ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023)

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023)

Tagline: Witness The Beginning of A New Dynasty.

(Action, Comedy, The Quantum Realm) [PG-13]

Oh, you're an Avenger. Have I killed you before?

In this one Hope Van Dyne, Hank Van Dyne, and Cassie Lang are working on a method to connect to the quantum realm and map it out without actually having to go there. To do this they are sending a signal into the realm which is picked up by a tyrant named Kang who has taken over everything. They are then sucked into the quantum realm along with Scott Lang and Janet Van Dyne where we find out that Janet was involved in a lot more than she ever let on. 

First off I have read a lot of speculation about this thing as to why it’s getting lambasted by the critics at least early on. Some think it’s because the movie is continuing the problematic pattern of “wokeness” and that it told a bad unconnected story to the rest of the MCU which is basically flailing right now like a sardine out of water. Others claim the critics just hate Evangeline Lilly who is very outspoken about her views on the poke and other issues. 

As usual, I am going to try and set the record straight in a sea of people that seem to disagree with me on pretty much everything I write. After, none of you are reading this blog according to “some” so what does it matter right? Does this movie have a few issues? The answer is yes. For the most part, we get a fantastic live version of M.O.D.O.K. I won’t spoil anything, but for me, this was the biggest reveal of the previews. I freaking love M.O.D.O.K. and I think he is well-played by Corey Stoll. If you know this series you already know how he connects to this movie from past films, but I will move along. Something they do with him late in the film is a bit janky, to say the least. I also thought it was odd that when you grow big in the quantum realm that you feel hungry? If anything everyone in all these movies should feel hungry all the time, we rarely see them eat anything. This seems crazy because they are at a sub-atomic level where even getting bigger doesn’t even bring them up to 1 trillionth (or whatever) the size of their normal bodies? Get me the math nerds' stat…they can verify this stuff. That’s weird. (I say math nerds affectionately, so don't freak out)

Okay, ladies and gentlemen. That is pretty much it. Those are the problems with this thing and I don’t even remotely get the CGI complaints. I am over the critics crying about CGI stuff unless it’s just really terrible on some sort of ridiculous level. This CGI is more than adequate and at times it’s awe-inspiring. The design work in this thing is an absolute blast. It reminded me a lot of the hollow earth in GODZILLA VS KONG only its way crazier and kind of on a “bubble world” level. It’s hard to explain, but I thought this thing was visually mind-bending in the way that I wanted to go right back into the theater after I saw it. Now – it is “possible” my experience was made better by the fact that I saw this in 3D. It’s the first 3D film I have seen in maybe 4 or 5 years, but I loved it. 

I didn’t think this thing was “woke” at all which was a massive relief. I also read a few things about it from trolls online trying to spill spoilers that turned out to not be true at all. The storyline is superb in spite of what some people are saying and we get a bit into Scott’s head with the loss of 5 years he missed with Cassie and the tension his fame has caused her. We get a really epic backstory for Janet that just enriched the character 10-fold, but I still wanted to know more. This is a spectacular introduction to what we are dealing with when it comes to Kang The Conqueror in a way that doesn’t come across as both ultra-complex and vituperatory at the same time. 

Cinematically this is a mesmerizing accomplishment and I loved nearly every minute, but the ANT-MAN films all kind of corner the market on being the most humorous of the MCU maybe with the recent exception of the THOR films which are almost annoyingly humorous at this point. For some reason, the humor was actually another thing critics complained about. I actually loved it. 

The best performance by far is from Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror who is a force of nature. I love seeing this guy on screen and he kills this role. For me, he was actually a lot better in this than in DEVOTION and that’s saying a LOT.  Michelle Pfeiffer was brilliant as Janet and I loved that we got to see her in a lot of action sequences. Paul Rudd is great as Scott Lang, I think that goes without saying. Katy M. O'Brian is solid in the screen time she gets as Jentorra. I like Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym and I am glad he is still alive and kicking. The only casting choice I wasn’t thrilled about was Kathryn Newton as Cassie. They kind of changed the entire character for this movie and if I have any slight reservations that really aren’t complaints it’s that I was not down with her in this thing. I wish they had gone back to Emma Fuhrmann who played Cassie in ENDGAME. I am sure they had their reasons, but yeah…not a fan of Newton’s. 

Overall this thing is an absolute blast with all kinds of crazy stuff happening. Don’t buy what the critics are saying. Go check this out and form your own opinion. I know Disney has gotten creepy on us in the past few years, but I firmly believe that supporting the things they are doing right will help them realize they are still capable of making great movies and maybe at some point, they will stop giving us pandering pathetic virtue signaling with zero vision. Well, at least we can hope?  

This one gets a 6 out of 7. That’s right, that’s what’s going on here. This movie is a full-blown blast with one of the best villains and some of the coolest-looking characters we’ve seen in the MCU.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL STUDIOS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.