In 2015, Marvel released “Ant-Man,” an unremarkable but satisfying addition to the Marvel Studios catalog that successfully introduced a new fan favorite into the cinematic universe.
Between Paul Rudd’s charm and the undeniably enjoyable heist film backdrop, there was plenty to admire.
There was also little reason to doubt Marvel’s efforts, as many considered the mid- to late-2010’s to be the company’s renaissance era of sorts, with the likes of “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
While not without its fair share of hiccups in its formative years, Marvel typically managed to reign supreme over the box office, while maintaining positive reception from critics.
But to quote Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow from “Avengers: Age of Ultron”: “Nothing lasts forever.”
In 125 minutes, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” manages to capture everything wrong with the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the comic book genre as a whole.
Stale set pieces and a horrendous screenplay set against an indecipherable CGI backdrop of revolting color make for a film that proves incredibly exhausting.
What little characterization was given to this ensemble in the previous film entries is completely disregarded here in service of jokes that never land or for entirely new character arcs, arcs that contain no dramatic weight as the film is more obsessed with setting up future installments than with making a coherent feature.
Jonathan Majors attempts to set the stage for the aforementioned future installments with a commanding villainous performance as Kang the Conqueror. Despite the strength in Majors’ delivery, much of the character’s motivation rings hollow compared to the rest of the MCU’s rogues gallery.
Majors is a standout based mostly on the soullessness of the film he inhabits rather than by his own derivative, albeit captivating, performance, which isn’t something that can be said for any other performance within this abysmal cash grab of a motion picture.
No one, short of Daniel Day-Lewis, should be expected to deliver these trite lines with any real sense of urgency or dignity.
No amount of CGI could hide the dollar signs reflecting in veteran actor Michael Douglas’ eyes as he proceeded to “deliver” a flurry of the most tremendously infuriating lines of dialogue I have heard uttered in a movie since last summer’s “Jurassic World: Dominion.”
Much like that film, “Quantumania” is a shining example of everything that is wrong with the state of modern blockbuster filmmaking. The worst thing to happen to ants since Raid.
If nothing else, this is an opportunity for Marvel either to get back in the game or to say farewell.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is playing in movie theaters nationwide.
