The third instalment in the Ant-Man series wraps up the underwhelming trilogy of the giant tiny man, surveying unknown worlds and sub-atomic realms.
Release date: 17 February 2023
Director: Peyton Reed
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Based on: Marvel Comics
Produced by: Kevin Feige; Stephen Broussard
Cast: Paul Ruud, Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, Evangeline Lilly, Katy M. O’Brian, Bill Murray, Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton
Summary
After the events of Endgame, Scott goes back to a comparatively normal, boring life while his daughter, Cassie, seems to pick up the mantle of family lawbreaker, outlaw and inventor. One of these inventions causes the family to get sucked into the Quantum Realm where they meet up with Janet Van Dyne’s old acquaintance, Kang, who kidnaps and tortures Cassie to get Scott to recover a machine that would enable him return to his business of destroying universes.
Eventually, they’re able to rally the forces of the Realm to defeat Kang and return back to their home world, but at what cost? Kang’s warning of something worse coming for the universe lingers on Scott’s mind.
By now I think we should all be used to the fact that every Marvel movie is a piece of a very large puzzle. So let’s get into this particular piece, shall we?
Story line
I feel like there were tiny problems with continuity, as far as I’m concerned. For example, Kang punishes M.O.D.O.K telling him never to speak when he’s in the room, but mere minutes after, M.O.D.O.K is mouthing off right in Kang’s presence, unabashed. Also, M.O.D.O.K refuses to be addressed as Darren, until he comes across his mentor. Then he’s fine with being called by his government name. It seems a little disjointed to me.
Oh, and when Cassie gets big she claims to be hungry (read: thirsty) for citrus. That usually only happens when you’re Giant-Size in comparison to human scale. However, they’re in the quantum realm, no matter how big she gets in this realm, they remain subatomic. So she’s still super tiny in relative scale. Does this logic work? It confused me a lot.
That said, I like the overall idea of the little guy standing up to the big, seemingly indestructible tyrant. When the Quantum Realm people ran out of their flying buildings screaming “Revolution!!” in the third act, I actually shed a happy tear.
Also I’m not sure how the events of this movie fit into the larger picture. And I’m hoping that Majors’ recent scandals don’t cause the Kang story/character to get scrapped or re-written, leading to the entire movie being even more meaningless than it currently seems. I guess time will tell, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Costume and setting
Marvel always gets high marks for costume. The chest pieces that turn into full suits were a nice touch. Very reminiscent of the nanotech suits that Tony Stark used in Infinity War. I also like how the head pieces appear and disappear on command like they’re mind controlled. Although I must say, i DID NOT like M.O.D.O.K’s design. What was that?
Marvel also differentiates between the variants of Kang using numerous characteristics and costumes. For example, this Kang the Conqueror has scars on his cheeks from his previous encounters (and that’s probably why my titular drawing makes him look like OluwaKang with them tribal marks). Many of the others don’t have those facial scars.
I have a soft spot for new worlds because I believe world creation is the ultimate test of creativity. The Quantum Realm is beautiful; real ethereal stuff. I hope the CGI engineers were well compensated. I loved the opening scenes in the various new dimensions. Looked like a prehistoric jungle one could find in a Museum of The Future in Dubai. The bar where they meet Lord Krylar seemed like a destination resort I’d love to visit.
All in all, I liked the setting. Rumours claimed that they made a ton of budget cuts to make room for Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, but I couldn’t really tell the difference. Seemed very similar, visually, to the previous instalments, although Antman 1 was eons more enjoyable.
Cinematography
Here’s actually where the movie scores top marks in my books. The wide angle shots, the use of camera work and technology to depict scale, the perspectives shown every time one of the characters gets big or small, the panning, and the fight scenes. I can’t help but admit that it’s great work. I particularly loved the third act visually because of how well each sequence is executed.
Showing that ass kicking from inside Scott’s helmet in that final fight scene between Antman and Kang was visual poetry as far as I’m concerned. Just seeing that foot come down to crack on the rose-tinted glass gave me chills. Kang’s moves made me know he was coming right out the set of Creed 3.
Acting
A lot has to be said about the range that Majors exhibits in this movie. His Kang character is a huge deviation from the He Who Remains variant that we had seen earlier in the Loki series. He’s calculated, calm, collected and reserved, wasting zero moves and using fewer words, as opposed to He Who Remains who was chatty, friendly and animated. His coldness make him top contender for my favourite character. Although I think my fave in the movie is a toss between Veb and Quaz the telepath, Kang’s demeanor, and ability to keep his emotions below the surface, for the most part of the movie, endeared him to me.
Everyone else seemed to oscillate between being average and being terrible. The conversation between Cassie and M.O.D.O.K where she goes “It’s never too late to stop being a dick” just didn’t work for me. I was visibly upset after seeing that sequence.
No.
Please, Marvel, I’m begging you, don’t do that again.
Rating
2D
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Dreamy. Desperate.
Even though it might be one of the most forgettable Marvel movies in recent times, it’s still a pretty decent movie. Jonathan carried this movie on his back by delivering such a stellar performance. Better streamed than viewed in the cinema though, that’s for sure, but it makes for great late night entertainment, anyway. The fact that my highlights are in the two post credit scenes make it very clear to me how it’s just one tiny piece in a huge puzzle waiting to be unraveled.
2 out of 5. Better (and yet much…much worse) than many.
