‘ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA’ Review: Jonathan Majors Rescues A Middling Middle Piece

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA

Rated PG-13, 2 hours and 5 minutes

Directed by: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, Michelle Pfeiffer, William Jackson Harper, Katy M. O’Brian, Michael Douglas

Crafting a crackling third chapter in a franchise is always a difficult proposition. Even with a staggering amount of the audience’s grace afforded to them, the filmmakers behind ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA deliver a feature that never feels like more than a bridge to a larger, far more compelling idea. Director Peyton Reed’s trio of films all center on two families overcoming otherworldly obstacles. However, this iteration continually hobbles itself, churning out (and, yes, it feels very manufactured) a hackneyed, exposition-heavy story that’s a nothing-burger – a feeble, forgettable and frustrating product.

When we rejoin happy-go-lucky Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), he’s reflecting on the wacky journey that’s brought him this far. He’s released a self-help book and is hyper-focused on being a good dad to daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), who’s taken up her father’s predilection for getting arrested – only for good social causes. His partner Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) is a wildly successful businesswoman, having taken over her father Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) company after he retired to spend time with wife Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), who’s still sorting through trauma she incurred while trapped in the Quantum Realm. It was Janet’s ‘Nam.

Unbeknownst to Janet and Scott though, curious Cassie has launched a special project with Hank and Hope mapping this place that dares not be spoken about. This technological advancement will help humans see into micro-universes beyond what they can imagine. Yet what’s meant to help actually winds up hurting when their device attracts evil Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), whose mysterious (yet utterly predictable) beef with Janet is wreaking havoc in the Quantum Realm. They all get sucked in, splintered and stranded in unfamiliar territory, and must figure out a way back to each other while contending with Kang’s malevolent forces.

Reed and screenwriter Jeff Loveness’ first act is filled with maddening elements, from the glib narration to the convoluted circumstances entirely generated by the withholding of pertinent facts – including valuable information that could’ve prevented the events in this film altogether. The number of times Janet says a variation of “I have to tell you something” or “There’s no time to tell you” wears on our patience. Once Janet decides in Act 2 to finally spit out her backstory, which involves Kang and a MacGuffin only she has access to, the film starts finding its rhythm. But even that fails to truly impress.

For a story that wants to take us beyond the realm of our imagination, it’s a shock that it doesn’t transport us anywhere we haven’t seen before on-screen. The micro-realms reductively recall STAR WARS and STRANGE WORLD in their aesthetic designs. New characters that inhabit these places offer a modicum of interest, but don’t affect the tale told much – especially in the third act when their inclusion should complement the heroes’ journeys. Mind-reader Quaz (William Jackson Harper) and squishy blob Veb (David Dastmalchian) represent what little comedic relief is to be had. Jentorra (Katy M. O’Brian), the filmmakers’ stab at a by-the-numbers “strong female character,” is pandering and regressive thanks to poor writing (not O’Brien’s portrayal, as she delivers sincerity and strength).

Lackluster visual effects also prevent us from feeling totally immersed. No matter how much they try to disguise its crutch-like use, shooting on “The Volume” in lieu of green-screen tech has an off-putting, uncanny valley look that’s difficult to ignore, adding a hollowed-out, low-stakes atmosphere. It hinders the scale and scope of the picture’s action. The trippy, LSD-like sequence where Scott encounters multitudes of himself (a subtextual commentary on the nature of identity and self) doesn’t feel nearly as oppressive and urgent as SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME’s comparable mind-melting sequence. Even the inevitable climactic battle can be reduced to a fatigued shoot-out between the blue and red teams.

There are bright spots, specifically in a few of its performances. Though her character is saddled with ridiculous contrivances, Pfeiffer rises above the fray, giving a performance with pathos. She shares palpably-pitched chemistry with Majors in their flashback sequence. Majors infuses his mercurial role with a sense of high-caliber gravitas and gloss. He shifts from soft to stoic (and back again) with razor-sharp precision, making his work a standout sight to see.

When the first end credit tag holds more weight, potential and thrills than the entire two hours that came before it, there’s a massive problem. Unfortunately for us, we had to sit through the multitude of other problems riddling this feature to come to this conclusion. Similar to the sequence where Scott is faced with the possibilities of himself in the Quantum Realm, these filmmakers were confronted with vast possibilities of where this story could go and what these worlds could look like. Yet when faced with a veritable buffet of choices, what’s served to us is a sloppy meal.

Grade: D+

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA opens in theaters on February 17.