Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Director: Peyton Reed
Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas Synopsis: Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne, along with Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, explore the Quantum Realm, where they interact with stage creatures and embark on an adventure that goes beyond the limits of what they thought was possible. MPAA Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 2 hr 4 min Release Date: February 17, 2023 It used to be that going to a Marvel movie was easily one of the most exciting things one could do on the weekend—you were all but guaranteed to see a well-written, well-acted, visually stunning film with strong action sequences and even a thoughtful story that had moral and real life implications, three dimensional characters, and heart to tie it all together. You left the theater fully or at the very least nearly fully satisfied and eager to see the next installment that was awaiting in a couple months.
But these days it’s not the same. Ever since the culmination of the Infinity Saga with Avengers: Endgame in 2019 (which went on to be become the highest grossing film in history by the way), Marvel has gradually suffered a decline, thanks to films that continuously feel cookie cutter of previous entries, resorting to filling in check boxes of what a MCU film should look like, rather than creating anything new, interesting, or exciting. They’re here because, well, Disney needs to make a quota, not because we actually need or want them. Long gone are the days of the peak of MCU prowess, with memorable entries like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: Civil War or Avengers: Infinity War. These films, despite largely being sequels, managed to feel fresh and, most importantly, contained dramatic depth. I mean, remember Bucky’s face when, after beating Steve Rogers nearly to death, Steve says, “I’m with you to the end of the line” in the climactic fight sequence in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Or remember a teary-eyed Thor in his honest conversation with Rocket in Infinity War when discussing all those close to him that he tragically lost and how he desperately needs Stormbreaker to have a chance against Thanos? Or an emotionally-wrenched Scarlet Witch holding off Thanos while having to kill Vision? Where are those moments? Instead, Marvel has relegated to giving us regurgitated material that tries endlessly to be funny instead of presenting actual dramatic material that has an ounce of weight and emotion. Now, this isn’t to be a rant against Marvel—there are a few films I have enjoyed post-Endgame, namely Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But overall, Marvel has suffered a steep decline in quality, and re-watchable films. I mean, how many post-Endgame MCU films can you honestly say you’ll readily re-watch? All of that in mind, I went into Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with fairly low expectations, even though the trailer looked promising, especially with the addition of Jonathan Majors as the MCU’s new baddie, Kang and this being the MCU’s first entry in Phase 5. But I knew that even though the trailer looked good, Marvel has still consistently been dropping the ball. Unfortunately, my fears were largely valid. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania definitely isn’t the worst Marvel has put out post-Endgame, but once again, it fails to come close to reach any of the heights Marvel reached when they were at the top of their game. I actually enjoyed the first Ant-Man—it was a smaller scale entry that subverted a lot of things Marvel was doing at the time back in 2015, while offering a very likable Paul Rudd performance and some really engaging visuals since so much of the character is rooted in scale changes. The second entry was weaker, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. Quantumania follows Scott and the team as they are accidentally transported back to the Quantum Realm, where they discover there’s a new ruler who’s seeking his chance to escape and wreak destruction on a global scale on the world. I always start with the positives—and by far the biggest of those is Jonathan Majors, who delivers a truly intimidating performance as Kang. You can feel the untapped strength and destructive force and nature in his voice and body language. He steals every scene he’s in, and if there’s any reason to see this film, it’s for him. Paul Rudd once again delivers a solid performance, even if his comedic bits largely don’t land this time around. The visuals are both a positive and negative—as this time we’re almost exclusively in the Quantum Realm, and the world really is something to take in and behold, yet there’s parts where you can’t believe this is a $200 million movie. This particularly applies to a character that appears about halfway through (I’ll spare the name for spoiler’s sake), but it’s really disappointing to see this is the best Marvel and Disney could come up with. The last positive is the action sequences, which are sporadically entertaining, but again, fall victim to a large CGI-laden mess that is apparently one of the check boxes in the third act for any of these films anymore. Some of the negatives have already been mentioned, but the main complaint here is that we’re almost exclusively in the Quantum Realm, and it overstays its welcome. The Quantum Realm is exciting, but when you spend nearly 2 hours in there, you kinda want to escape as badly as Kang does by the time the credits roll. The previous Ant-Man films did a much better job balancing the two worlds, while this one is comfortable throwing you in there and keeping you prisoner there till the end. Another negative is the characters. They make stupid decisions which draw you out of the movie, like Janet hiding critical information about the Quantum Realm and refusing to tell her family—even when they’re already there and it would benefit everyone involved and she has nothing to lose by telling them. Cassie, once a cute and endearing character, is borderline unlikeable, as she comes off as pretentious and ridicules Scott for not doing more as Ant-Man, and Kathryn Newton doesn’t deliver her best performance here. Finally, this is a film that was supposed to showcase Kang’s immense strength and incredible threat to the multiverse, and while Jonathan Majors delivers, the writing here doesn’t. Without giving anything away, the ending here makes him look weak and very beatable, instead of the great villain he’s supposed to be. Despite threats, he doesn’t cause near enough significant harm to our main characters, and he’s neutralized too easily. This is supremely disappointing, considering this is a movie that’s supposed to literally launch him into being a universal threat surpassing what we saw from Thanos. Despite Jonathan Majors’ scene-stealing performance as Kang, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is yet another disappointing MCU entry that’s plagued with weak characterizations and writing, flat humor, and poor visuals. Marvel has officially lost its touch as, while it certainly hasn’t descended into DCEU level quality, these films of late aren’t memorable or remotely worth re-watching. I sincerely hope James Gunn is able to break this trend with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May. Ultimately, Quantumania is still worth watching for Jonathan Majors, just don’t expect to get anything of real quality beyond that. Grade: C+ (78%) Written by Anthony Watkins, March 11, 2023 |