- "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" has a 47% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes as of Monday morning.
- It now ties "Eternals," which, until now, was the worst-reviewed Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is arguably the most anticipated Marvel movie of the year thanks to Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's new big bad ahead of two "Avengers" movies in 2025 and 2026.
But the sequel is already getting the worst MCU reviews since Chloe Zhao's "Eternals."
The movie sees Paul Rudd's Scott Lang jump into the Quantum Realm with his daughter, Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), as they get involved in a revolution against Kang.
But even Majors' time-traveling villain can't save "Quantumania" from a slew of negative reviews, making it the second MCU movie to be rated rotten on Rotten Tomatoes with a 47% critics' score as of Monday morning.
That means the movie has now tied "Eternals" as the worst-reviewed movie in the MCU. "Eternals" also has a 47% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 77%.
Insider's own review calls the movie "fun, but clunky," pointing out that the script "struggles to keep things flowing in a way that doesn't give the audience whiplash." Insider, however, praised Majors for being an "intimidating presence" as Kang and giving the movie a "genuine sense of gravitas."
Meanwhile, the Washington Post says the charm of the "Ant-Man" franchise has worn off in the third film.
Ann Hornaday wrote: "The endearing sweetness of the early 'Ant-Man' movies, which tapped Rudd's ineffable charm, has been bigfooted into a noisy, smash-and-grab extravaganza that, for all its self-conscious bigness, feels smaller and less ambitious than its predecessors. It's never over. But it could be better."
Rolling Stone's David Fear also took aim at how heavy "Quantumania" feels and said that "Eternals" was funnier in comparison.
He said: "'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."
And the San Francisco Chronicle said that the film wastes its cast, and doesn't excel in any of the genres that it finds itself categorized in.
Critic Mick LaSalle said: "'Ant-Man' isn't an example of bad comedy. It's bad drama, bad science fiction, and a waste of everyone in it, including Evangeline Lily and Michael Douglas."
All this doesn't necessarily mean that audiences won't enjoy "Quantumania," but it could be an indication of how fans will receive the movie.