Review: “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”

It seems strange that Phase 5 of the MCU would introduce one of the most powerful and cold-hearted villains by having him go head-to-head with the goofiest of the Avengers.  I had hoped with the excellent cast assembled, and all-knowing Fiege pulling the strings, “Quantumania” would surprise us with some bold moves.  Unfortunately, my intrigue shrank with every passing minute.

To its credit, “Quantumania” wastes little time jumping into the Quantum realm.  Scott’s daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) has built a Quantum Realm Mapping Device that inadvertently sucks Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) into the world beneath our world.  Thankfully, both Scott and Hope have their super suits on under their daily clothes!  There’s the added convenience of the other three characters surviving what should have been a lethal trip, a miracle that Pym brushes off with an “I don’t know.”

Once there, our heroes have a series of disjointed, nonsensical, experiences with the local lifeforms.  In what feels like an extended Star Wars cantina scene, various alien characters are paraded before us, including one who is obsessed with “holes.”  It’s an attempt to show just how manic this crazy quantum real is, but since there are so many, and rarely more than two of any given species seen at a time, it falls a bit flat.  It doesn’t help that the majority of this film was shot using Disney’s Stagecraft virtual production system.  It’s an excellent tool that has been used to amazing effect in the “Mandalorian” series.  Like any tool, it has limitations, as were showcased in the “Kenobi” series.  With so much of the quantum realm being extravagant CGI, and filled with so many digital characters, the human actors stick out like a sore thumb.  The illusion that they are in a real place never has a chance to solidify.

Eventually our heroes come face-to-face with Kang (Jonathan Majors).  He along with a Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, steal the show for the relatively little screentime they have.  All of the main cast performances are excellent, especially Jonathan Majors.  It doesn’t hurt that he has the only quality dialog in the entire movie.  The script, by first time feature writer Jeff Loveness is atrocious.  Crucial exposition is delayed until the second act by constant “I’ll tell you later!”  Scenes jump between somber discussions on genocide to jokes so lame the most seasoned Dad’s would avoid.  One character makes a shockingly abrupt personality change for the sake of a joke.  Hundreds (thousands?) of deaths are shrugged off by one character’s smug, “Sorry I’m Late!”  I can believe that the quantum realm exists beyond our understanding of physics, but apparently it is devoid of logic as well.

Kevin Fiege has risen to producer god status after successfully connecting dozens of comic-book movies to tell some of the most epic stories of all time.  But after the underwhelming Phase 4, and this weird kick-off to the Kang Dynasty (also currently being written by Jeff Loveness), one has to wonder if he’s lost his nerve?  When’s the last time an MCU movie changed the status-quo or had real consequences that impacted other movies?  These have all become generic standalone films that don’t progress any overarching narrative.