Worth: $11.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Paul Rudd, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Majors, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton, William Jackson Harper
Intro:
… a very “mid” effort and Marvel better pull their finger out if they want these films to start feeling like must-see events again.
After the somewhat muted reaction to Marvel’s Phase Four (their cinematic and televisual output from 2021-2022), the ubiquitous studio really needed a strong opening for Phase Five. They needed a movie that introduced a villain with the same level of gravitas as Thanos, and a threat that felt palpable and logical. So, is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fit for the task?
Unfortunately, it is not. Even worse, this latest offering from director Peyton Reed forgets what’s so great and distinct about Ant-Man as a character, delivering a movie that is somehow overstuffed and weightless at the same time.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania finds Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) enjoying a well-earned period of rest and relaxation. After saving the world, ol’ mate has written an autobiography and basically spends his day drinking in the adulation of the public and being all charming and ageless and whatnot.
Before too long, however, trouble comes a-calling, in the form of his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) experimenting with civil disobedience, social justice and – more importantly – the Quantum Realm. Before you can say “Crikey, this flick barely has a first act,” Cassie has caused herself, Scott, Hope van Dyne aka The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) to be sucked into the Quantum Realm. Worse still, the joint seems to be a lot more crowded than Janet had mentioned, with one occupant in particular – a bloke named Kang (Jonathan Majors) – being a real pain in the quoit.
Okay, let’s talk positives first. Paul Rudd is, as always, a delightful screen presence and this continues to be the case. Michelle Pfeiffer, a much-missed legend of cinema, is luminous as always and actually has a decent-sized role this time. Some of the special effects are quite pretty (emphasis on some) and at 124 minutes, your bladder won’t resent you too much. On the downside? Pretty much everything else. Evangeline Lilly has very little to do this time around and doesn’t make much of an impact, and Jonathan Majors – who was so memorable and strong in the first season of Loki – feels like a much more generic, scenery-chewing lower tier Marvel villain here. Expect plenty of plummy circular monologues in lieu of genuine menace. Oh, and the live-action version of M.O.D.O.K that nerds were all super excited about? Looks like a spoof villain from a Tim and Eric sketch or dodgy app filter on TikTok.
Quantumania is a film that delights in introducing a vast array of colourful characters, environments and situations and then proceeds to do not very much with any of them. There are cameos aplenty and decent action in the third act, but it’s all in service of this strangely insubstantial narrative that feels ill equipped to deliver anything with heft or a sense of importance.
Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man films have been great at providing visual gags, absurd action beats and clever but friendly comedy. Why his third outing was chosen as the debutante ball for Kang the Conqueror is a little baffling. Because ultimately, we’ve ended up with a Marvel film that fails to feel even vaguely essential, despite the villain that it’s introducing, and an Ant-Man adventure devoid of most of the charms associated with the character.
From almost any measurable perspective, it just doesn’t work and has certainly got Phase Five off to a shaky start. In the parlance of the young people, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a very “mid” effort and Marvel better pull their finger out if they want these films to start feeling like must-see events again.
