Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Review

We have made it to the 31st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the start of Phase 5 Ant-Man & The Wasp Quantumania, I have watched it now and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Ant-Man, The Wasp & their family sent into The Quantum Realm, where they come face to face with Kang The Conqueror. 

Main Character

Paul Rudd is back as Scott Lang and I think once again he does a great job. He has plenty to do this time and his character has truly progressed since his first film. He is more confident as an Avenger and this shows in how he acts. His character has a clear progression and it is great to see Rudd deliver this really fun performance. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for The Wasp played by Evangeline Lily. The only reason I am putting her as a main character is because her name is in the title but she is given nothing to do in the film. Lily has shown that she can give development to Hope Van Dyne but she is really pushed to the side for other characters as that is a shame. 

Supporting Characters

The real star of the film for me though was Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror, Majors knocks it out of the park and provides a chilling and charismatic performance as this new antagonist. He has huge shoes to fill from Thanos and I was worried he would be saved for his future appearances but he is in this film a lot and he is given a chance to thrive and give a glimpse of what could be to come. Michael Pfeiffer plays Janet Van Dyne and she is given so much screen time here, we learn more about her time in the Quantum Realm and Pfeiffer does a great job in fleshing out this character that we have barely seen on screen. Kathryn Newton is the recast for Cassie Lang and she is a fun character here, the dynamic between her and Rudd is well realised and she is given plenty to do here which I mostly like. Michael Douglas is back as Hank Pym and despite having less to do, he is still enjoyable and still seems to have his passion for the character and the role. 

Story 

The story was okay, my favourite parts were learning more about the backstory of Kang and what exactly Janet was up to during her time in The Quantum Realm. It was nice seeing some progression and development in Ant-Man from his actions in Endgame. But as I mentioned before, the film completely underuses Wasp and as a major character that is a big shame. Also, the final act makes some decisions that I am not sure works for what the audience are told in the film with way too much taking place. 

Script 

The script was good. With it being an Ant-Man film there was plenty of humour here and the majority worked for me. It also had good drama and for the most part the two tones are separate and work well together. 

Style 

The film is mostly set in The Quantum Realm and that means there is plenty of CGI here and for the most part it looks great. The visuals are very striking and colourful which makes it interesting and dynamic. The film is also paced pretty well, with the runtime feeling appropriate. But I felt like the action scenes could have been filmed better, there was a lot of shaky cam going on especially early on that made it hard to focus. 

Overall

Overall, Ant-Man and The Wasp is a good film that does an effective job of delivering an interesting film that sets up the future of The MCU. It probably fits in the middle in terms of quality of Ant-Man films but if you enjoy these films then it is worth a watch. 

Rating - 7/10

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Review

Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania is released today and before having a chance to go and see it, I decided to go back and rewatch the previous film Ant-Man and The Wasp and here is my review for it. 

The premise of the film sees after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang is under house arrest when he is recruited to once again venture into the Quantum Realm. 

Main Character

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily play the roles of Ant-Man and The Wasp and they are both really good here. They get more screen time together in this film and their dynamics are great. Their romance at the end of the previous film didn't quite work for me but it progresses nicely here and feels more earnt. They are both entertaining and it feels like a natural development from the first film. 

Supporting Characters

Michael Douglas is back as Hank Pym and he is really great. As I mentioned in my previous review, it seems like he really cares about the role and wants to sink his teeth into what he is given here. He has to provide quite a lot of the emotion here and his character has plenty of the limelight shined on him. Hannah John-Kamen plays Ghost and I thought she was an okay villain, I think she is better then Yellowjacket but not by much. Everything was there for her to be a great villain but she feels a bit like an afterthought and something that just didn't quite click. Michael Pena is back as Luis and this is a film where I actually found him quite annoying, they took everything that I liked in the first film but ramped it up and made it too obnoxious and like they didn't quite understand what he was good at in the first film. Walter Goggins plays Sonny Burch and he was a bad villain, he is just some businessman but there is nothing unique about him and he comes across as quite annoying throughout. Laurence Fishburne plays Bill Foster and he is fine but completely underutilised in a role that could have been really good. Fishburne is a great actor but for me he wasn't given enough to work with. 

Story

The story has a mixed time, it is interesting seeing our 3 main characters trying to get back into the Quantum Realm and showing how the effects of a previous film affected the story being told here. There is some heart and emotion, though I do feel like this is more of a Wasp film then an Ant-Man one but maybe that is just me. There is just way too much going on here, there are multiple villains that have nothing in common and are just there and the rushing of the final act also didn't really work for me. 

Script 

The script is decent, there is good humour as you would expect and also some decent drama. But this film does fall fowl of a common MCU trend of not really knowing how to balance humour and drama. It clashes at times and considering the stakes of the film I felt like this was a bothersome thing. 

Style 

The film looks great, the action scenes are still fresh and unique. The addition of The Wasp adds some freshness and seeing the pair fight Ghost is some of the more entertaining parts of the sequences. This is a pretty short film and it does fly by, but the pacing isn't that great with the focus being in the wrong places at times. Also, I don't know if it is just me but I really struggle with films that constantly change aspect ratio and this film does it a lot, I would rather a film pick one or the other. 

Overall

Overall, Ant-Man and The Wasp is an above average entertaining film. It is a bit of a let down of a sequel but I think fans of the original film will like this one. 

