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Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Mike Tyrkus

While a case could be made that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) endured a dry spell in 2022, as there were only three films released that year, to mixed reviews: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it remained to be seen whether the MCU would again find its footing and begin to weave a series of interconnected adventures culminating in something extraordinary. Luckily, despite some meandering, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania manages to hold its own and deliver some decent MCU entertainment.

The third installment in the adventures of Ant-Man and the Wasp in the MCU (Ant-Man debuted in 2015 and Ant-Man and The Wasp was in theaters in 2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) who, along with Hope’s parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott’s daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) are thrust into the Quantum Realm, as a new and deadly nemesis threatens to trap the recently reunited family there forever.

Director Peyton Reed returns after helming the previous films in the series and first-time screenwriter Jeff Loveness climbs aboard with an incredibly intricate and sometimes layered script. Despite some meandering obsessing over the minutiae of the “Quantum” Universe that can play as though the MCU was attempting to out “Avatar” the recent The Way of Water, the film manages to hold onto the heart and drive established in the earlier iterations of the series.

That, along with the all-in performances from Rudd and Lilly, allow the film to rise above its foibles and still deliver a solid bit of entertainment. Jonathan Majors does well as Kang the Conqueror in this installment, but it would not be surprising if the character received a bit of a tune up as he steers towards becoming the main adversary of the next phase of the MCU. There are a few cameo appearances and characters that enliven the “quantum” universe, such as Bill Murray’s Lord Krylar who show up, steal the spotlight, and then disappear in favor of other characters and the main story.

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

Although Ant-Man and the Wasp have enjoyed better outings in the MCU, the camaraderie and all-out good time being enjoyed throughout Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania speaks to the overall enterprise having its heart in the right place, even if some of the execution loses its way on occasion.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

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