While Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania isn’t the worst movie in the MCU, it isn’t worth watching either. I am glad I didn’t watch this in theaters, but I can’t justify streaming it either. The movie just feels lazy, uninspired, and anticlimactic.
An accident sends the Ant family into the quantum realm where they find another universe and a unique culture to go with it. But an evil tyrant has taken over the quantum realm and has set his sights on the Ant family. Can they beat the tyrant and save the universe?
There isn’t anything spectacular about this movie. I struggle to remember what happened, and its plot will probably fade into obscurity as soon as I publish this review. The acting feels muted, the writing isn’t good, and the action is boring. The biggest issue with this movie is the silly tone it carries throughout. Instead of building proper tension and suspense, it cuts it with a joke or gag that doesn’t always work. There are characters in this movie that exist to be a joke, never contributing anything meaningful to the plot. Even the lazy sequel bait is riddled with overused jokes that don’t land.
Another issue I have with this film is that they underutilize the villain. Instead of developing the villain and giving him a proper presence, they waste on the pointless drama that no one cares about. The villain only exists when he becomes convenient. Outside of these moments, he doesn’t exist. The tension in this movie comes from poorly written family issues, and King feels like an afterthought. We are told he is powerful and evil, and then he is easily beaten by ex-Machina. King could have been an interesting character if everything about him wasn’t so vague and he showed up to do anything meaningful.
The action of this movie feels like a generic attempt to emulate the rest of the MCU. The build-up to the climax is muddied by the silly tone this movie insists on having. As fun, as this movie tries to be, it never is. The big fight at the end feels like every super hero last-stand fight, so I stopped caring.
I don’t recommend you watch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Everything takes too long to happen, the action isn’t fun, and the story is boring. It isn’t the worst MCU movie, but it is going to be one of the forgettable ones. Don’t pay for it. If you end up streaming it, throw it in the background so you can ignore all the boring bits. I recommend you skip this one unless you are super invested in the MCU. Even then, it is going to be a hard sell.
Movie Review: Samaritan (2022)
Samaritan is Silvester Stallone’s attempt at the superhero genre, and I have to say, it is pretty good. Sure the pacing was a little slow, but his unorthodox take on the genre was both refreshing and entertaining. I doubt it will win any awards, but if you have been curious about the movie, go ahead and watch it.
Samaritan follows a young troubled youth Sam who is obsessed with the superhero Samaritan. Samaritan once protected the city from crime and against the supervillain Nemesis, but an epic encounter between the two leads to their disappearance. Most people believe the superhumans to be dead, but Sam holds out hope that Samaritan is alive and will one day make his return. His beliefs seem to hold some truth when he encounters a mysterious man who he believes to be Samaritan. At the same time, an ambitious and delusional crime boss attempts to fill the hole Nemesis left behind. Using the supervillain’s magic hammer, he plans to take over the city and bring forth a new world order. With the city spun into chaos, will Samaritan once again rise and bring the city new hope? You will have to watch the movie to find out.
This movie certainly gave me some Unbreakable vibes because of how it treats superheroes. It certainly challenges their traditional role in society by asking whether or not their existence is necessary. Samaritan makes some interesting points and raises some interesting questions about the genre, but unfortunately, I can’t address them without spoiling the movie. Just know that this isn’t your traditional superhero narrative, and it is going to feel a little slow. It does have a pretty satisfying conclusion if you stick with it.
This is a solid movie with fantastic actors, an entertaining narrative, and some pretty cool action. I always enjoy watching superhero movies that aren’t bound by their source material because they have a certain level of freedom that the mainstream ones don’t. They aren’t bound by the same conventions and aren’t bogged down by repeating a familiar backstory. I am even more impressed at how deeply Stallone understands the action genre and his respect for his ability to consistently make fun action movies. Samaritan is a fantastic combination of both these worlds and one that I can in good conscious recommend.
If you want to watch a decent superhero movie, you should give this movie a chance. You can stream it now on Amazon.
