I had the opportunity to attend an opening night showing of the latest Marvel film Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. My overall opinion of this movie is it is the Phase 5 version of Avengers: Age of Ultron, it is an average move which introduces and sets up a number of significant storylines moving forward.
Regarding family content, there is one useless G.D. and several references to male body parts but fortunately no other items which have ruined many of the most recent Marvel films.
Synopsis
Scott Lang’s, played by Paul Rudd, daughter Cassie has become a teenage science prodigy. So much so, she has invented a satellite system so they can study the quantum realm. However, creating this communication system results into the entire family being sucked into the miniature world.
Once there, they encounter the evil ruler Kang The Conqueror. Kang, played by Jonathan Majors and easily the best part of the movie, is in exile because his sole focus is destroying as many timelines and people as possible. What ensues is the Lang and Pim families need to destroy Kang and also get back home.
6 Leadership Quotes and Lessons
The following are six leadership quotes and lessons from Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania:
Marvel Fatigue Is Real
Marvel fatigue is real! pic.twitter.com/j94kdIhM3K
— Brian Dodd (@BrianKDodd) February 16, 2023
Ultimately the box office will tell the real story but the above picture was taken as the previews began to roll. I remember the sold-out audiences and level of anticipation during the Infinity Saga. I feel number of factors are contributing to the fatigue. We need to learn from this list as the same thing can happen to areas we lead.
- Everything has a life cycle. Maybe Marvel is experiencing a natural decline.
- Inferior product. We simply do not have the emotional connection with the current characters that we did with Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark, Hawkeye, and Bruce Banner.
- Over-saturation. People often unsubscribe from companies who send them too many emails. Maybe Marvel is just putting out too much content. I know I have not watched several of the new characters on Disney+.
- Family friendly content. Disney continues to lose audience members because of its aggressive non-traditional family content.
- Wait for Disney+. The viewing experience at your home is probably superior to many movie theaters.
The Importance Of Time
Time is the most valuable asset you have because once it is gone, you cannot get it back. This is why tardiness is such a problem because you are basically saying your time is more important than someone else’s, so they should just wait on you.
The following are additional quotes from Kang on the subject of time:
- “Time is a cage.”
- “History is not written. It is forged.”
Underutilized Talent
Bill Murray has a brief scene as Janet Van Dyne’s, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, love interest/colleague from her thirty years spent in the quantum realm. This incredibly talented actor should have played a much bigger role.
Leaders Must Continually Reinvent Themselves
Allow me to introduce you to MODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing). MODOK, played by Corey Stoll, is what Darren Cross turned into when thrust into the quantum realm at the close of the first Ant-Man movie.
What we learn from MODOK is leaders you must continually reinvent themselves and evolve to survive in an ever-changing world. You must have a passion for personal growth to remain relevant and helpful to your organization. Lang summed this up well when he said, “If there is one thing life has taught me is there is always room to grow.”
The Value Of Second Chances
Scott told his daughter, “Cassie, my whole life happened because I messed up. The only thing I didn’t mess up is you.”
Leaders Must Properly Evaluate Reality
As I mentioned, Kang is the best part of the movie and had two of my favorite quotes:
- “That’s what conquerors do, they burn the broken and make a new one.”
- “I am Kang. You talk to ants.”
My final thought is that unless you just want to get out for a night at the movies, wait until Disney+. Save your money for Creed III. But if you go, keep the bar low. You will enjoy the movie a lot more. But Kang is a pretty good villian.
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