Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania

What’s better than Paul Rudd? I’ll tell you… a million Paul Rudds plus the one that works at Baskin Robbins! I’ve always been a huge fan of Paul. He took an E list superhero and upgraded him to at least a C. For whatever reason he’s the only hero who doesn’t seem to get a suit change/upgrade, 3 movies in and he’s in the same suit, respect Mr Lang please. The Antman franchise aren’t known to be the huge heavy hitting blockbuster movies, box office or story wise. Hence it was a huge shock to hear he’s going up against Kang the Conqueror. Like for real?! Let’s dive in…

Story follows Scott adapting to life after Endgame, his new found fame and being a father to a rebellious teen. The father daughter dynamic felt a bit off. As a viewer there was zero care, I don’t know if it was the chemistry between actors or the predictable outcome we all knew we would eventually reach despite their back and forths, you just don’t seem to care. There’s also another tired plot point around Hope and her mother that again, zero cares. These story tools feel forced and could have worked if built and developed over time. I won’t waste time with the poor MCU logic around time, space and the quantum realm. Their lack of continuity has already been noted.

With Paul you know you’re going to get solid, raw, genuine comedy. He is stationed in every scene worthy of a laugh.

Special effects is not something you concern yourself with when it comes to the MCU. They always deliver, they did so again here but with some shocking poor sections. Kangs helmet to be specific, felt cheap and lazy. I’m pretty sure his outfit was also CGI heavy… like what happen to the Drax level commitment of make up? Are we going back in time to the Green Lantern movie quality? Snap out of it please.

This film carries a heavy Star Wars feel to it shockingly. There are a lot of well designed alien looking creatures, laser blasters, futuristic vehicles, etc you even catch Kang using something similar to the Force. It’s like you’re just waiting for someone to back out their light Saber and start swinging ?. We are introduced to a few new characters here which you want to care about but there just isn’t enough about them to do so. I liked Veb and feel he could have been a character worth developing. Bill Murray’s character is another that I was quite interested in but he got very little screen time. Of course we are introduced to the new big bad Jonathan’s Kang and his bad joke of a side kick MODOK.

KenKen Theory Time! Theory Time! Theory Time!

So my theory here is because Marvel has opened the gateway to the multiverse I feel the writing has gotten lazier and they are just open to weird and wacky ideas which can work but hasn’t yet.. It looks like they think they can just write up a character any how they want because they have the variant system to fall back on. It’s a strategy I would have expected DC to adapt more because it’s frequently used in their comic world, not so much Marvel. Whatever it is, they need to stop it and focus heavy on the source material. Feeding me nonsense about “Darren” KMT.

Some standout performances by Michelle Pfeiffer and Jonathan Majors. Their presence was felt. They owned all their scenes. This movie was a struggle to get through. Knowing the characters full backgrounds from the comics, then seeing it ripped apart on screen was a hard pill to swallow. Kang being announced as the Thanos level threat then losing in hand to hand combat to Antman, Wasp and a bunch of ants felt like a punch in the teeth. It was a very lacklustre anti climatic final battle. I don’t think I can remember an action scene in the whole movie that made me “Brap” once, and I “Brap” a lot at these viewings. This I would say should have been a straight to Disney Plus film. I think it will be on there in no time.

Overall it’s a no from me. It’s a bad start to phase 5. I’m sure they can pull it back, they just need to go back to the drawing board and stick to what they know. Relying heavily on the variant system as a cushion is way too risky. It’s an underwhelming and throwaway movie, it will not be remembered. A lot of elements just don’t work. KenKen went to the cinema, so you don’t have to. Wait for the streaming release…

Did you enjoy the movie? What did you think of the direction of Kang? Did you pick up that Star Wars feeling too? Is this the end of Antman? React and comment below…

PS. Disney strikes again with a new hallmark worthy quote “I love you peanut” ?