Movie Review: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
I have mentioned this before, but I am not a huge fan of the MCU. That said, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a clear exception. I was not ready for the brutally compelling story I received. This is possibly the coolest live-action superhero movie I have ever seen. I hope Disney takes notes and keeps creating movies with the same energy.
The movie follows Doctor Strange as he encounters a young girl, America, who has the power to travel through the multiverse. It is up to Doctor Strange to keep her safe as the Scarlet Witch is after her power. Will Doctor Strange save the multiverse from catastrophe? You will have to watch to find out.
This is a great movie and one that I wholeheartedly recommend. The acting is fantastic, the wizard battles are amazing, and the story is solid. Scarlet Witch is a phenomenal villain, and Elizabeth Olsen does her part and more to bring such a great character to life. The Scarlet Witch is now my favorite villain because she has clear motives and deals with viable inner demons. She is a very competent and powerful witch, and this movie does a great job showing this through its many creative and fun battles. Her character arc is amazing and I can’t commend Elizabeth Olsen or the filmmakers enough. My only complaint is that there weren’t enough magic battles. To be fair though, if I had my way, this movie would be all wizard battles.
The story is great. It has a solid progression, great action, and it builds to a satisfying final battle. I would suggest reading up on the MCU Scarlet Witch. There are references to Wandavision and her involvement with the infinity stones that don’t make sense unless you’ve kept up with the series. I haven’t kept up with the MCU, and I don’t feel like it is necessary to keep up with it, but it will add meaning to a few scenes. You can stream it now on Disney Plus. If you haven’t seen this movie, you should.
Movie Review: Morbius (2022)
I had completely forgotten about this movie, and after watching this movie, I understand why. This unimpressive addition to the MCU should have been left as an uninspired pitch on the story board. This movie fails to set itself apart from any generic bargain bin action movie despite its fancy packaging. While the acting might set it apart from complete mediocrity, its narrative fails to inspire the least bit of intrigue.
The movie follows a sickly doctor who is obsessed with finding a cure for his life-threatening ailment. His desperation for a cure leads his research to unethical avenues. His obsession finally pays off when he finds the cure. Unfortunately, the cure transforms him into a monster with an uncontrollable thirst for blood. Now he must find a way to quell his hunger without succumbing to his monstrous desires.
Do not let the aesthetics of this movie blind you to the fact that at its core, this movie is a shallow addition to the MCU. The story is bland, the villain is boring, and the love interest is unnecessary. I believe a more appropriate term for this movie would be forgettable. I find it near impossible to remember what happened in this movie despite having just seen it. Do yourself a favor, watch one of the better MCU movies.
I found this movie free on YouTube, but even as free content I felt it was a waste of time. I’ve seen enough movies to know that this is one of those lazy plots that gets reskinned every year in an attempt to make a quick buck. It is frustrating, but it is the nature of the business. It is better forget about the existence of this unremarkable movie than to have to sit through even a minute of it.
YouTube Movie Reviews: Valentine: The Dark Avenger (2017)
Here we have a low-budget action movie that isn’t worth your time, even for free. The acting is terrible, the action scenes are boring, and the plot doesn’t make sense. I can excuse the lack of plot and poor acting in action movies when the action is fun to watch, but it’s impossible here. The main character doesn’t know how to fight. The fight scenes are shot with multiple cuts and a shacky camera to hide this fact. There is an unfunny scene in this movie where they are looking through possible candidates for the role of Violet. They make a big deal about throwing out all the ugly ones even though they know how to fight. I take issue with this because why does it matter if they are ugly if the goal is to fight crime? I wish they would hire action stars based on ability rather than looks because the action would be fun to watch. But then it wouldn’t be marketable.
The movie takes place in a city plagued with crime. A man with a tragic past recruits a woman to be the hero the city needs. The movie would have ended a lot sooner if anyone had a gun. Instead, you get overacted long chase scenes, boring fight scenes, and useless exposition dumps. And when the twist comes, because there has to be a twist, it was obvious and unimpressive. I can’t recommend this movie, even if it is free. Spend your time and energy on better things.
