Movie: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Production Company: Marvel Studios
Director: Peyton Reed
Producers: Kevin Feige, Stephen Broussard
Scriptwriter: Jeff Loveness
Main Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, David Dalmalchian, Katy O’Brian, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas
Release Date: February 17th 2023 (US)
Running Time: 124 minutes
Certificate: 12A
Introduction
Well I would say the best things come in small packages but that isn’t entirely true given Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s 2 hour runtime. Also, when compared to the hit and miss nature of Phase 4 films Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is pretty good if not a little uneven with some excellent performances. Oh and a fantastic character arc that’ll I touch on later in the review. Also given its just come out SPOILER warning especially for the last analysis paragraph if you haven’t seen it. So without further ado here’s my review of the film.
Synopsis
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Ant-Man (Rudd) and the rest of the Ant Family, Cassie (Newton), Hope (Lilly), Hank (Douglas) and Janet (Pfeiffer), as they attempt to free the Quantum Realm from the tyrannical reign of Marvel’s new best villain: Kang the Conqueror. So when Kang and accomplice M.O.D.O.K drag the Ant Family down to the Quantum Realm, they have to fight their way back out whilst having to keep Kang trapped lest he wreaks havoc on the multiverse. And I’m sure the mid credits scene doesn’t set up that exact possibility at all in a very neat reference to the comics. Anyway, enough with the plot let’s get into the analysis portion of the review.
Analysis
Jonathan Major’s Performance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
To begin my analysis of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania I’m going to start with the most praised aspect of the film: Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. Now despite first showing up a year and a half ago in Loki, Quantumania offers a phenomenal showcase for the chaos and scale of Kang’s power within the MCU. Take for example, the scene where Janet sees inside Kang’s mind. Here, Majors is brilliant because despite her seeing his true self he still plays the inviting charming card as if to try and desperately keep Janet from turning against him.
Also it’s a great way of getting over Kang’s power without having to use exposition to get that point across. Another example of Major’s fantastic performance is the scene where he is about to launch his army out of the Quantum Realm. Here he calmly yet coldy talks about how he will banish all those who have wronged him. This scene really highlights a facet of Majors performance the terror Kang instills in opponents shown through a lack of emotion. The deadpan delivery shows how he feels no fear and complete supremacy against anyone who tries to stand against him. Also, that suit up scene is superb which is another positive to a great performance…..
VFX in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Continuing my analysis of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania I’m going to discuss the VFX of the film. Now when compared to Thor Love and Thunder Quantumania has some very impressive VFX. Take the scene where Scott and Cassie first arrive in the Quantum Realm… again. The wide shot of fiery lava with rocks all while the dark blues of the space background shine through. Man I hope the VFX artists got paid well for the amount of effort they put into the film…. Also the other major locations within the Quantum Realm like Krylar’s base and Kang’s city look just as great. Even if the green screen behind Bill Murray’s Krylar looks a bit ropey at points though that can be excused for the amount of work the VFX artists put in.
Also another big positive for the VFX work is Kang’s suit which as mentioned briefly above looks phenomenal. The shot in question is Kang’s ship rotating around him as he slowly suits up, all is beautiful and just goes to show Marvel that by treating their VFX artists well goes a long way. Look at the difference between Quantumania and Love and Thunder as evidence of improved VFX work. Also the fact two of my mates made the same comment about the film reassembling Star Wars at points just goes to show something about the film’s VFX I guess….
The Screenplay in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Furthermore, the next portion of my analysis is going to focus on the film’s screenplay. Now I know Marvel isn’t particularly known for great screenplays, especially post Endgame, but Quantumania is a particularly egregious example. And yes this is insanely nitpicky but at points the screenplay was up and down and getting really annoying. Take for example the differences in tones between scenes with M.O.D.O.K and Kang interacting with Ant-Man. Whereas M.O.D.O.K’s are naturally more comedic because he’s a massive head in an armoured suit, Kang’s obviously have to be more serious which creates a very up and down feel to the film.
Because of the constant tonal switches the film often feels like two films stitched together to make one. However, whilst the film’s screenplay is up and down that doesn’t make it a terrible film as mostly the cast can just about carry it thanks to a great story arc. And yes my mate was right when she said the goo alien guy discovering he had holes when he didn’t before might have been the most cohesive plot line in the film. Also maybe the most cohesive storyline recently in the MCU which is both hilarious and upsetting….
Universe Building in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
To conclude my analysis of the film, I’m going to discuss the continued universe that every Marvel film has to accomplish. So like I mentioned in the introduction this paragraph is gonna be especially SPOILER heavy so this is your last warning to click off. Ok so the two end credits scenes set up two major MCU arcs. The mid credits scene pays homage to the comics where Kang and his many, many variants assemble to plan their next move. Also, there’s several variants which are significant for comic fans and those are Rama-Tut, Immortus and Scarlet Centurion.
These are significant as all three have had clashes with the Avengers and Fantastic Four in the comics so there’s plenty of history for the Kang Dynasty to pull from. Now the end credits scene seems to set up Loki Season 2 and cause me to mark out massively. This is because it’s Loki and Mobius coming across a Kang Variant, Victor Timely, in the 1920s. Anyone who saw Loki knows about the chemistry between Hiddleston and Majors so this really builds hype for Loki. Man those poor VFX artists must have had to spend weeks cloning that many Jonathan Majors for two scenes which barely total 2 minutes. But yeah the world building from Quantumania could end up being really exciting….
Summary
To summarise Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, this is a slightly up and down film which is a decent enough start to Phase 5. With some good performances, from Majors and Rudd especially, and good VFX it’ll probably go down in the perfectly fine Marvel film category along with the other two Ant-Man films. So watch this film for Kang more than anything else because he’s going to be around for a long time yet…..
Overall Rating: 6/10 – Reasonable
Target Audience: 12+
Content Warning: Mild Profanity, Moderate Frightening and Intense Scenes
Recommendation: Yes