Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, 2023.
Directed by Peyton Reed.
Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Bill Murray, Katy O’Brian, William Jackson Harper, Jamie Andrew Cutler, David Dastmalchian, Randall Park, and Corey Stoll.
SYNOPSIS:
Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne, along with Cassie Lang, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne accidentally get sucked into the Quantum Realm where they meet a dangerous adversary hellbent on destroying the multiverse.
The Ant-Man franchise has always been its own thing, somewhat far flung from the grander, near-world decimating adventures of his other Avengers’ teammates. That’s not to say that our ‘tiny’ action hero’s importance can simply be ignored or overlooked, no sir, but the previous outings centered around the character have all been small scale, intimate affairs which possessed a charm of their own. Which is where Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania breaks the proverbial mold, for better or for worse.
The story follows Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who despite having achieved success in his professional life as a superhero and part-time author, still struggles to have the ideal father-daughter relationship with Cassie (Kathryn Newton). Like her father, she too is a do-gooder by nature who looks out for the little guy, and this invariably gets her in trouble with local law enforcement agencies on a frequent basis. Scott doesn’t approve of this, as he doesn’t like Cassie following in his footsteps but there’s no stopping her.
Under the guidance of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Cassie has even crafted an ingenious device to map out the Quantum Realm, akin to a sub-atomic Hubble telescope. Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), however, immediately recognizes the danger of operating the machine and in her effort to disable it sets off a chain reaction that send the dysfunctional family whizzing off into the unknown, to face off against the formidable Kang (Jonathan Majors).
As I iterated earlier Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania departs from the usual Ant-Man related shenanigans to deliver a story featuring a Thanos level threat with Avengers-esque repercussions. In some ways it seems like the logical way for the narrative to evolve, pitting the MCU’s bitesize superhero against a powerful foe like Kang. But the downside of that decision is that, the charming family dynamics and character interplay which made the Ant-Man franchise unique in the first place doesn’t exist anymore.
The script by Rick and Morty alum Jeff Loveness is another aspect which affected the overall quality of the film. At time focused and at times frustratingly scattershot, Loveness’ first foray into the world of big budget movies is something of a mixed bag, unfortunately. His most divisive creative choice though has to be the inclusion of Marvel comic super villain MODOK, into a story already packed to the brim with new characters. Whilst folks have taken offence to MODOK’s hideously cartoonish countenance, which is more comic book accurate than its given credit for, that entire subplot and redemptive character arc was something I could have done without.
But that’s not to say that there aren’t any positives in Loveness’ script, as there are. Chief of which is his decision to scale down the humor and center the story’s light-hearted moments only around specific characters; ‘cos when Jonathan Major’s Kang enters the scene, hoo-boy, you know the guy means business. The zany world of the Quantum Realm and its outlandish occupants also gives Loveness the opportunity to unleash some Rick and Morty style absurdist humor during certain sequences, and I adore him for it. And thankfully, Taika Waititi he is not.
Ever since Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was announced we all knew what the major talking point of the movie was inevitably going to be – Jonathan Majors. Over the past few years the gifted actor has racked up quite an impressive and diverse resumé which include stints in the small screen (Lovecraft Country), indie films (The Last Man in San Francisco) along with a few blockbusters on the side, and he’s only getting started. In Loki, a TV show chock full of memorable cameos and innumerable Easter eggs Majors’ debut as the Kang variant He Who Remains proved to be one the Disney+ show’s biggest highlights. Audiences were beguiled by the charismatic performance and also genuinely intrigued as to what Majors would accomplish with the role of Kang the Conqueror.
Well, everyone can rest easy ‘cos the talented thespian has knocked it out of the park and then some. Comparing Jonathan Majors’ Kang with that of Josh Brolin’s Thanos is akin to comparing chalk and cheese, in that both are very different performances but Majors benefits from not having to hide behind a CGI version of himself for the movie. And that itself makes for a far more engaging experience since Majors dishes out an expressive performance that is both mercurial and terrifying. The guy’s got an undeniable screen presence I’ll tell you that.
But enough about Jonathan Majors, lets talk a bit about the Ant-Man clan. For starters, Paul Rudd is his ever dependable self, playing Scott Lang and it’s easy to see how he was cast in that role to begin with. The guy exudes a genuine everyman charm that makes him instantly likeable, but when you juxtapose that against a gigantic CGI canvas for a majority of the runtime, that magic wears off pretty fast. The same goes for the rest of the cast – even Michelle Pfeiffer, whose main purpose this time around is spouting exposition while accompanying a disinterested Michael Douglas and a confused Evangeline Lilly. Allowing a little bit of breathing space for character development would have worked wonders. Kathryn Newton didn’t leave much of an impression on me either, but with the right script who knows?
Musician Christophe Beck who’s been a staple of the franchise, churns out his most bombastic effort yet. The ambitious scope and otherworldly setting of the film reflects marvelously in his epic score. It is a unique amalgamation of cosmic ambience, sub-industrial soundscape and Beck’s trademark orchestral sound; like a weird lovechild of Colin Stetson’s Color Out of Space and Tom Holkenborg’s Mad Max: Fury Road. I wasn’t all too impressed with Bill Pope’s cinematography because the soundstage-y feel in certain sequences were just too distractingly obvious. Can’t imagine I’m criticizing the output of a guy who’s lensed The Matrix and Spider-Man 2, but it is what it is.
Pockmarked by an uneven script and wonky visual effects Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a strangely entertaining sci-fi actioner anchored by a scene stealing performance courtesy of Jonathan Majors. Not everything gels together in this disjointed affair, but it’s certainly superior to most of Marvel’s recent outputs.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
