With the third movie in its shrinking superhero series, Marvel Studios tries its best to turn what has thus far been its silliest franchise into a proper MCU blockbuster, complete with high stakes, intense drama, and important lore tied to the overarching Multiverse Saga. To Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s credit, it manages to supersize this adventure while still maintaining the awkward, deadpan humor that makes Paul Rudd’s portrayal of Scott Lang so endearing. Yet in its haste to do so much, some of Quantumania’s characters, ideas, and plotlines feel underdeveloped – and that’s not the first time that’s been said about a recent MCU movie. The saving grace is Jonathan Majors’ show-stopping performance as the chilling new villain Kang, but not even he can conquer the MCU’s tendency to get in its own way.
No time is wasted in establishing the drama between the various members of the Pym/Lang family unit, which is good because there’s not much of it before they’re whisked off to the wondrous-yet-dangerous Quantum Realm and must sort it all out while in the midst of an action-packed adventure. Scott’s relationship with his well-meaning delinquent daughter Cassie is the emotional crux, and while her reason for being mad at dear old dad may not feel warranted at first, Rudd and Kathryn Newton work well together to peel back the layers of abandonment and disappointment until they arrive at Quantumania’s most heartfelt moments. That the film sticks the emotional landing is one of its greatest strengths.
Unfortunately, Michael Douglass’ Hank Pym doesn’t have much to do this time around, and there’s even less for Evangaline Lilly’s Hope – which feels strange for a character who’s mentioned in the title. The most delightful surprise comes from the substantial role given to Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet van Dyne, who finally deals with the trauma of what happened to her during those 30 years in the Quantum Realm with a reserved and powerful performance. After her far-too-short appearance in the last outing, it’s most welcome for Janet to take a leading role this time around.
Delivering a very different kind of powerful performance, yet one no less incredible, is Majors’ Kang. We already met a variant of this infamous Marvel Comics villain in the Loki Disney+ show, but whereas He Who Remains was flamboyant and wild-eyed, Kang is steely and sinister. Majors absolutely nails the multifaceted nature of Kang, a man who feels burdened with his domain over time yet has the fiery will to use it to achieve unthinkable ends. So much effort is put into establishing just how powerful and dangerous Kang is that it makes the irony all the more delicious when he has to face off against the goofball who talks to ants.
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