‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ review: Jonathan Majors conquers in ugly, lackluster entry of the MCU

Despite maintaining a firm position as the most financially successful film franchise of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been chugging towards an undeniable and inevitable question for the last four years: is there a future for the franchise beyond Avengers: Endgame? Sure, there have been plenty of box officers winners for Marvel, but faith among fans that studio will be able to recapture the zeitgeist of Endgame – and their latest film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has been positioned as the first true installment of Phase 5 in this new Avengers-level story. But despite another grand-slam of a villain casting decision in Jonathan Majors, Quantumania is an aimless, muddy, flat mess of a film that plays out as a charmless echo of Thor: Ragnarok. In looking so far ahead to set up the future of the franchise, Marvel has forgotten to put care in the films that are currently in theaters. 

Starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sees Scott Lang (Rudd) relishing a comfortable post-Endgame life as a generally well-liked public figure and a moderately successful book author. Though he’s content to hang up the suit and live a low-key life, his daughter Cassie (franchise newcomer Katherine Newton) longs to do the kind of good her father used to, enlisting the help of her grandfather Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and step-mother Hope (Lilly) to develop her tech. But when their experiment goes awry, Scott, Cassie, Hank, Hope, and Hank’s wife Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) are sucked into the Quantum Realm – a strange world living under the tyrannical reign of Kang the Conqueror. 

Among the many high-stakes adventures of the MCU, Ant-Man films have previously found their niche as small-scale (no pun intended) heist-centric stories that blend humor and heart without getting too ambitious in terms of stakes. Though it may not churn out the most pulse-pounding entries in the franchise, the first two Ant-Man films have a charm to their tone thanks in large part to Paul Rudd and the self-deprecating, self-aware nature of the character and hero mantle. What’s so upsetting, then, is that Qunatumania deliberately and knowingly shirks this warmth in favor of using Ant-Man as a way to introduce Kang and set up future films – a sloppy but necessary move that robs the film of any remaining goodwill from the first installments.

Marvel has come under fire before for its over-reliance on CGI sets and effects, but Quantumania is without question the most egregious example of the studio’s lacking visuals: the Quantum realm (the setting for the vast majority of the film) is a malformed, muddy CGI dreamscape full of uninspired Quantum creatures reminiscent of Star Wars aliens and uninspired fight scenes. Though Ant-Man’s power set (or lack thereof) doesn’t lend itself well to interesting choreography as is, the Quantum realm makes it all the more difficult to care about the outcome of any clash when the entire sequence is bathed in lackluster color and animation. 

Just as muddied and lacking in artistry is the film’s script – though Quantumania hopes to anchor its emotional narrative to the bond between Scott and Cassie, Rudd and Newton simply don’t have chemistry, and the placeholder dialogue does no favors for the already weak performances. Though the cast certainly boasts plenty of talent, very few actors seem to be interested in the film they’re making – Michael Douglas is perhaps the only member of the Pym family whose enthusiasm and line delivery is convincing enough to rouse any kind of affection as an audience member. 

Of the larger ensemble, the only real standouts are Katy M. O’Brien – a Quantum realm resident/revolutionary whose character design and story beats don’t amount to much more than a knockoff of Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Still, despite a cookie-cutter character, John-Kamen brings real fire and depth – a rarity among this cast that goes a long way to elevate otherwise lackluster dialogue. 

Without question, though, the true scene-stealer and virtually the film’s only redeeming quality is Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror – a character who makes his feature film debut after being teased in the finale of Loki season one. Though the setup surrounding his character is clunky and feels misplaced in a film that’s supposed to be about a reformed thief with the power to talk to ants, Majors gives 110% (as always) and turns Kang into a genuinely fearsome and memorable villain. 

But even a star as bright as Majors’ can’t shine bright enough to eclipse just how unapologetically transitional and transactional Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is. This isn’t a film interested in exploring new facets of its heroes or even bringing a beloved comic arc to life – this is simply a vehicle by which exposition is pushed and groundwork can be laid for future installments.  In that respect, Quantumania isn’t even a film so much as it’s required reading for a story that’s growing less interesting by the minute. 

Grade: D

Walt Disney and Marvel Studios will release Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania only in theaters on February 17, 2023.

Photo by Jay Maidment / 2022 Marvel Studios