Film Review: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023): Paul Rudd is Back in a Multiverse Movie That Lacks a Strong Plot

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Review

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Peyton Reed, written by Jeff Loveness and Jack Kirby and starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, Bill Murray, William Jackson Harper, Katy M. O’Brian, David Bertucci, David Dastmalchian, Corey Stoll and Leonardo Taiwo.

2022 was a great year for multiverse movies. Everything Everywhere All at Once ended up with multiple Oscar nominations and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a box-office hit which was well received by most fans and critics. 2023 gets off to a shaky start for multiverse movies with the disappointing sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Paul Rudd, the film’s star, is always terrific but, unfortunately, this new movie gets bogged down in flat scenes that don’t really enhance the action despite the best of intentions.

Rudd once again plays Scott Lang/Ant-Man who, as the film’s main story begins, is celebrating the release of his autobiographical book having recently teamed up with some key “Avengers.” Scott is well-liked and is admired by the coffee shop workers and at Baskin-Robbins (where he used to work a long time ago). Scott’s daughter, Cassie, is rebellious, however, and this causes Scott some distress as he tries to make their family unit work. There’s Hope Van Dyne/Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) who is Scott’s significant other as well as Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). This family construct is altered by Janet’s encounter with a bad guy called Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). When the family gets sucked into an alternate dimension called the Quantum Realm, things soon take a turn for the worse.

Scott hears some odd-looking creatures speaking, at first, in a weird language but after Scott drinks some special concoction, he can hear them in English. Somewhere in the middle of all this chaos, Bill Murray pops up as Lord Krylar who appears to try to add some comic relief to a movie which is rather light to begin with. Murray somewhat falters in a thinly conceived role which is, surprisingly, instantly forgettable.

There are some good scenes in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Perhaps, the best scene in the film is the one with multiple variations of Scott Lang trying to help the “real” one get out of a dangerous situation. It’s a lot of fun to see physical copies of Paul Rudd all over the screen and the scene feels original whereas much of the rest of the movie feels a bit stale.

Majors turns in a very admirable performance as Kang whose role in these Marvel films feels far from over judging from the events that occur throughout this new picture. Majors manages to make his villain a compelling one that has enough scary characteristics that we want to see Scott and his family triumph over him but Kang is also a bad guy audiences will love to hate as Majors chews scenery left and right through his very forceful performance.

Kathryn Newton is rather likable as Cassie Lang and Newton brings Cassie to life in such a way that she feels easy to relate to. Newton’s scenes with Rudd play like gangbusters in a film chock full of banal dialogue and scenes that feel flat. If you just watch the scenes with Newton and Rudd, they feel like they have come from another (better) movie altogether. Rudd’s Scott really cares about his daughter and that sincerity is driven home by Rudd’s performance.

Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer are old pros but are less than stellar in these particular roles. Pfeiffer’s character has some surprising developments but only a tiny bit of real depth while Douglas feels, at times, like he’s telephoning his performance in. Both veterans don’t do too much harm to their careers here but do little to help them either. Douglas has some funny scenes such as when he recites a line from Scott’s book (he actually read it) but more was expected from him, in particular.

What would director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania be without the actual sequences where our superhero uses his super powers and the concept of the very intelligent ants that Douglas’s character seems to be developing? It would be completely disappointing, Thanks to the action scenes late in the movie, Reed’s film picks up some steam towards the end but it’s a case of too little, too late. Meanwhile, Majors tries to do the impossible and overcome a lackluster script by giving a very distinct performance. One only wishes Majors had a better script backing up his performance.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will have some appeal to fans of the other Ant-Man films but it’s the least enjoyable of the three movies in the series. Much more could have been done to create multiverses that were significantly more interesting. As the film plays now, the movie drags in too many spots and is only somewhat salvaged by some big-budget action scenes and the father/daughter relationship between Scott and Cassie which feels genuine.

Paul Rudd is always entertaining to watch and the latest Ant-Man film could be something his fans won’t want to miss but they may be a bit disappointed in the film’s lackluster plot and only occasionally satisfying execution. It’s a close call but, ultimately, this movie needed more of a story line and less bland multiverses which make the movie pale in comparison to last year’s terrific multiverse pictures.

Rating: 6/10

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