardent1125]

Kaiju Ants for the Win hahahah , hey if the original pacific rim can garner my love, so can this lol

[@Quanic2000]

I feel it has to be said: as much as we want to criticize the producers and writers of the current MCU projects, we have ourselves to blame too. We wanted more cameos, outlandish concepts like multiverse, and admit it, we were all excited when more and more MCU projects were getting announced. Well, we got what we asked for and are learning that we prefer quality over quanity.

[@kpaul]

I think the people you’re describing would be “selective marvel fans” - the ones that remember the big movies, and conveniently forget the smaller stories (the main reason people love these characters) At the very least, Marvel knows that at the end of the day people are there for the characters, not just the spectacle. I just wish they found their footing a bit better in this film when it came to character work

[@danielzeller8694]

Oh my god you bring up a fantastic point! I always prefer quality to quantity, but yes we all seem to be relying on Kevin feige to be everywhere all at once to make the right choices for everything. And if we're getting that many projects all in one year, he's only a human being he can't be everywhere all at once. Projects are going to begin suffering. It's inevitable.

[@nickchronis962]

honestly… you so right 😭

[@TheTinkerbell1611]

Umm… speak for yourself. Most people want better stories. Normies want the cameos. Unfortunately, they’re the loudest voices.

[@Quanic2000]

​@TheTinkerbell1611 what's the difference bewteen "most people" and "normies"? 😂