Hello all!
Today marks the first movie review of 2023 that I've been looking forward to and I previously stated a prediction on. I had equally high hopes for this last Ant-Man entry (as the previous two) and first Phase 5 movie after a less than stellar Phase 4. As previously stated, I hoped it would land somewhere between 4-4.5 Stars. With critics and audiences decidedly divided on their views on this one, let's get into it!
What's the story about: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the first Phase 5 movie in the ever-expanding MCU. We find our characters adapting to where they fit in the world post-Endgame. An accident sends the central characters to the Quantum Realm, trapped, with an enemy that is trapped and desiring to be set free.
After so many shows and movies in the MCU that have introduced new characters that are half-baked or unnecessary, there's something refreshing about returning to Paul Rudd's Ant-Man. He's an everyday guy and none of his movies exemplify this idea more than in this one. Quantumania is by far the most self-aware of the three entries and while it is humorous at first, it is also difficult to take seriously at times when it is necessary. That being said, the emotional impact did hit several times where it needed to thanks to some quality acting on the parts of Paul Rudd, Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet), and primarily, Jonathan Majors (Kang). Which is the main reason that this entry still works when the plot is fairly contrived and mostly setup for future Avengers movies. This is not a movie that can be appreciated by itself but truly as the third Ant-Man movie because most of the emotional weight and impact comes from knowing the characters and their arcs from the previous films, which worked fine in my opinion.
Now, onto the point that really makes this movie feel important, Jonathan Majors' Kang. He is a phenomenal villain, and while the mystery surrounding 'the Conqueror' feels like it drags the overall story down a little, when we fully experience the new big bad it is something to witness. He is compelling, magnetic, intimidating, and just getting started. I love that this is the second version that we've seen so far and Majors showcases how effectively he can portray different variations of the same crazy person. So far, he has my vote of confidence that he'll be a better villain than Thanos was and I'm excited to see what's next. But regarding the pacing; when Kang isn't present, there isn't much of anything happening. While the whole plot is centered around the "fish out of water" concept that is interestingly realized, it always realigns to the superhero formula to really be anything new or fresh. Pfeiffer does a fantastic job of giving Janet some depth and history, but literally everyone else gets shorted because of this. Considering how well the first two movies utilized the side characters, this was a let down. They also try very hard to get the audience to want to like the newer, older Cassie, but if it wasn't for Paul Rudd's connection to her, I wouldn't even care about her at all.
Which then leads to a purely technical problem with the movie: most of what happens is either forced in order to get to the next action scene or developed so quickly so as not to really make any sense. This mainly centers around Cassie. Cassie is older now, and she has trouble with the law now, and she's super smart because she reads books, and she has her own suit and everything. It's all so much to take in that since we never sit with her, she has no real connection with the audience. The impact of Scott being gone for five years is addressed on multiple occasions but is never fully taken advantage of. I was disappointed by this. This could've been a great beat to focus on but unfortunately, whenever Kang is not around, everything is mostly laughs and gags. While I appreciate the humor in this trilogy over the Guardians of the Galaxy's lowbrow offerings, I still felt like it took away what could've been a truly grounded father/daughter story of connection and loss. Now just to be clear, I did like this movie. I just felt like the highs were high and the lows were really low. Marvel is proving that they can't just win every time unless they start getting their act together. Instead of it being a tonally consistent movie that was good or bad, the inconsistency is great when it works and really bad when it doesn't.
Final Verdict: ★★★ 3 Stars - Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a completely wacky, oddly compelling, somewhat forced, and very multifaceted movie. The main story shifts between sense and nonsense seamlessly but mostly lands it by the end. While it boasts several great character performances from the three leads, the side characters are laughably bad or uselessly present. Unfortunately, this movie had the weighty job of setting up the MCU's next main villain (a daunting task) and does a good job managing all the impact of that while tying in a satisfying story to Ant-Man's previous movies. It isn't perfect, but Quantumania is at least fun, a different attempt and setup for a superhero film, and still considerably better than a lot of other Marvel offerings over the last few years. For the most part, this entry succeeds at what it needs to and can be enjoyed for what it is!
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this movie, other reviews, or talk movie recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.