Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) directed by Peyton Reed

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), aka Ant-Man, is living the good life after the events of Avengers: Endgame. He's written a book, hangs out with his family, and is a celebrity, though people mistake which Avenger he is. He likes the quiet life, though his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) wants him to work more at saving people. She's a bit of a social protestor and has wound up in jail almost as often as Scott. She's also scientifically gifted. After a family dinner, she shows off her latest project, a machine that is mapping the Quantum Realm, the microscopic reality seen in previous films. It's broadcasting down and getting a signal back. Janet van Dyne (the original Wasp played by Michelle Pfeiffer) is very worried. While she was trapped in the Quantum Realm for thirty years, she met some unsavory types and does not want to renew their acquaintance. The family (including Hope van Dyne, the new Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), and Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man (Michael Douglas)) have a short argument and try to shut down the machine. A feedback happens and they are all sucked into the Quantum Realm, though they are separated. Scott and Cassie are by themselves, facing fantastically weird creatures with inexplicable agendas. Hank, Janet, and Hope manage to find one of Janet's old friends who is less helpful than they hoped for. The Realm is slowly being conquered by a mysterious person (Jonathan Majors) who has more than a passing interest in the new human arrivals.

The movie is a special effects extravaganza, with the strange creatures and landscapes from the Quantum Realm. The personal relationships between the Langs and the Pyms provide some grounding, but perhaps not enough to make this a serious film. The Ant-Man series has leaned into the comedy, partly from Paul Rudd's natural talents and partly from the less believable superpowers. The filmmakers put a lot of fun and entertainment into this film, and I did enjoy watching it. But there's not a lot of substance underneath all the razzle-dazzle, just enough to keep the plot moving forward. It's fun in a bat-poop crazy way and ends with lead-ins to more content coming from Marvel. Major did a good job playing the villain and apparently has a lot more to do in future Marvel movies and television shows.

Mildly recommended--there's plenty of laughs and entertainment without anything offensive or deep. This is summer popcorn filmmaking.

Book Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Lost and Found by M. Waid et al.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Lost and Found written by Mark Waid, art by Javier Garron, and colors by Israel Silva

Second Ant-Man Scott Lang and second Wasp Nadia Pym are forced to team up when she tries to quantum-port him from deep space back to Earth for his daughter's birthday. The precise timing is messed up when Scott grabs the present he almost forgot to take back to Earth. Scott and Nadia wind up in the sub-atomic world, where standard physics don't apply. Bizarre creatures and random happenstances abound as they try to figure out how to get back to their home.

The book is an interesting mash-up of creativity and pseudo-scientific ideas and jargon. Scott has his usual problems with being a good dad. Nadia is Hank Pym's (the original Ant-Man) long-lost daughter who took on the Wasp role when she returned to America and Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp) took care of her (her dad was already dead). Nadia is a lot smarter than Scott and solves most of the science problems. He's better at practical problems. The micro-verse or quantum realm is an opportunity for the artists to try out all sorts of things. I am not sure the science really holds together, which is a minor problem since it drives the plot to some extent (if physics doesn't apply in the micro-verse, why are observations and theories about quantum particles accurate?). The ending felt very formulaic, also a minor problem.

Mildly recommended.