As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues the story of the heroes we all fell in love with, I’m afraid to say the feeling I used to get when the flickering comic intro would take over my screen has begun to fade away. I hoped this movie would respark my love for the MCU, but Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” did the complete opposite.

Released on Feb. 17, the movie depicts the story of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), better known by his superhero persona Ant-Man, who gets sucked into the Quantum Realm with his family and has to figure out how to get out while keeping his family safe. While trying to keep everybody safe, Lang and the family also slowly find out secrets about Janet Van Dyne and her time in the Quantum Realm.

I have grown up watching the MCU’s movies, and “Ant-Man” was one of the first I watched in theaters. I fell in love with the balance of comedy and action Rudd brought to the franchise, cut with the natural sternness of The Wasp, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily). When I watched the trailer, I was ecstatic to learn we were getting another movie. Going into the theater, I didn’t know what to expect, having been let down by “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Eternals,” but wowed by “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Spiderman: No Way Home” and “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.”

As I watched the movie, the urge to walk out of the theater steadily increased. The storyline was being forced upon me, with nowhere to turn. Each “plot twist” was predictable and obvious. I was looking forward to the element of comedy being implemented, but other “serious” characters had quicker comedic timing.

Another issue was the stereotypical character development in the film. The lackluster villain ended up becoming my favorite character in the entire movie, but even then, I wasn’t impressed by the way they wrote him. It was the same old “conquer the universe” trope, one already done by Marvel with Thanos.

While I had many qualms with the majority of the movie, I thought the cinematography and CGI was above average, even for Marvel standards. The ability to transport the audience into another dimension was one that I usually expect from any other Marvel production, and I can say that this movie delivered. The angles made me feel like I was right there with the characters, and that is something I think has stayed consistent across the board with Marvel’s work.

Overall, this movie was a lackluster combination of disappointing characters, a bland plot and an ending that left me unsatisfied. The only reason I watched this movie was for the plot advancement of the phase, and I wouldn’t watch it again if you paid me..