The “Ant-Man” sequel, starring Paul Rudd, is likely the final film in Scott Lang’s solo series and the first installment of Marvel’s Phase Five, which will be fully unveiled in the coming years. We can anticipate a new team of superheroes and another group of supervillains whose power and grandeur rival that of the titan Thanos (Josh Brolin), who once deprived the planet of 50% of its population. For Peyton Reed, the director of the “Ant-Man” trilogy, it was no easy task to not only bring Scott Lang’s story to a worthy conclusion but also to connect it with the parallel storylines of the MCU cinematic universe. In particular, viewers needed to be introduced to Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who made his debut appearance in the first season of the “Loki” series in the summer of 2021.
Paul Rudd as Scott in a still from “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
“Quantumania” takes place several months after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” Scott Lang has abandoned his superhero career, becoming a popular writer, while his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), on the other hand, has become passionate about social activism and technology. Somehow, Cassie managed to invent a mechanism capable of establishing contact with the quantum world. Unfortunately, during the first test of the device, something terrible happened: Cassie suddenly opened a portal that sucked her, as well as Scott, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), into the Quantum Realm, from which it is not easy to escape.
Paul Rudd as Scott in a still from “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
A Quantum Leap in Comedy
After a rather mediocre “Ant-Man” sequel, many were skeptical about the third installment of the superhero’s adventures. As they say, Paul Rudd’s charm alone is not enough. Peyton Reed’s first two films definitely lacked originality (like all Marvel films, for that matter) and, surprisingly, humor. Scott Lang is an eternal child with the childishness and self-centeredness inherent in all children. It is difficult to perceive him as a serious protector of the planet; in this regard, Ant-Man is more like Spider-Man—a friendly neighbor who can perfectly support any dialogue and add a couple of catchy witticisms to the plot. It was this characteristic feature of Lang that the new series screenwriter Jeff Loveness, the author of episodes of the American version of “The Office” and the animated series “Rick and Morty,” took advantage of. Loveness brought the necessary comedic spark to the “Quantumania” script, allowing Lang to simply be himself. At the same time, Paul Rudd finally had the opportunity to fully unleash his humorous potential, which had also been restrained for a long time. Simply put, the “Ant-Man” sequel is just a very funny movie that wants to and can make the viewer feel good.
Paul Rudd as Scott in a still from “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
Alice in Quantumland: A Surreal Adventure
Another obvious merit of Loveness is the idea of turning “Quantumania” into a kind of allusion to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass.” The journey to the Quantum Realm resembles falling into an infinitely deep rabbit hole, Scott constantly changes in size, shrinking to the size of an ant and turning into a real giant, the heroes meet an unprincipled Red King in the face of Bill Murray, and even a surreal version of Humpty Dumpty. At the same time, the quantum world itself is made in the best traditions of George Lucas’s “Star Wars”: with endless sandy landscapes, flying ships, and other decorations made in the style of retrofuturism—it is no coincidence that Disney also has the rights to this fantastic franchise.
Lost in the Quantum Shuffle?
Perhaps, in the stream of endless gags and visual beauties, the creators of “Quantumania” got a little lost in the plot: Scott’s clash with Kang the Conqueror occurs without the usual tension and pathos for the genre, and Lang’s development as a parent also looks rather strained—as if the characters simply did not have enough time to fully develop. Due to the fact that all the drama has faded into the background, the film may seem empty, but at the same time, it must be understood that the superhero genre, in principle, has never claimed the laurels of the apotheosis of the psychological nature of human relationships, and waiting for emotional надрыв from it is definitely not the best idea.