The last few months have seen the release of several high profile movies. Some of which were well acclaimed and highly successful, others… not so much. 

Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania 

Quantumania for many of the marvel fans was a major let down. Ever since the multiverse concept was teased in Wandavision back in 2021, fans have been excited to see the multiverse saga unfold with the villain of Kang taking the helm. Unfortunately, the new Antman movie failed to deliver on multiple counts including plot, comedy and visuals. With the majority of the film taking place within the quantum realm, it would make sense for the film to take advantage of this mythical location to create stunning visuals and follow a plot structure unique to a multiverse story. Sadly, the story is a simple escape mission where the cast attempts to leave the quantum realm while fending off Kang, and as for the visuals, well to say the least they are on the same level as those of SharkBoy and LavaGirl from 2005 and Spy Kids from 2001 . Additionally, almost none of the jokes in the movie landed with the audience. I went  to see this movie opening weekend, which is when the theaters are filled with the most devoted fans, yet in my theater the audience was silent throughout every punchline. At times the jokes were so ridiculous that they sounded almost as if they were intended to be satire. The concept of exploring the quantum realm and its multiversal impacts was at once promising, but instead was executed to be highly confusing, unfunny, and lackluster.

Avatar: The Way of Water

The long awaited sequel to 2009’s Avatar has become the third highest grossing movie of all time, meaning it made more money than all but two films. While Avatar: The Way of Water is certainly not a bad movie, it is slightly overhyped. The story itself is of high quality and explores themes surrounding family. The movie’s strongest moments are when it is exploring the Sully family bonds as they try to seek refuge from Colonel Quaritch. 

Speaking of, despite the film using the same villain who died at the end of the last movie, Colonel Quartch in his Avatar form was an effective villain. The introduction of the Colonel’s son, who goes by Spider, introduces interesting elements to the story given that Spider is a human who lives like the Navi and the Colonel is now an Avatar who sees himself as a human.

Apart from intriguing elements like this the film does have its fair share of faults such as the tropes it falls into and the long runtime. For example the classic bully trope is present when the Sully family moved to Awa’atlu and the chief’s children make fun of Lo’ak in true eighties movie fashion. Additionally the film is three hours and twelve minutes, which is exceptionally long for general audiences. Much of the runtime is used for necessary world building but it can feel a little slow at times as a result. The film however is visually stunning with some of the best CGI and motion capture in the industry, but the plot of the movie itself is far too simple to justify the amount of hype surrounding this film. It’s a simple hero’s journey story that has its own unique elements, but not enough to make it the third highest grossing film of all time. 

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

Puss and Boots: The Last Wish tells an interesting quest story that is light in tone despite having a darker villain. The most apparent strength of the film is the visuals. The film takes on a much more artistic aesthetic than the previous movie, and the rest of Dreamworks movies. This style of animation is reminiscent of a recent trend in animated films that makes the CGI graphics appear hand-done, similar to the style of Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse. The movies’ villain of The Big Bad Wolf is more terrifying than villains usually are in children’s films, and his character is similar to that of the grim reaper. The Last Wish plays on traditional fairy tales with a side villain in Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This movie put a twist on the original story of Goldilocks by making her and the three bears a part of organized crime, which fits in with the Shrek Universe which is known to twist fairy tales for comedic purposes. The comedy in this film follows the traditional light hearted format of most kids movies, and while it can be a bit overdone and unfunny to older audiences, this is not an unusual characteristic amongst other films of the same genre. Overall, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish succeeded in it’s elements of visuals and storytelling, and while it has its flaws, it is a welcome divergence from other kids films who fail to value the quality of their story.