Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated PG-13. Common Sense says 12.
STORY: C
Cassie Lang (Big Little Lies’s Kathryn Newton) gets her entire ant-obsessed family sucked into the Quantum Realm. They frantically search for an escape, but they’re not the only ones looking for a way out. Can they get back home without allowing Kang the Conqueror (Creed 3’s Johnathan Majors) to escape?
Like most movies, it’s a three-act story. Act One is similar to Alice in Wonderland. The Quantum Realm is a beautiful but bizarre new place, full of endless wonders to discover. Act Two is reminiscent of the recent film, Knock at the Cabin. Ant-Man is asked the same question, “Will you make a choice?” Will he save his own family or the world(s)? Act Three is basically a WWE steel cage match between Ant-Man (Clueless’s Paul Rudd) and Kang. Who will make it out the door first?
The story has a lot of heavy lifting to do. It needs to be entertaining on its own while simultaneously establishing the stakes for Phase Five. It’s a lot to ask of anybody, even someone with Ant-Man’s ridiculous proportional strength to size ratio.
PEOPLE: C+
Jonathan Majors is the new MVP of the MCU. He doesn’t need a fancy costume or special effects to communicate his stupefying power. He wields his posture, voice, and gravitas like weapons, mowing down anyone unlucky enough to cross his path with his confidence, control, and coldness.
Janet Van Dyne really shouldn’t keep so many secrets. Seriously, lady. But those secrets make for a fascinating backstory. Michelle Pfeiffer masterfully carries the weight of her past in her eyes. It’s an impressive performance.
FILM NERD STUFF: C-
These days, it seems CGI can do anything. While its vast capabilities increase filmmakers’ possibilities (is there anything a director can imagine that can’t be put on screen?), it also weakens an audience’s sense of wonder. I’m old enough to remember watching movies and wondering, “Whoa! How did they do that?” while I watched E.T. pedal across the moon, the Death Star explode, and that feather float down from the sky, landing precisely at Forrest Gump’s feet.
Movie technology changes and evolves, as it most certainly should. But that awe-inspiring feeling of wonder can’t be removed without being replaced by some other wonderful feeling. How can all-powerful CGI inspire us? Maybe by instilling the appreciation of seeing something staggeringly beautiful? Or by filling us with astonishment from its overwhelming creativity? Quantumania’s CGI merely makes me say, “Cool,” when I look at it. That feeling isn’t enough to keep me interested.
MULTIVERSES (Elective Class): C-
I’ve eaten a lot of cheese in my lifetime. Cheddar, American, Swiss, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Havarti, Gouda. I could go on, but don’t worry. I won’t. Let’s just say I’ve eaten enough cheese to know what I like.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sets its cards on the cinematic poker table. The MCU is betting big on the multiverse. The idea of a multiverse is now almost as big a thing as cheese, and I’ve sampled enough to now have multiverse preferences too. At the top of my list, I definitely favor a multiverse where people change because of the choices they make.
So far, differences in MCU variants seem to come from the outside. Why does Loki have a gold horned helmet in one timeline? Why is he a blond woman named Sylvie in another? Why is he an alligator? If I understand correctly (which I very well may not), it’s because some time traveling trickster or terrorist disrupted the timeline and caused everything that came afterwards to be different. Loki didn’t morph into a crawling reptile by choice. He’s an alligator because that’s how that specific timeline evolved.
Not all movie multiverses work that way. Everything Everywhere All At Once shows us dozens of different Evelyn Wangs. She doesn’t become a movie star or a sidewalk sign spinner because of her environment. She becomes all of those things through the choices she makes in each timeline. And take Groundhog Day. (yes, it’s a multiverse!) (every day is a new branch of the timeline) (each one continues to a next day, we just don’t see it) (did I blow your mind?) “Beginning” Phil is much different than “End” Phil because of the choices he makes throughout the movie.
I like the idea that there’s a better version of me out there. I like the idea that I can become that person through my chocies. What I like most of all is that even the me formed by my not-as-great choices is still a me who is worthy of celebration. I prefer the idea that we have some say in who we are instead of our lives being dependent upon cheesy time travel shenanigans.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Marvel heads need not worry. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a very Marvel-ly movie. Full disclosure though, I’m a little nervous about where Phase Five is headed. Phase Four felt uneven and unconfident. But Marvel’s fifteen years-plus of mostly amazing storytelling earns them the benefit of the doubt as we embark on this potentially franchise defining new phase.