Rating: 3/5 stars

The newest chapter in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe aims to introduce the Ant-Man family to higher stakes. The audience is introduced to a new antagonist, Kang, played by the enchanting Johnathan Majors (“Devotion and Creed III”).  But between shoddy CGI and a tonally inconsistent script, the film only half-succeeds at achieving those ambitions. 

The MCU’s Phase Four has been hit or miss. While most of the television projects have been well received, the movies, which were guaranteed hits once upon a time, have been struggling to maintain a consistent track record. While some have been hits like “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” others like “Thor: Love and Thunder” were CGI disasters. 

After the inconsistent quality of Phase Four, many were hopeful that Phase five could restore their waning faith in Marvel. Being the first film in the new phase, “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantamania” had a lot to live up to. Director Peyton Reed (“Yes Man”) directs from a script by Jeff Loveness (“Rick and Morty”). Reed’s style is inoffensive and plain, but that is no crime. He does attempt to inject a sense of wonder into the Quantum Realm and it is admittedly beautiful. The swirling colors and abstract imagery are stunning when they are fully rendered. 

Much of the CGI looks unfinished. It is unsettling that these million-dollar films by these billion-dollar companies do not award their CGI artists the time to finish their work, a similar problem happened with the aforementioned “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

Loveness’ script, in simplest terms, is messy. We are reintroduced to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd, “This is 40”), his partner, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily, “South of Heaven”), his daughter Cassie (Kathyrn Newton, “Halt and Catch Fire”) and his mentors Hank Pym and (Michael Douglas, “What If…?”) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer, “The Wizard of Lies”). This “Ant-Man family” finds themselves lost in Quantum Realm after an accident. Inside they find a sprawling universe fighting for freedom from the tyrannical grip of Kang the Conqueror. On the surface, there is a lot of good material, but it is never executed to full effect. Instead, we endure 40 minutes of jokes about “body-holes” before we can even see the main event of the film, Kang. 

But when he finally arrives he is an enigmatic and gripping screen presence. Majors brings so much emotion to the character. There is a subtle sadness mixed with a deep nihilism and most of all, a sense of superiority that glues you to the screen. Any scene with Kang feels like it is not only a different movie but an infinitely better one than the meandering first half. Regrettably, elements of the first half slowly soak into the second and begin to compromise the integrity of even Kang’s scenes with “quirky” humor and bizarre gags that feel more at home in “Rick and Morty” than the MCU.

Major’s attempt to elevate the film almost makes it worth it. But so much surrounding him is half-baked or too odd to work. Even the star, Rudd, barely gets a chance to flex his comedic chops, being overshadowed by bit characters. 

The film earns its 3/5 stars due to a clear attempt at something great and it does succeed in moments. But it can not sustain that high. It will not restore faith in the MCU for general audiences, but it may at least appease hardcore Marvel fans excited to get a peek at what is to come.

Image from Marvel Entertainment via YouTube