Peyton Reed directs Paul Rudd, Jonathan Majors and Kathryn Newton in this threequel Marvel movie where the extended Ant-Man family face down Kang The Conqueror in the Quantumverse.

Now I went into this with lowered expectations and found it wobbly but pleasant. There was nothing I loved but plenty I liked. The character design of the Quantum Realm denizens – some of whom are glimpsed for only the blink of an eye was consistently excellent. Think Bioshock, think Flash Gordon, think Hellraiser, think Pixar. Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer and Newton get plenty of memorable time on the playing field. Almost to the point where Rudd (to an extent) and Evangeline Lilly (in particular) feel underserved. No Michael Peña = sad face. This is a Kang movie though in all but name… And Majors brings an alluringly different energy than we are used to in Marvel. There’s definitely shades of Star Trek’s Khan here and I doubt anyone really ends the movie not wanting a lot more from the character. After we sat though the end credits, the packed house of fanboys I saw it with made bestial noises about the mere idea that he and another character, one who gets plenty of episodes and isn’t exactly a shock reveal, might appear in the same room together. I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about myself. Action-wise the portions are too small, comedy wise the jokes are a bit bludgeoned. 90% of the movie is done in front of greenscreens recalling the worst indulgences of Attack Of The Clones. The overall flow of light but portentous throwback adventure isn’t too dissimilar to the Lucasfilm prequel trilogy. I’ve seen the busy FX and slightly uninspired landscape visuals come in for a real kicking online. There’s one returning character who actively splits the room in terms of their strange reincarnation. I was alright with him and the other serviceable cameos and meh fan service. Ant-Man 3 works as a disposable one watch stand-alone romp and I digged that aspect more than I thought I would.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)

My wife and I do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/