It should come to no surprise that Marvel’s input of late has been terribly scrutinised. In a sense, it’s been disheartening to see what was once an undying, universally accepted love for the franchise turn into such animosity. In another, it’s difficult to justify the factory-level output that refuses to cease. The previous films and shows of the last phase were quite inconsistent in quality, so this Phase 5 beginning was under a lot of pressure to restore some of that good faith that was once there. Given the recent opinions, we aren’t exactly off to a soaring start.
I was never the biggest fan of the previous Ant-Man films. I had a lot of respect for the original comics, but never felt that any particular incarnation of Ant-Man needed to be such a big part of this cinematic universe. Even when people were telling me how great the first film was, I was left feeling a complete indifference. This continued with the second film, with nothing more than the comedy and amazing effects being my main takeaways. Once I heard that this third entry was going to be bolder and more substantial to the greater universe, I was cautiously intrigued. Here we are; we’re right back to where we once were. For me, this is yet another “fine” movie. Returning for the third time, this is Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Following a little while after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has acquired quite a lot of fame for his efforts in his time traveling adventure. His life seems ideal, with him having gained a family through his relationship with Hope (Evangeline Lily) and her parents, Hank (Michael Douglas) and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer.) Things aren’t so great, however, with his daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), who has been left with five years of absence from her father and has begun her own run-ins with the law, same as her father.
When trying to set her on the right path, Scott learns that Cassie has created a beacon of sorts that con reach out to the miniature Quantum Realm that Janet was once stuck in. The machine begins malfunctioning and the group of five are sucked into this mysterious dimension. Scott and Cassie find themselves trudging through this unknown landscape, while the Pym family have to rely on Janet’s knowledge of the place to find a way out. Janet appears to know more than she had previously let on, and we begin to discover that this realm has its own share of secrets. Ruling over this place is a notorious conqueror by the name of Kang (Jonathan Majors), who has a sordid history with Janet. Whether they want to or not, the gang now faces an enemy they never would’ve expected to face.
Explaining the initial setup for how these characters end up in this “Quantumania” was surprisingly harder than I would’ve expected. Right off the bat, the film’s start unsettled me quite tremendously. Very little was done to establish this new dynamic between Scott and Cassie, and I’m afraid this continues to be a problem throughout. With Cassie now being older, it could’ve led to a more complicated dilemma. Scott has missed out on five years of his daughter’s life, and it should’ve been explored more thoroughly. Having Scott have to act as the stern parent, always watching and worrying about Cassie during their adventure could’ve added an extra layer, continuing this theme of family that pervades the previous films.
What we get in this final product is far more half-baked. There are some great moments between the two, with Scott’s protectiveness leading some genuine moments of excitement, but it’s so sparsely conveyed. I was excited to see the Langs get a bigger focus than the Pyms, as one of my major criticisms for the last two films was how little I cared for Scott as a main character. But neither of the two factions are all that interesting. Rudd does get some impressive moments that defied my expectations for the character, but these moments are so overshadowed by the persistently weak plot.
Something that both an incredible flaw and simultaneously a welcome addition is the focus on making Scott feel more heroic. What I did enjoy about Scott’s character in his previous appearances was how lovably goofy he could be. Rudd has excellent comedic chops, but this film subdues them for the sake of satisfying Reed’s need to be taken seriously. In a film centred on acharacter called ‘Ant-Man,’ I’ve already put aside any sense of urgency, but Reed seems infuriated at this previous direction. Having that dynamic between Scott and Cassie is great, and I did like their more serious moments together, but it comes at the expense of Scott feeling like a bland retooling of what worked so well before.
On the subject of Cassie, one thing I was disappointed at was not being able to see that original actress grow into the character we would see here. Newton works well, genuinely feeling like an older version of that character, but we were attached to that original actress. I think a lot of this choice came from Reed being backed into a corner due to the five year jump in Endgame’s story, but it does contribute to a nagging issue. That said, I like Cassie’s role. Her messy, amateur attempts at replicating her dad’s skills were fun to watch, and she does get a few dramatic moments that works surprisingly well. Some of these moments, however, can be pushed a little too far. Cassie can come across as shockingly cruel at times, and I thought this would lead to moments of fracture between her and Scott, but it’s quickly waved off. There’s clearly something here that needed expanding upon, but it’s never given much more than a simple glance.
The Pyms were underwhelming in this film. Hank and Hope were such strong components in the previous two films that they ended up stealing away the focus. Here, these two are pushed into being nothing more than glorified supporting characters. Despite the film continuing the ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ title, Hope is barely a presence in the entire thing. Obviously, this was done to give Janet more significance, as their particular story reached its end with the previous film, but to push these characters aside felt so mislead and downright insulting.
