Phase Five gimps out of MCU gates through multiverse of mediocrity

Small men, big moves. Kicking off phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe [MCU], Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania continues phase four’s exploration of the multiverse by delving into new levels of the sprawling microscopic Quantum Realm. The movie marks one of Marvel’s oddest in recent years due to the introduction of various creatures native to this world, including a glob of slime that visitors must drink from to understand their language. Unfortunately, said glob of slime may be the cinematic highlight in a continued downward spiral for MCU aficionados.

Scott Lang, “Ant-Man” (Paul Rudd, Clueless), returns to the Quantum Realm, along with Hope van Dyne, “The Wasp” (Evangeline Lilly, Lost), her parents, and the newly grown-up Cassie (Kathryn Newton, Paranormal Activity 4). The crux of the journey comes to light as Janet van Dyne’s (Michelle Pfeiffer, Hairspray), secrets come back to haunt her as the truth of her 30 years trapped in the realm come to the surface. This revelation is swiftly followed by the MCU’s latest big bad, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors, Creed III).

Stuffed full of comedic gags that bring indigestion rather than genuine humor to the audience, Ant Man strikes a strong departure from the MCU’s recent dark and grief-stricken tone. This is further displayed through the vibrant colors making up the Quantum Realm, an interesting parallel to Thor: Love and Thunder’s occasional black and white scenes.

Each of the Phase Four projects revolved around easily detectable messages, bringing even more value to the stories. This often made for heart-striking performances that impacted the audience and left them thinking.

Quantumania rips all of that away, as any attempt at emotion falls pathetically short. Gone are the clear, defined meanings of previous works. Though it’s a tried-and-true installment to the MCU dragging out a tired and overused formula, the demographic is changing and so must the material. Seeing what Marvel is capable of and the effect these movies, and now shows, can have aside from money and box office success proves the franchise can expand past the typical action-comedy. Unfortunately, this particular installment chose to pass on the challenge.

The movie, largely made up of VFX, harsh lighting and Star Wars-reminiscent environment, often takes away any human touch from the filming. Despite the supernatural world the Marvel movies take place in, they still often feel grounded, holding connections to the normal world and everyday experiences.

Ant-Man’s role in the Avengers and the MCU as a whole is expanding, leaving a question of where he’ll fit in. With every installment in the franchise, more and more characters and worlds are being added, just to be left in the dust and forgotten about. New arcs and looming threats are continuously being added with little to no follow through. It was easy to tell in the early years of Marvel how everything was connected, aided by the regular crossovers and references to other works. Now, the only occasional links formed are through end-credit scenes.

The motivations and backstory of Kang are still vague, and the only real source of information derives from a post-credit scene and a couple of brief mentions throughout the movie. A large portion of the film is to set up the next big bad of the franchise, but it fails to truly show the true threat Kang is supposed to hold.

It seems characters are being added simply for the sake of adding more faces to build the fodder. Case in point, the anatomically questionable MODOK (Corey Stoll, House of Cards), formally referred to as Darren Cross, the antagonist of the first Ant-Man movie, fails to meet the standard of an in-depth villain. He, along with many of the other characters in Quantumania, feel bland and as if they’re simply there, holding no greater purpose to the larger story. This lazy characterization seems to waft through a disappointing, dreary first moment in the latest phase of the superhero universe.

Blurb:

With lackluster humor and largely pointless characters, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania seems to be a step backward for Marvel.

B-

by: Addi Isely

Published on March 17, 2023

Oshkosh West Index volume 119 issue VI