The reviews for the latest offering from the world of Marvel, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and sadly, things are not looking too good. The MCU sequel now stands as the second “rotten” movie in the franchise (which, considering this is the 31st movie is a pretty good track record) and currently holds a rating of 53% based on 136 reviews on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. So, much like Scott Lang and his family do in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, lets delve into the realm of reviews and see what horrors await…

We begin with MovieWeb’s own Julian Roman who, while commending Jonathan Majors and his debut as Kang the Conqueror, found the whole spectacle to be uneven.
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“Quantumania throws every can of paint in the garage at the screen while struggling with tone and convincing character dynamics. Jonathan Majors is an absolute beast as Kang the Conqueror. The MCU’s Phase Five starts on uneven footing.”

The criticisms continue courtesy of Eric Eisenberg of CinemaBlend, who chastised for the third Ant-Man outing for its lack of originality and failure to bring anything new or interesting to the genre.

“[A] blockbuster that’s never compelling for more than five minutes at a time and has nothing original or special to contribute to the superhero genre.”

Rolling Stone’s David Fear echoes many of these sentiments, and ultimately found Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to be far too gloomy. And for no good reason.

“Quantumania is somehow heavy without feeling substantial, almost desperate in its dourness. Even scattered with occasional wisecracks, it makes Eternals feel positively breezy by comparison.”

The bad vibes continue with Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph who says, “Another two-hour blast from Marvel’s inexhaustible multicoloured CG gunge hose.” This multicolored gunge was also seen on screen by RogerEbert.com’s Matt Zoller Seitz, who adds, “It’s like something a kid threw together for a science fair, hoping that sheer charm would compensate for not having any actual science content. Too bad that, for all its amusing jokes, the world onscreen mostly looks like a Marvel screen-saver.”

RELATED: Quantumania Director Praises Jonathan Majors’ Dedication to Playing Multiple Kangs

It’s Not All Bad for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

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Of course, it’s not all bad. No, some it is merely more middling, with Collider’s Ross Bonaime concluding that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is “promising” but “shaky.”

“Quantumania is a promising, but shaky start for Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s just a shame it comes at the sake of the little guy.”

Alex Godfrey of Empire Magazine meanwhile at least found a lot of fun within the onslaught of building the next phase of the MCU.

“Marvel, with all their resources, have made a film set in a universe where time and space are not as we know them, yet have ended up with something that looks surreal, but feels shackled. Mind-bending it is not. But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun.”

Leah Greenblatt of EW found a lot to enjoy, again praising the Marvel sequel for its sense of fun.

“This Ant-Man is clever enough to be fun, and wise enough not overstay its welcome. Who better understands the benefits, after all, of keeping it small?”

While each and every few is littered with criticisms, opinion does seem unanimous that Jonathan Majors excels at the central villain. As Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter puts it…

“”While it’s not surprising that [Majors’] imposing physicality perfectly suits his iconic villainous character, he also invests his performance with such an arrestingly quiet stillness and ambivalence that you’re on edge every moment he’s onscreen.”

So, while there is some positivity for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, this does not negate the fact that it is now one of only two rotten outings in the MCU alongside 2021’s Eternals. And while Rotten Tomatoes is far from the be-all and end-all of cinema, it’s disappointing to see nonetheless.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is scheduled to be released on February 17.