This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania early reviews have begun to come out for the Phase 5 installment. The Multiverse Saga is going forward as Marvel Studios is building towards Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. The first film to launch Phase 5 will be Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, with Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne back as the iconic duo. While the Ant-Man threequel will wrap up the trilogy, it will be instrumental for Marvel Studios' Multiverse Saga. After a variant of his arrived in the MCU during the Loki season 1 finale, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania will properly introduce Kang the Conqueror as a big bad.

As of this week, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania will officially be hitting theaters and getting Phase 5 rolling. At the start of the month, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania reactions were shared online. Following the initial thoughts, early reviews have officially started to come out. Check out several excerpts below:

Molly Freeman, Screen Rant

As such, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a must-see for Marvel fans, not only because it's a genuinely entertaining addition to the MCU, but because it's important to the overarching story of Phase 5 and the Multiverse Saga. That said, though there are aspects of Quantumania that are best enjoyed by those who have seen the previous Ant-Man movies, they aren't necessarily required viewing to understand this film. As with many MCU movies, Quantumania is most rewarding to those who have invested in the franchise, but is enjoyable enough even for casual viewers. Still, the real draw of the movie is Majors' Kang, who's poised to be the next major villain of the MCU and, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania effectively sets up the big bad, it also makes plenty of room for the little guy.

Brandon Zachary, CBR

What's ultimately the most frustrating element of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the script. The movie fails to present a strong emotional arc. There's plenty of promising setup in the film's first act, with Scott and Cassie's relationship troubles quietly mirroring the lingering drama between the Pyms. There's potential for Scott to seek out the years he'd lost without his daughter, a bittersweet desire he shares with Jan. But none of that is paid anything beyond minor lip service as the film progresses and leans heavily into the sci-fi-tinted adventures within the Quantum Realm. As a result, the film largely relies on charm and comedy to keep the audience engaged.

Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

At this point in history, the idea of attracting new fans to the MCU is probably moot; most viewers are either on board for this ongoing saga, or they checked out long ago. “Quantumania” may not swing for the fences as ambitiously as recent entries like “Wakanda Forever” or “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” but it does take the wildly disparate tones and plot threads that are seemingly endemic to this series and turn them into an entertainingly cohesive whole. To be continued, obviously.

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

For better or worse, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the most overtly sci-fi film in the series, and on that level, it succeeds very well. To ascribe credit for the Quantum Realm’s onscreen depiction would basically involve reprinting dozens of pages of credits, but suffice it to say that the visual design of the multi-faceted settings, imaginative costumes and outrageous creatures on display is truly outstanding on every level. A stunning climactic battle, involving a “probability storm” (don’t ask) that results in multitudes of Ant-Mans who at first don’t get along but eventually learn to collaborate for their survival, is the sort of mind-blowing sequence that you don’t even need consciousness-altering substances to appreciate.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Quantumania” is fun, as well as bedazzling, relentless and numbing, then fun again just when you think you’ve had enough; all of that gets mashed together. The Marvel films have never pretended to be stand-alone entities, yet I’ve rarely encountered a Marvel adventure that’s this busy with a do-or-die saving-the-cosmos plot that feels this much like it exists simply to set up the next dozen chapters of something. But that’s what happens when you’re launching Phase 5 of the Marvel takeover of movie entertainment. “Quantumania” is no cheat (it sucks you in, hooks your eyeballs, wrings you out), but if this is what Phase 5 looks like, God save us from Phases 6, 7 and 8.

Ross Bonaime, Collider

For what it's worth, as the set-up for where this universe is going, Quantumania is largely a success, as it's hard to walk away from this and not focus primarily on what Majors is doing. But it's easy to forget that this wasn't his story, that this was supposed to be about Scott, his family, and his loved ones. There's a fascinating world to explore here, and Ant-Man finally gets close to the full realization of the potential of his character and this concept, but it all, unfortunately, gets overtaken by the Conquerer. 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.

