Believe it or not, and in spite of what social media might try and tell you, it’s okay to go against the grain and like what you like regardless of the consensus. In the case of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, though, the merest hint of praise being pointed in the direction of the latest high-profile addition to the Disney Plus library is being treated as a war crime.
Obviously, from a factual and analytical point of view, the kickoff to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Five was a bust of epic proportions. Reviews were terrible, audience reception was apathetic, box office numbers were a long way short of what they should have been, and that’s without even mentioning the ongoing Jonathan Majors situation.
Even bad movies can boast plenty of fans, it should be noted, even if Quantumania hasn’t undergone the full-scale reappraisal that many of the superhero franchise’s most middling installments tend to receive eventually. On the other side of the coin, we’ve already reached a point where any sort of positivity is being torn down, and there are some absolutely feasting on it.
As mentioned, there’s no harm in backing something like Quantumania to the hilt despite the inarguable fact that it sucks, but the outpouring of fury and resentment towards such a lavishing only serves to underscore just how much a vocal section of the MCU fandom completely and utterly despised Peyton Reed’s threequel.
In most cases, the best option would be to move on with our lives and pretend as though Quantumania never existed, but that’s been made impossible due to its status as the introduction of the Multiverse Saga’s big bad, and the foundation that will eventually culminate in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, so the debate is far from over.