Big-screen, MCU Multiverse fun has resumed in the inner-dimensional (Phase 5) Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.
The movie holds its own with previous submissions that have (co)featured Ant-Man (ersatz Giant-Man, when the need calls) and The Wasp, Paul Rudd's Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne. That means this chapter isn't afraid to fly when it comes to double-whammy humility and twofold determination.
Directed by Peyton Reid, who ensured the affability of the prior Ant-Man movies, and written by Jeff (Rick and Morty) Loveness, this new outing teams our heroic couple with Kathryn Newton's Cassie, aka Stinger, their conscientious daughter, in a quandary that keeps the deceiving, time-tripping, Kang the Conqueror, Loki's eloquent Jonathan (Creed III) Majors, at the chaotic core, as he seeks to shackle every speck of space (and all related, tributary realities) to eradicate all versions of those who banished him.
Michael Douglas' Ant-Man Sr., Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer's Wasp Sr., Janet van Dyne, dominate the throwback gaps (with Janet being most significant, since she knows the Quantum Realm so well). The devoted couple establishes a nice, congruent buzz for our wee, dynamic trio, but so does Corey Stoll's big-headed MODOK (the villain formerly known as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket); Bill Murray's duplicitous Lord Krylar; William Jackson Harper's brow-beaming telepath, Quaz; Katy O'Brien's jaded warrioress, Jentorra; and David Dastmalchian's gooey guide, Veb, who's aligned with other diverse and uncanny, Quantum people.
The fantastic voyage (get it?) zips with zealous zest, staying big even in its small parts, thanks to Reid's deft direction and Loveness' omniscient script, and like the earlier, Ant-Man movies, this one remains a concealed, heist picture, for Kang forces Lang to attain a coveted device to cement his contemptuous conquest.
Despite its galactic grandeur (kaleidoscopic and often garish in a Tron-ish sorta way), Quantumania's twisting vibe never once depletes its wonderment, though it's a tad different this time, giving Lang more serious (i.e. parental) reins to grip.
The notion of turning tiny to trek into a folded niche holds enormous appeal, enough to justify further exploration in another sequestered sector, beyond the obvious, upcoming Avengers romp, The Kang Dynasty.
And if we're traveling that route, wouldn't it be nice if the movie's microscopic five met Scott Carey's The Incredible Shrinking Man down the line? It shouldn't be too hard to arrange. The Hulk is Universal-based and Spider-man, Sony/Tristar-sprung, both mingling with other MCU icons (like Paramount's Captain America, Iron Man and Thor), all under the Disney banner (skewed though the brand may be these polarizing days). On this basis, inserting Universal's '50s science-fiction mythology into the saga would click without a hitch, and while the going is good, hire Richard Christian Matheson to develop the story. Now, that could birth the most exciting, inner-space, generational crossover (for)ever conceived!
