 |
| Images courtesy Disney/Marvel Studios |
This third film in the Ant-Man franchise is a far cry from Marvel's initial cinematic outings and is another reminder that the golden days are officially over. Since the final moments of Thanos as the over-arching villain of this long running cinematic universe, they've struggled to get back on even footing. Although Jonathan Majors' Kang The Conqueror is the best part of the movie and the closest we've been to a threatening antagonist in years, Quantumania is symptomatic of the same plotting and writing issues that caused Thor: Love and Thunder to be such a dramatic misfire. Instead of leaning into the weird, they falter at every attempt by not allowing the creative to prevail, which in turn leaves us with a massively disappointing feature film.
Once again resorting to repetitive and overtly annoying jokes and a series of massive fight scenes with zero stakes, it seems that Disney and Marvel have lost the plot. Despite some amazing looking visuals and some interesting enough action sequences, the characters are lost in a movie that's all about computer generated spectacle but altogether lacking in any character development or storytelling. And at each turn, just as we think there might be some momentum in the story arc, another brainless quip is made and Quantumania falls apart at the seams. Imagine being in a fight to the death and you're busy spouting off one liners at a frenetic pace. It's a fruitless effort to even consider that this might have a worthwhile plot.
As the most anticipated Marvel flick of the year, hardcore fans and the young ones might find something to love about this one. Sure, it's fun to look at and it definitely takes advantage of its obviously huge budget, but it carries no weight whatsoever and doesn't make Kang a threatening enough villain to carry over into the next several films. Majors does his best to bring the classic baddie to the screen. And he does so with luster and dynamism. But the script and on-screen presentation doesn't do enough to establish his mythology or evil presence. We're given nearly zero backstory or reason to believe he's as bad as they pretend he is.
Director Peyton Reed has been given the keys to the kingdom on all three of these movies so far. He just doesn't have a fully realized vision for where this should have been headed. And Quantumania is a distinct misfire in an unsure time for movie theaters. It will drum up huge box office receipts because of its namesake. But this newest Marvel movie is just another disappointment that plays like a rushed mess that was focused more on its scheduled release date than it was about telling a coherent story.
This is a big and noisy, bumbled behemoth of a movie about superheroes that never takes off. It would be nice to see Marvel return to some semblance of caring about their characters and the tales they tell. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is like a greatest hits vinyl album of Marvel tropes that's worn out the needle. I wouldn't waste money on tickets or popcorn for this dire mess. And still, I'd be remiss in not mentioning the absolute waste of Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas here. Their dramatic chops are never used to their potential.
-CG
