Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, Katy O’Brian, William Jackson Harper, Bill Murray, Michelle Pfeiffer, Corey Stoll, and Michael Douglas
Movie Length: 2 hour 4 minutes
Dan’s thoughts: The 3rd chapter of Scott Lang’s adventures as Ant-Man does not disappoint. What made the first 2 chapters of the series great was heist mission that had to be done by our heroes. This chapter has a heist (the heist was a plot point not the main focus of the movie) in it but the stakes are much higher compared to the last 2 movies. The heist portion of the movie was not the focal point though, as this movie follows the most recent MCU releases and delves into family and loss.
Jonathan Majors’ Kang has the potential to be a baddie up there with the likes of Thanos, only time (no pun intended) will tell if he is. The secondary villain M.O.D.O.K. (a returning Darren Cross from the first Ant-Man) had some of the best comedic lines in the movie.
The rest of the cast were terrific with Janet Van Dyne (Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Douglas) being given more to do action wise then the first two chapters. Seeing newcomers like Bill Murray as Krylar, William Jackson Harper (who was excellent in The Good Place) as Quaz, and Katy O’Brian as Jentorra all excelled in their roles as denizens of the Quantum Realm.
The movie itself had quite a few fighting scenes with the stand out being a brutal one on one fight between Kang and Scott Lang which showcased just how much of a thorn Kang will be in future movies.
Being that a majority of the movie took place in the Quantum Realm, the special effects team did outstanding with both the feel and look of the “world” and it’s inhabitants which made me feel like I was watching a Star Wars film.
All in all I enjoyed the movie, but would have liked more of what I felt made the other 2 chapters in this trilogy great…a longer heist. Also, no Luis recap as we got in the first 2 movies was a downer.
Dan’s score: A-
Darren’s thoughts: Amid the spectacle of the trippy special effects Ant-Man’s Quantum realm, it hit me that Ant-Man has managed to pull together an impressive cast that holds its own against the other character’s movies. The third installment makes the best use of its most accomplished actors, giving Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer much more to do. They put in great performances, while Paul Rudd does his Paul Rudd thing, proving yet again I was wrong in doubting his casting.
Quantumania doesn’t skimp on the special effects. The Quantum Universe is full of strange creatures and Avatar style floating rocks. The fight scenes make good use of the Pym Particles shrinking/growing abilities and the final fight scene is suitably epic. Jonathan Majors’ Kang flashes potential to be a bad guy on par with Thanos (he’s not quite there yet). But the minor bad guy (and one of the strangest comic characters ever) M.O.D.O.K steals the show. The film has fun with the fact that he’s one of the goofiest bad guys in Marvel’s catalog.
Quantumania is another example of Marvel’s uncanny ability to combine action and humor with a dash of emotional heft. I admit I may be a prisoner of the moment, but Quantumania could be my favorite Ant-Man movie (I recommend seeing the first two before seeing this movie) and it is easily in my top third of the MCU.
Here is the Through the Lens podcast version of my review:
https://anchor.fm/darren-shulman/episodes/Ant-Man-and-the-Wasp-Quantumania-Review-e1v16tp/a-a5tqa9p
Darren’s Score: A+ thanks to M.O.D.O.K.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now in theaters.
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