“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is set to be released on February 17th. But reviews from critics are already out, and it’s not another hit from the MCU. In fact, critically, it couldn’t be farther from a hit. This seems to be a bad omen for the MCU since “Ant-Man 3” was going to begin the next phase of the franchise. As expected, fans of the MCU are worried about what will happen next because it seems like Marvel Studios hasn’t changed even after all the criticism was heaped on Phase 4. So let us decode what’s going wrong with the MCU and how the fans are reacting to it.
The Abysmal Rotten Tomatoes Score Of ‘Ant-Man 3’
Rotten Tomatoes is a trusted review aggregate site. Fans of various franchises love comparing critic and review scores to brag about how well-received a film is. MCU fans have done plenty of bragging because scores of films like “Spider-Man: No way Home” or “Avengers: Endgame” were sky-high, along with meteoric box-office results. The former lodged a 93% score, while the latter notched up 94%. Even poorly received films like “Thor: Love and Thunder” or “Black Widow” squeaked in at 64% and 79%, respectively, to avoid a rotten score.
Any casual film follower will know that Rotten Tomatoes assigns a movie a “rotten” tag when critics’ scores dip below the 60% mark. Most Marvel films have been lucky to avoid this tag. But not all. The first film that achieved this disgraceful milestone was “Eternals.” It has a 47% critical score. The second MCU movie that has joined “Eternals” is “Ant-Man 3.” It has a 53% score with 135 reviews so far. Now, the score can rise, but it will take a small miracle to make that happen.
However, the box office earnings might be different, and at the end of the day, that is the only thing that really matters to Marvel Studios. Various sources, like Discussing Film, are reporting that “Ant-Man 3” is tracking to earn $250 million or more in its opening weekend, the best in the trilogy. Whether the film can impress moviegoers and keep that money train chugging along over multiple weeks will be interesting to witness.
What Do Fans Think Of The Poor ‘Ant-Man 3’ Rotten Tomatoes Score?
MCU fans aren’t happy with the Rotten Tomatoes score of the third “Ant-Man” film. While some are begging that one should pass a decision on it only after seeing it, others who have seen the film think it’s a misfire from Marvel Studios. On the Marvel Studios subreddit, fans of the MCU are overwhelmingly criticizing the substandard CGI in the film, calling it fake and artificial. This isn’t the first time the MCU has come under fire from its fans for its substandard VFX.
Phase 4 projects like “She-Hulk” and “Thor: Love and Thunder” were most notably criticized for their CGI. However, MCU admirers thought that Marvel would fix these issues in Phase 5. But clearly that hasn’t happened. One fan joked that they should watch Marvel movies on their phones from now on, as the CGI will look great on a 3-inch-high screen.
Others criticized the director of the film, Peyton Reed, calling him bland. Many think that Kevin Feige should have fired him and brought in Edgar Wright. They also expressed that letting Reed direct a whole trilogy of films was a blunder of epic proportions. Apart from just “Ant-Man 3,” fans are worried about the MCU as a whole. Many fear that the best days of the franchise are left far behind and that the other fans who left Marvel after “Avengers: Endgame” made the right decision. After all, at a glance, Marvel Studios has been on a downward spiral since then.
A lot of fans had pinned their hopes on “Ant-Man 3” to revive the MCU and start Phase 5 with a bang. But that’s probably not going to happen now. However, not all hope is lost. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kevin Feige confirmed that he wants each and every Marvel project to stand out. So henceforth, they will pace out the Disney + shows so that each gets their time to shine. Since one of the major complaints for Phase 4 was that Marvel Studios put out too many shows too soon, this will give us a breath of relief.
However, it seems like the problems with CGI remain, and in a franchise that’s all about fantasy and superheroes, subpar CGI can ruin immersion for viewers. As of “Ant-Man 3,” Marvel Studios hasn’t fixed this problem. It remains to be seen what will be the result with the other two films of 2023, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “The Marvels.” Here’s to hoping that the MCU gets back its shine because otherwise, the DCU is just lurking around the corner, getting ready to take away its fans.
See more: James Gunn Hits Out At The MCU, Defines What DC Studios Is Doing Different