Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, Corey Stoll, Bill Murray, Katy M. O'Brien, William Jackson Harper, Jamie Andrew Cutler, David Dastmalchian (voice), Randall Park, Tom Hiddleston (uncredited), Owen Wilson (uncredited)
Directed by: Peyton Reed
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Scott (Paul Rudd), Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Cassie (Kathryn Newton) get sucked into the Quantum Realm, where they face a dangerous foe (Jonathan Majors) determined to escape.

Review:

Tim: I've unapologetically been a massive Marvel fan from the very beginning and a stalwart defender of the entire MCU. It's unprecedented what Marvel crafted with their Infinity Saga. However, even I have to admit that the wheels are starting to come off. The Multiverse Saga has been good, but represents a consistent drop in quality. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is easily one of the worst MCU films and while I still consider it a very good film (what an interesting conundrum), it's flaws are stark. This movie got perhaps closer to any other of the 30 MCU films to dropping below a "7.5" rating. I should also point out that throughout the Infinity Saga, Marvel's longest drought of "non great" movies was 3. This movie represents the 4th "non-great" movie in a row, so this is a historic low point for the series.

Before I get into the complaints, I have to admit, this is a really good film. Compare this movie to most of what the DCEU put out and this is better than nearly everything else. You get a film where Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas (!), Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kathryn Newton shrink down to subatomic scale where they face a universe-spanning threat trying to escape a microworld to conquer the multiverse. I mean, that's insanely cool. Some of the visuals of the Quantum Realm are beautiful, stunning depictions of a world beneath our noses. The inhabitants of this realm are quirky and interesting. You have a story where Scott Lang is struggling with what happens after you've saved the world, what else do you do? He also struggles with the emergence of his daughter as an adult, a challenge that has to feel equal to saving the world. Peyton Reed understands these characters and leverages his experience with them to deliver an action-packed film that is quite different from the previous two Ant-Man movies. I've seen the film twice and I had fun watching it both times. It's definitely a good movie.

Where this film disappoints is a consistent them in the Multiverse Saga. It feels too unimportant to the grand story Marvel is supposedly trying to tell. This is the first time we actually got time with Kang the Conqueror, the next big bad. And... he's mostly a disappointment. Sure, Jonathan Majors gives him a fascinating edge, a complex character who we get to know as an individual. And then, (SPOILER ALERT), he's defeated by Ant-Man. I will never understand this. I know the impending threat are countless Kangs, but this is the one that should have set us on edge. For Kang to defeat Ant-Man and escape the Quantum Realm would have directly set up future films. He's defeated by ants, by a second-tier hero in this film. All the quirky narration at the end of the film does nothing to erase this fact. Marvel might have had a tough job here- do you limit Scott Lang's story and effectiveness in serving the greater good? I know they've been criticized for sacrificing the quality of individual films for the major story, but this time, they went in the wrong direction. This film didn't make me excited for Kang, made me more disillusioned with the MCU than ever. Just like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it was supposed to mean something, connect to something bigger. It completely fails in that regard.

My complaints don't just focus on the tenuous connections to the broader Multiverse narrative. The story here has big issues. The film introduces us to several fascinating Quantum Realm inhabitants and then makes them all forgettable. I know none of their names. There's the guy who can read minds, no idea what his name is. There's the strong woman leader, couldn't tell you anything else about her. There's the goo guy who shows up for comedic relief and never really matters. There's the lamphead guy, which is one of the coolest designs I've ever seen, who makes no impact on the film. We needed at least one cool character to emerge from this. We needed time with them, to invest in their plight. That never happens. Why? Well, a lot of reasons, but one issue is that they crammed MODOK into the film. Now, I'm glad Corey Stoll got to close out his story, but this character was unnecessary. He looks absolutely godawful. I cannot comprehend how Marvel let this unfinished, ridiculous CGI be ushered into the world. I cringed every time MODOK showed up on screen. This is a great example of Marvel giving up on quality- it's about speed to release, who cares if the graphics look laughable?

What really saves this film (and just barely) is the cast. Paul Rudd is fantastic in this role, his snarky humor makes for an interesting character. I love that Rudd gets to be a superhero and it's so fun watching him as Scott. I'll treasure every time I get to see Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. Douglas seems to be having fun here. He knows it's all ridiculous, but he gets to play in this sandbox and seems to enjoy it. Michelle Pfeiffer was called to act more serious here, and she carries a good bit of the film. I loved that she emerged as a bigger player this time around. The movie benefits from it. Evangeline Lilly gets screwed over this time. I think we just need a Wasp movie, because she's such a cool character and was relegated to the sidelines for far too much of this film. Kathryn Newton was fantastic. I'm a big fan of her and she really emerges as the most pleasant surprise here. Her energy, charisma, the interactions with Rudd, they make this movie substantially better. She helped me look past some of the film's flaws. Jonathan Majors is an immense talent and I really enjoyed what he did with Kang here. It's not his fault that the script was stupid and treated his character poorly. It was nice seeing Corey Stoll again, although the visual effects made him look ridiculous. It was great having Bill Murray show up for a scene, I just wish he had more to do.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a fun adventure movie that shows us a corner of the MCU we've never seen before. It does more right than wrong and I'd consider it a really good film. However, it's getting awfully close to dropping lower than any other movie. It tells a fun story and in that sense, is a success. However, Marvel has to do a better job of their overall narrative. This is the 9th film since the Infinity Saga ended and the Multiverse Saga is in bad shape. Nothing compelling outside of a few individual film successes has happened. Every time the multiverse and Kang is hinted at (No Way Home, Multiverse of Madness, here) it never amounts to much of anything. For a series that redefined the movies, became the most successful series in movie history, Marvel has really fumbled this second saga. I hope they figure it out soon, because their sophomore slump is starting to get dire.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Loki (television)