I do think Janet at least gets a fair great share of moments that make up for this. Pfieffer’s performance kept what little enthusiasm I had for these characters going, being intrigued by what secrets Janet held on to. She bounces off well with the characters cantered around her, with her moments with Kang being some of the strongest content in the film. That flashback between the two provided some sign of hopefulness for me, but it didn’t forgive the complete lack of personality that came from Hank and Hope.
I am genuinely frustrated by how little these two contributed to the overall story. I did like Hank’s switch into being mellowed out after reuniting with Janet, but he feels so shoehorned into an already overstuffed story. With the film missing two of my favourite aspects from the previous two, I find myself desperately searching for sufficient replacements. Around the corner, at the very least, is Major’s role as Kang.
I admit: I was worried about Kang being introduced this early. We had a brief tease of a version of Kang in the Loki series, but I felt more assured that this wasn’t the version would lead the future of the MCU. This version felt more definite, which made me question why they would make such a significant character an Ant-Man villain. This felt like the equivalent of making Thanos the main villain of Guardians of the Galaxy, rather than the insanely small role he had. All that said, Majors steals the show. His performance is absolutely excellent, and you always get the sense that Kang is incredibly dangerous.
With the previous Ant-Man villains being direfully uninteresting, Kang need only be slightly threatening to outdo them. Kang is pushed far further than you would expect, leading to countless points where I felt genuinely worried for the characters. There’s a scene late into the film of Kang just showing his raw strength and it feels shockingly raw. His unpredictable, seemingly insane demeanour made for an entertaining villain, and it left me wanting to see who he would interact with next. With Marvel films having a history with weak villains, it’s always nice to see a well-written one make their way in.
It wouldn’t have been too shocking to praise the visuals of a Marvel movie more than two years ago, but one of the major complaints these films and shows have had lately is just how terribly cheap the special effects have been. The previous two Ant-man movies boasted some very impressive visuals, with seismic examples of environments bursting onto the screen. This particular film does bring with it some impressive CGI, but it lacks the same playfulness that we were accustomed to.
The size-changing shenanigans are switched out for letting the audiences bask in the animated worlds, full of animated creatures. These designs are impressive and rarely ever falter, but they don’t distract from the lack of fun that was seeing everyday objects grow to insane heights. There are moments of shrinking down or growing insanely large, but without that homely feeling. This leads me to my overall problem with Peyton Reed’s vision for this film.
While I can appreciate that Reed has grown tired of being a smaller-scale cool-down from the big Avengers movies, now wanting to make something more substantial to the greater universe, it takes away from what made those films so appealing to people. The comedy that made those films entertaining is subdued to the point of your average Marvel film, and somethings that are taken so seriously do not work with this new vision. I do appreciate that we’re at a point in these films where we can take the more outlandish stuff seriously, but certain films work better when they embrace the silliness of it all.
I want to talk about M.O.D.O.K. Since I found about this character in the comics some fifteen years ago, I wanted so desperately to see him make a live action appearance. The problem came from just how outlandishly stupid his entire design was, and it was no surprise that Marvel had stayed away from such a character, retooling his criminal organisation in Iron Man 3. We finally got him here and, while not to the same insanity as his comic counterpart, I did enjoy just how thoroughly they embraced the ridiculousness of him. This doesn’t seem like a substantial things worth its own paragraph, but it kind of encapsulates my expectations for this film; that is to take all these ridiculous ideas and embrace them full force. Never was I happier with this film than with M.O.D.O.K’s mere presence.
I’ve witnessed myself growing less and less enthusiastic about this film the more I think about it. In only a day, my opinion has dropped substantially. I’m one of the few people who remains enthusiastic about the future of this universe, but even I have to admit that that flare has dissipated. This film boasts the advertising of a much larger story, but it just feels like a messy string of scenes that are bogged by horrible amounts of exposition. For a film that explores a completely different universe to what we know, it lacks the entertainment you would expect.
I am standing by my opinion that Ant-Man is not a strong enough character to lead a franchise. His greatest appearances are his crossover roles; whenever he takes centre stage, he feels so flat. I wanted so badly to like this film, to find myself suddenly impressed by an Ant-Man film, but it ended up falling in as the worst of the three. It retroactively makes those two previous ones feel a little more commendable. Please just kick Peyton Reed off of these movies; I’m so unenthused.
Written review by Conor Johnson.