Rating - 6/10

Hunters Season 2 (2023) Review 

I enjoyed the first season of Amazon's show Hunters and the second season has finally come out and here is my review for it. The premise of the season sees The Hunters split up, but they are reunited in order to take down the last remnants of The Nazis - Adolf Hitler. 

Main Character

Logan Lerman reprises his role as Jonah with a lovely new hair cut and he is really good. He has clearly developed as a character since the first season, gone is the timid young man and he is now a hardened Nazi killer by the time Season 2 picks up. He does an effective part in this role and it is clearly one that he was able to sink his teeth into. 

Supporting Characters

Josh Radnor plays Lonnie Flash and he was one of the more enjoyable parts of the first season and this continues here. He is a fun addition to the cast and you can tell that Radnor is really enjoying his time in the role and they try and flesh out his character a little bit. Jennifer Jason leigh makes her debut in this season and she is fantastic, probably my favourite character of the show. She is the most interesting and her addition to the mix really adds new flavour to this somewhat generic crew & story being told. Honestly, most of the other crew kind of blended into the background for me, there wasn't enough progression with their characters and it maybe feels like there are too many. The villains don't really work either, the guy playing Hitler is fine but nothing more and that is a major letdown. But the biggest misfire is Al Pacino returning as Meyer Offerman in his own flashback story, after the events of the previous season this felt so unnecessary and like they had already paid for Pacino so might as well put him in the show. The character isn't developed by this and I wish Pacino had been used sparingly throughout this season of the show. 

Story 

The story has an interesting hook on it in that it is the hunt for Adolf Hitler and when it focuses on that it does thrive. Seeing how this over the top scenario of Hitler surviving would potentially work is interesting and opens up lots of opportunities. But, I also do think this show misses its potential, there are so many characters and they try to give all the characters their own story, but it ends up being quite superficial and non-consequential to the overall plot. The ending also felt quite rushed and bland to me which never helps. But the biggest issue, is the amount of time it spends on the Meyer Offerman flashback story, this thing does not need to be there and then I would say at least a quarter of the runtime is spent on which is way too much. 

Script 

The script has some pretty good drama, some effective performances do deliver in making you care about this pretty serious subject matter. But there is some comedy that doesn't quite work and I just think a lot of the characters were written sub-par and there was plenty more that could have been done with them. 

Style 

This show has a pretty violent style and for the most part I enjoyed that, the action felt gritty and real. It also uses its scenery well embracing its time period and international locations. But the shows pacing is off, there is too much jumping times between flashbacks and the current storyline. There is also probably a few episodes too many which does hurt the overall product in the end. 

Overall

Overall, Hunters season 2 is an above average show that is still quite enjoyable. It has plenty of flaws and I don't think it is probably worth it unless you really enjoyed the first season, but overall an okay effort. 

Rating - 6/10

Ant-Man (2015) Review

After a hiatus I am back reviewing Films & TV Shows and I start back with Ant-Man. In prep for Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, I decided to go back and watch the first film in the trilogy and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees an ex-con recruited by a tech genius to become The Ant-Man and save the world. 

Main Character

Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang and he is great in the role, he is just really likeable in the role and plays the role well. He comes across as this everyday guy, but has that charm to be a super hero in this universe. It was probably a bit of a risk to use Scott Lang as the first main Ant-Man but I think it paid off here due to how fun Rudd is. 

Supporting Characters

Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym who is the original Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I think my favourite part of this film is the chemistry between Rudd & Douglas. Pym is a super interesting character and seeing Douglas really care about this character and this role elevates this character to new heights. The Mentor role fits him really well here and this was great casting for this crucial role. Evangeline Lily plays Hope Van Dyne and she is also really good, her character is cold at first but as the film progresses you grow to like her and understand where she is coming from and Lily does an effective job of making the audience care. Michael Pena plays Luis and this is a very enthusiastic and over the top performance. I get the feeling you will either really like this character or hate him, luckily I liked him and felt he wasn't overused here. Corey Stoll really tries as the villain Darren Cross but it just didn't work for me, it isn't that he gives a bad performance but his character is so bland and his motivations are really generic that I just thought he was an afterthought in the film. 

Story 

The story is a pretty good origin story, I like the character of Scott Lang and his dynamic with Pym & Hope is an enjoyable dynamic. His relationship with his daughter was also handled well with it providing an emotional hook to the film that really worked. But when it boils down to it, it has a pretty basic plot line and most of that has to do with the motivations of Cross as a villain. He just wants to get rich, that worked back in Iron Man, but this is the 11th film in the MCU and I expect more from the villain here. 

Script

The script is really good, with Paul Rudd involved it does have its humour that you would expect which for me mostly works. It also has some really well done drama here, the two father-daughter relationships contrast each other well and make you care about these characters. 

Style 

The style of the film is a bit of a mixed bag. The action scenes are really well done and unique to this character, it literally bought the test footage that was leaked to the screen in a really effective way. But this film has a pacing issue, this film isn't overly long and we don't see Ant-Man really do anything till over an hour in. I enjoy all the training, I just think it could have started earlier or been shorter to allow us to see Ant-Man do even more. 

Overall

Overall, Ant-Man is a really fun new addition to The MCU. It brings a bunch of new characters into the universe with an enjoyable experience. 

Rating - 8/10