We review the new Marvel Studios adventure and consider how it succeeds and fails in its big swing.
Watch out for the little guy. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania attempts to do what no previous Ant-Man film bothered to accomplish, be significant to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not to say that the earlier entries in the Ant-Man franchise contributed nothing, but this trilogy capper desperately wants to be a Captain America: Civil War or even an Avengersfilm. In this mighty swing from director Peyton Reed, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniasucceeds and fails. Depending on how you determine that ratio will shape your enjoyment.
Kang the Conquerer arrives, and with him so much insane storytelling potential. As we briefly saw in Loki, Jonathan Majors is a titanic performer, and Kang offers him a lot of space to stretch and get weird. Those unfamiliar with the comic books may be put off a little bit by where his tale goes in the film, but others in the crowd will be on their feet cheering. Kang is terrifying as a foil to Paul Rudd's Scott Lang, and their unique showdown is not what any other Avenger could have delivered. Props to the pairing.
The film's greatest weakness is its pacing. Reed and company seem too eager to get to the world-changing events, thrusting our heroes into combat and giving the audience little time to rest with the characters or the cast. The first two films predominantly succeeded through their interactions and weird personality quirks. We get very little of that in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the title heroes suffer the most as their romance is barely an afterthought.
The Quantum Realm provides a lot of weird to ogle. Imagine Star Wars' Mos Eisley cantina dunked in LSD. Most of the new characters introduced are entertaining, but M.O.D.O.K. will cause some folks' stomachs to turn. Not this viewer. As a die-hard M.O.D.O.K. obsessive, Quantumania's interpretation of the character delighted my demented heart. He's hard to look at, his comedy is awkward, and I want my damn Secret Avengers spin-off right this second.
Immediately following last night's press screening, we got together in the Love Nest for a deeper dive into our feelings. This Patreon-exclusive conversation goes to extreme lengths to avoid spoilers, trying to stick to only what we see in the trailer and and the emotions the film elicits. Where does Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania rank amongst the rest of the MCU? Does it thrive as its own feature? Do we believe in Scott and Hope's romance? Should we be excited about the franchise's future? Dive into the Patreon to revel in our excitement.
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