Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023, PG-13)

*Premise spoilers*

It seems like we just wrapped up Phase 4 with Wakanda Forever, and now we’re charging right into the start of Phase 5. As much as I’m still loving Marvel, it’s probably good that it sounds like the plan is to start spacing projects out more—let me savor! I just saw this movie a couple hours ago, so, while my opinions haven’t necessarily all coalesced, my thoughts are definitely fresh.

Since the events of Endgame, Scott has been enjoying the fame of being an Avenger but taking an understandable breather. This is especially important to him because he missed five years of Cassie growing up and wants to be there for his daughter. When Cassie designs a device to map the Quantum Realm, her signal is picked up by someone inside, and Scott, Cassie, Hope, Hank, and Janet are all pulled into the subatomic universe. As they try to figure out how to get home, they’re confronted by Kang, a powerful exile who’s turned the Quantum Realm into his own empire.

This is certainly a different look for the Ant Man and the Wasp films, in more ways than one. As has been noted all over, the stakes are astronomically higher than than the high-tech heist of the first film—while the first season of Loki got to tease the MCU’s new Big Bad, Quantumania really gets to introduce Kang in a major way. As such, the movie has a more serious tone than its predecessors. Even during his parts in larger MCU stuff like Civil War and Endgame, a lot of Scott’s scenes skewed more towards humor. This time, Scott and his family are stuck in a universe completely unlike their own, and they’re the only heroes standing in the way of destruction on a multiversal scale.

Not that there’s no comedy or fun shrinking-and-growing fight scenes, because of course there are. Ultimately, I’d say this still feels like an Ant Man and the Wasp film, despite the differences in tone and stakes. I enjoy watching our heroes navigating the Quantum Realm. Janet, who was trapped there for so long, is confronting old demons and wrestling with secrets she’s hidden from her family since being recovered, while Hank and Hope try to get her to open up about her past. Scott is desperate to make up for lost time with Cassie, but she grew up a lot in the years that he was gone and he’s still figuring out how to relate to her now. Throw in trying to keep her safe in a completely unknown, dangerous environment, and it’s a lot for him to take on.

All the returning cast turn in nice work. Paul Rudd is of course reliably good as Scott, and Michelle Pfeiffer gets a greater chance to shine this time around as Janet. For my money, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas don’t get as much to do as Hope and Hank, but both make the most of their screentime when it counts. Kathryn Newton is engaging as teenage Cassie, although I still love Abby Ryder Fortson’s version best. The Quantum Realm offers up a colorful cast of side characters, including William Jackson Harper as a weary telepath and Bill Murray as an old friend of Janet’s. And then, there’s Jonathan Majors, who gives a fantastic performance as Kang the Conqueror. There’s a visible throughline between this character and the Kang we saw on Loki, but Majors does a great job of making them feel distinct without a lot of big obvious differences (accent, overall character design, etc.) Super excited to see what more the coming phases have to offer here!

Warnings

Comic book violence, language, drinking (alien alcohol,) very mild sexual references, and thematic elements.

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