Ant-Man 3: Everything It Needs To Fix About The Franchise
The Honey I Shrunk The Superhero series needs some Giant-Man sized improvements.
It almost goes without saying now that the MCU is a cinematic behemoth unlike any we have seen before and any we'll probably see for quite some time. Running multiple sub-series that feed into a larger team-up events, they managed to not only juggle a myriad of characters sufficiently, but also turn characters that sound ridiculous on paper - like talking raccoons and sentient trees - into fan favourites.
While they have impressively produced a slew of films of a (somewhat) consistently good quality, not every hero's solo outings can reach the heights of Captain America. And among the bottom of many MCU stand-alone rankings, one usually finds the Ant-Man entries, with the hero even being the butt of 'nobody's favourite Avenger' jokes in Endgame.
With the next Ant-Man film on the way, and director Peyton Reed returning, it's hard to believe that he is the first to helm a full trilogy of stand-alones. However, MCU head honcho Kevin Feige likes to completely change the game with third instalments. And if any of their sub-series ever needed a shake-up, it's this one.
So, just in case Reed needs a little creative inspiration, here's a few suggestions that should push him in the right direction.
10. Stop Making Scott Lang A Bumbling Idiot
For all its shortcomings, Ant-Man And The Wasp did a good job at establishing the latter heroine as a fan favourite, more than capable to bust up bad guys all on her own. So much so that it could be argued that the whole film was set up to place The Wasp as scene stealer, especially during action sequences like the one in the kitchen.
As much as she did stand out though, it meant that Paul Rudd ended up taking a step back. And while that would be expected as he's now sharing the spotlight, it reduced him to being the butt of size-related visual gags for most of the film. Because of this, when comparing to his counterpart, Ant-Man comes off as a happy-go-lucky guy with a super-suit that is just caught up in the middle of it all, contributing little else.
Let's not forget, Scott Lang is still one of the best in the MCU at pulling off heists, and is able to come up with unexpected ideas in difficult situations. Add that to the knowledge he must be gaining about the Quantum Realm and going between the different sizes, he should be having more of a positive impact going forward.