Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania: Into the Quantifiable Realm

By John Kirk

Rating: B

There's a predictable mix of fan, fun, and family vibes in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but it's a mix that's stirred a bit too long.

Hope Van Dyne, a.k.a. The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) and Scott Lang, The Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) are now a modern family, dealing with the growing pains of Scott's teenage daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton).

Bright as her father and just as reckless, she's the apple of her grandparents' eyes, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Cassie, as we remember from the second film, was rescued from exile in the Quantum Realm, a sub-atomic universe beneath our own.

It's no surprise, given the title and trailer, that the new family accidentally find themselves in the Quantum Realm. We also know that the villain in this case is none other than the infinite Kang the Conqueror, who we were first introduced to in the TV series, Loki.

Though we can also enjoy and all agree on the magnificent visual smorgasbord of CGI effects, settings and creatures, by this time, it's expected in a Marvel film. Again, no surprise there.

Sadly, with all this known, there's really very little to surprise at all in this film. This is another reminder of why we miss Stan Lee.

There is some typical parent versus teen angst in the story but given the titanic proportions of the settings and characters in this realm, that gets submerged in light of the action. In fact, that winds up falling a little bit flat.

What made Marvel Comics such a joy to read can be distilled into two ideas:

1) Character Motivations. Despite their unique abilities, the heroes were still relatable because they had real-life issues. For instance, they couldn't make the rent, or they had romantic problems. They were human beings first and super-beings second.

In this film, there is an attempt to include these very understandable character motivations (ie: repressed trauma, parenting, identity, etc.), but they just aren't handled well and the characters lose credibility as a result. This is well-disguised by the type of wisecracking humour we've seen in the previous films, but that does a disservice to the appreciation of the characters.

2) The Unknown. What Stan Lee did for his readers was to give them unknown places in which his stories took place. He took concepts that were generally unfamiliar to his readers and spun them into all sorts of fantastic and romantic dimensions.

Of course, we are talking about two different audiences. The readers of the 1960's are far less cosmopolitan than their counterparts in this century. Having grown up on these characters and their stories for about 60 years, there is really very little that we can be surprised by.

This story is, admittedly, about the unknown. The Quantum Realm is a place of mystery to Hank Pym, Scott Lang, and Hope Van Dyne, but its speculation isn't fully unknown to the audience. This audience can grasp the concept without any difficulty. Of course, that removes some of the wonder. While predictable, it’s still an acceptable premise and how this conceit succeeds is by the treatment it is given by the filmmakers.

Thankfully, it gets decent treatment as it's an artistically beautiful film, as mentioned before. It's an intense, kaleidoscopic experience that presents the Quantum Realm in a fantastic way. The characters we meet, while providing a bit of comic relief, are also well-imagined.

Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) is a thoroughly convincing villain. Though not as possessed of the same gravitas as Thanos the Titan, he still manages to provide enough of a threat that the audience can understand and a different one from the Kang we met in Loki.

The story is a but slow at times, usually during dialogue as the character motivations try to get resolved. The humour and special effects come to the rescue during these moments and manage to carry the story along.

However, with all this said, it's still a relatively fun, simple film that will entertain audiences and contribute to the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You know, like it's supposed to do?

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Directed by Peyton Reed. Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, Katy O’Brien, William Jackson and Bill Murray. In theatres February 17.