It looks like the MCU is in hot water again. After getting bashed endlessly by fans for horrendous CGI in its Phase 4 projects, the superhero franchise is again getting the same vitriol for its first Phase 5 project, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” Some fans have noted that the one shot where Scott Lang and Cassie Lang are gazing out at the Quantum Realm looks poor. Let us decode what’s going on.
Fans Bash Latest Ant-Man’s CGI
In the first trailer of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” we saw a wide-angle shot of Scott and Cassie looking out at the insane structures and two portals present in the Quantum Realm. The shot has vibrant colors and is meant to make the viewers in awe of the insanity of the place. But some fans feel the image looks fake or out of a 2000s kids’ movie. One commentator said that it’s because, while shooting the film, the director put the two actors on a flat green screen circle with no undulations, while we can see the vivid structures elsewhere. It makes the shot composition seem weird because why would that one patch of land seem stable when everything else around them seems to be in flux?
Another noted that Scott and Cassie had not blended properly with the background. So they seem to stand out. This makes the shot look bad. An example of such similar scenes was in the movies “Black Widow” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” In the former, we saw Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova clearly standing in front of a green screen during an unconvincing blast sequence where the character attempts to sacrifice her life towards the end of the film. In the latter, in some flying and incantation scenes of Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch’s sorcerer looks pasted on a green screen as he doesn’t blend in with the background.
Overall, while the shot doesn’t look terrible, it’s true that it comes across as looking a little fake. But why is the MCU constantly failing to deliver great CGI?
The CGI Problem Of MCU
Marvel Studios has been facing criticism for its sub-par CGI in Phase 4. Projects like “She-Hulk” and “Thor: Love and Thunder” were especially criticized for it. But why is the MCU experiencing a sudden drop in VFX quality? There are potentially various reasons for it.
Recently, Vulture came out with a report that contained comments from various alleged VFX workers. The article basically accused Marvel Studios of overworking and underpaying its VFX workers. One VFX artist who chose to remain anonymous alleged that the studio blacklisted CGI experts who didn’t fall in line with Marvel Studios’ plans. This report isn’t the only one. For a long time, CGI workers have accused Marvel of having poor VFX management and practices that make the workers suffer a lot of undue stress.
Another reason is that Marvel Studios is putting out projects like it is operating a conveyor belt. Phase 4 was especially criticized for this. The shows and movies were getting released too close to each other, so fans didn’t have enough time to digest the previous one before moving on to the next one. Also, it makes sense that it’s almost impossible to maintain proper quality control on so many projects at the same time.
The third reason is that Marvel is failing to utilize the volume technology properly. Volume technology was developed by Lucasfilm’s Industrial Lights and Magic (ILM) division. The gist is that it’s a new technology that replaces green screens with actual LED screens where the background can be projected. Projects like “The Mandalorian” and “The Batman” have perfectly used Volume technology to deliver amazing results.
But Marvel Studios hasn’t been so successful. “Thor: Love and Thunder” was the first Marvel project to use this technology. But it clearly failed to use it properly because it received widespread criticism for its poor VFX. It seems that “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is facing the same issue as before. So the fault isn’t with the technology but with Marvel for failing to use it correctly.
Will Phase 5 Be Better In Terms Of CGI?
It’s impossible to make sweeping statements regarding the quality of Phase 5 before it has even begun. But as per rumors, Marvel Studios has indeed taken note of the issue and is pushing back projects so that they can be perfected. It’s speculated that shows like “Echo” and “What If…” season 2 have been delayed due to this.
Also, it needs to be noted that Ant-Man 3 is still being worked on and will probably continue to be improved upon until the day it premieres. This isn’t a new thing since “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was also getting its CGI work done until its premiere day. So any CGI issues will surely be fixed. We will get to see the finished product on February 17, 2023.
See more: Matt Reeves Meeting With James Gunn To Discuss ‘The Batman’ Sequel And DCU Connection
