Underwhelming is not a word that’s tossed around the Marvel universe very often, but the latest entry in the ever-increasing library of superhero fare unfortunately earns the brand.
…and I say ‘unfortunate’, because I really, really like Ant-Man.
Can’t hide the slight disappointment with ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, though. Yes, it does pack a lot of the usual fireworks you’d find in a Marvel movie, sure Paul Rudd is once again great in the title role, and I concur, this sequel officially unleashes one of comic book’s coolest villains on the big screen (finally!) in Kang the Conqueror.
Still – this is far from awe inspiring. In fact, this time around…..and again, kids, this is a rarity…..the ‘awe’ has kinda been subbed by a ‘meh’.
In ‘Quantumania’, Rudd’s Scott Lang is living the good life post ‘Endgame’; he and his family are safe, he’s written a book, and things look bright. As we all know, that kind of situation is temporary in anything stamped Marvel; sure enough, a signal with well intentions to the quantum realm sucks Lang, the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), his now-teenage daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), Hank (Michael Douglas), and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) into a portal and an odd, goo-infested place that introduces them to a number of curious creatures AND the aforementioned Kang (Jonathan Majors).
For a movie about a family in peril, this isn’t overly engaging stuff. Lots of cool scenes, sure. But I’m not terribly sure if Ant-Man, a character that was so great out of the gate BECAUSE of that out-of-his-element likeability, is a good choice to launch a beast like Kang. As the bad guy himself reminds our hero, he’s not just out of his element here, he’s “out of his league”.
Of course, ‘Quantumania’ is a stepping stone to the next phase in the Marvel cinematic universe….so it’s on to bigger and better things. And, with this crew, you can be sure they WILL be bigger – and -better – than this; a movie that’s good, worth the admission….unfortunately, not great.