Super-Hero partners Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, along with with Hope's parents Janet van Dyne and Hank Pym, and Scott's daughter Cassie Lang, find themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interact...
WHAT I LIKED: 'Quantumania,' is just like the other Ant Man movies in that it's a simple premise zhuzhed up with some life-threatening stakes, throwaway humour, and creative action.
The only difference this time is that the stakes are much higher from the off, as they're based primarily around Scott's family. Indeed, after a short epilogue, he (Paul Rudd), his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), love-interest Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily) and her folks Hank (Michael Douglas) and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) are all accidentally sucked into the Quantum Realm - a strange Universe outside of space and time that, according to Janet (who's been there before), is extremely dangerous. The pull is that you're longing for them to get out, and those stakes only increase as you learn about the evil conqueror Kang (Johnathan Maiors) who has not only been banished to the Quantum Realm for snuffing out entire real-world timelines to prevent future multiversal war, but who is also now hunting for the central family so that he can use their tech to escape himself.
That cat-and-mouse plot is pretty compelling for the way it tests the family, and their peril is emphasised by how brilliantly foreign the Quantum realm looks. It is after all a concept that allows some true creative free reign, and both Jeff Loveless' script (for once, just one person wrote this) and first-time production designer Will Htay rise to the challenge by creating creatures, buildings, people and customs that often feel free of any real-world reference points at all. There's an element of Star Wars in the conflict with Kang, as many of the strange local quantum people are oppressed by him. But more than anything it brings to mind Guardians of the Galaxy, as the creatures and locals are more often used for humour ("is that building alive?" "are yours dead?"). And where before that kind of aimless irreverence has proved irritating, here it works because there is something at least compelling behind it.
Scott has moved on from his hero duties whilst Cassie is desperate to help, and the inevitable resolution to that is somewhat engaging, as is Janet's mysterious guilt for her time spent in the Quantum Realm before.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: That central family drama is hardly profound, and the dialogue - and indeed a couple of the performances - are a little crumby to say the least. But perhaps a bigger and more surprising disappointment is the action set pieces, which lack true in-the-moment engagement because a) the CGI is often so weightless and bizarrely rendered, and b) they take place in a realm where scale is irrelevant, and where characters can do practically anything you could imagine.
VERDICT: Though hardly a masterwork, 'Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,' has just enough compelling central stakes and quirky production design and humour to keep you fairly engaged throughout.
