Yeah, yeah. The MCU is washed. I hear you. Honestly, I can understand why some people are saying that. Yet when you think about it, Marvel are still churning out better movies than the DC franchise. Even if these arguments are warranted, I personally can’t help myself: these movies are still a ton of fun and there’s no way you’ll find me missing one of them any time soon.
The third instalment in the ‘Ant-Man’ canon, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is likely the last movie that will be headlined by this character. This a film that seems to be more concerned with passing the torch to Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), and introducing the next big villain within the MCU’s wider plan. In this one, Scott teams up with Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and her parents Hank and Janet (Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer) in the Quantum Realm, where they learn all about the secret world down there. Whilst there however, we see the rise of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who seems to be the new Big Bad as mentioned previously.
Who knew that the titular Wasp actually referred to original Marvel comics Wasp, Janet Van Dyne? I’m not even mad: I love Michelle Pfeiffer. She’s still got it. In bucket loads.
Unfortunately, Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder are probably some of the most middling MCU movies in the entire canon. Both films are blatantly supposed to be a bit of fun, but neither are as charming or as funny as (most of) their past movies. In fact, Quantumania seems to be less of an Ant-Man movie and more of a “these are the things we want to do in the future in the wider MCU” type of movie. And let’s face it, most of us actually wanted to see an Ant-Man movie because they have been some of the most entertaining movies in this universe in the past.
Visually, there are some good things about this one… but there are some real misses too. The CGI shows moments of brilliance and yet there are glimpses of poor finishing throughout too. One minute the lighting is too dark, the next, it’s a migraine waiting to happen with blinding flashing lights and too much going on. It’s a shame really, because we’ve all seen what the MCU is capable of at this point. Clearly – despite this one having the highest budget within the Ant-Man trilogy – not enough money was poured into the effects department this time round.
Not everything is a complete failure, so I can’t say that the one star reviews are warranted. For instance, Quantumania is actually a really entertaining movie for the most part, and although it’s big final fight scene is formulaic at this point, it’s still fun to watch. It’s actually interesting that this is the first one Paul Rudd has not helped to co-write, because it definitely shows in that some of the charm has been knocked out of it. The biggest positive though? Jonathan Majors as Kang. The casting department really knocked that one out of the park and it’s super exciting to see what they do with the character in the future.
Is this an unmissable movie? Not even close. It’s fine. Whilst 1 star is completely over the top, it’s all extremely average for a superhero movie, especially one produced by this studio.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently screening in cinemas across the UK.
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The Quayside Review 