Hunter Radesi, Murphy's Multiverse

Unfortunately, regardless of the many promisingly poignant seeds planted as potential talking points early in the movie, much of what could have become a weighted payoff seems to dissipate by the time of the film’s conclusion. This can probably be attributed to Quantumania‘s high-speed script, which barely gives even its most tragic moments room to breathe. Cassie is a character who cares deeply about humanity, and many of her concerns are raised briefly and then never subsequently addressed. Michelle Pfieffer‘s Janet van Dyne is finally given something tangible to do but is vastly overshadowed by the rise of Kang and pacing that feels eager for the plot to end. Even Quantumania‘s attempt at tying the story to the Ant-Man tradition of heisting quickly becomes just a simple fragment of the larger sensory storm at hand.

Kate Erbland, Indiewire

While Reed and star Paul Rudd continue to mine plenty of laughs from the silliness of a superhero whose main powers include getting really big and really small and utilizing ants as his primary assistants (one thing to anticipate: plenty of “ants?” jokes), “Quantumania” suffers what’s become the classic MCU problem: It’s not content to focus on its eponymous superhero. As the first film in Phase Five, “Quantumania” is scarcely allowed to be its own thing, because it’s also tasked with introducing the big bad who will lord over the franchise for the foreseeable future. That’s a tough ask for a series that’s as lighthearted as the MCU gets. (Ants!)

Jeff Ewing, Slash Film

Altogether, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is a fun MCU entry that finally starts to feel like the new Saga is pointing somewhere interesting. Majors' Kang may be woefully underutilized with power that's explained but never truly shown, but his charisma and gravitas win the day for a strong performance that bodes well for the MCU's future. The rest of the film's talented performers deliver their roles well, and the world seems evidently well-designed and novel compared to what's come before. Still, most characters are underutilized, underdeveloped, or set into contrived circumstances. Major plot moments and character developments feel undercooked, and there are relevant moments where the story logic is lacking. The film boasts one of the MCU's most expansive visages but it somehow still feels blatantly shallow, like actors are recording in a glorified booth against a massive green screen. Nonetheless, there's a lot of fun, love for the world and its characters, and a tonal consistency that sets "Quantumania" easily above at least a couple Phase 4 outings. In the end, we're left with a strong Kang debut inside a film that's a mostly satisfying mine for future MCU success.

Joshua Yehl, IGN

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has just enough entertaining moments and a heartfelt family story, plus knockout performances in Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet van Dyne and Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, to make up for its more underdeveloped aspects. The exploration of its central themes, new characters, and the Quantum Realm itself only goes skin deep, leaving it feeling high on spectacle but low on substance. Even so, Quantumania works as a culmination of the Ant-Man series, a way to start things in motion for Phase 5, and a promising roadmap of where the Multiverse Saga is going.

RELATED: Ant-Man's Complete MCU Timeline

What Quantumania Reviews Tell Us About The Movie

Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang in the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

With Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantmania being the first film in Phase 5, there are already a lot of expectations for this installment. What seems to come through a lot is several performances of various cast members. Since Kang will be a primary focus in this film, Jonathan Majors is already winning over the crowd as the new Marvel foe. This sets up the expectations even more for Kang in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and, presumably, Avengers: Secret Wars.

However, a shared opinion among many of the reviews is how Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantmania seems to suffer from its script. Particularly, the movie struggles with its emotional beats and compelling character arcs, including the titular hero, a problem other MCU films have faced before. Another issue highlighted by the film's reviews is other characters or stories overshadowing key elements of the story Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantmania is trying to tell.

At the end of the day, time will tell how general audiences respond to Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantmania. Fans may have a very different response to the film from the critics, which is not unusual, especially for superhero movies. As Phase 5 builds toward its large endgame with the upcoming Avengers movies, it will be intriguing to see the impact Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantmania has on the MCU.

MORE: New Kang Update Makes A Terrifying Connection to WandaVision & Loki

Source: Various (see links above)

Key Releases Date