Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Directed by Peyton Reed, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang as he and his family (Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet Van Dyne, Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne, and Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang) find themselves trapped within the microscopic Quantum Realm – where they eventually encounter a fierce new villain named Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). Filmmaker Reed, working from Jeff Loveness’ screenplay, admittedly does an effective job of initially drawing the viewer into the bloated proceedings, as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicks off with an agreeable opening stretch detailing Scott’s day-to-day exploits as a recognizable superhero – with the affable atmosphere perpetuated by the charming efforts of Rudd and his talented costars. It’s only as the action shifts to the Quantum Realm that one’s interest begins to demonstrably flag, and although Reed has peppered this portion of the proceedings with some entertaining interludes (eg a fun scene featuring Bill Murray’s Lord Krylar, a intriguing flashback exploring Janet and Kang’s past, etc), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania eventually (and inevitably) progresses into a meandering second half that’s capped off with a prolonged and entirely tedious special-effects heavy climax – which ultimately confirms the movie’s place as yet another in a long line of distressingly half-baked Marvel endeavors.

** out of ****