“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” now playing on theatres, kicks off Marvel’s phase five with a talky sci fi story, heavy on the scientific blather. Instead of “Quantumania,” a more appropriate subtitle could have been: More Fun Than Physics Class!
“It’s a pretty good world,” says Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a.k.a. Ant-Man. He’s a member of the Avengers, gifted with the power of size manipulation and some funny dialogue. “I’m glad I saved it.” Basking in the glow of his heroic contributions to mankind, he’s written a book titled “Look Out for the Little Guy,” and shamelessly drinks in the praise of his friends and fans.
His family, however, thinks he is resting on his laurels, and, in secret, are still working on ways to help the planet. His romantic partner Hope van Dyne, a.k.a. Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) and the original Ant-Man Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), have created a sort of satellite for deep space, except it connects them to the Quantum Realm, a subatomic level where the realities of space and time don’t exist.
Having spent 30 years trapped in the subatomic world, Hope’s mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) is horrified by their experiments. “Do you know how dangerous the Quantum Realm is? Turn it off now.”
Of course, Cassie and Co learn too late that the connection to the Quantum Realm goes both ways, and they are all sucked into the satellite and transported to the strange world, a place that looks like a Yes album cover from 1973 come to life.
Separated into two groups, Scott and Cassie are captured by freedom fighters led by Jentorra (Katy O’Brian), while Hope, Hank and Janet are cut loose, on the run from Janet’s old nemesis, a destroyer of worlds called Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
Kang needs the Pym Particles, the subatomic particles developed by Hank which can increase or reduce mass as well as density and strength, to exit the Quantum Realm and travel through time and bring havoc to the real world.
Only Ant-Man and his ragtag gang can stop him and his interdimensional threat, but only if they can navigate the Quantum Realm and come together as a group.
There is a lightness of touch to “Quantumania.” Rudd’s charisma sees to that, and he provides some genuinely funny moments in the film. Majors brings the secret sauce as a great cartoon villain, but the talky script and messy action scenes suck away much of the fun.
You may be thinking, “But Michael Douglas talks to a giant ant. How can that be bad?” True enough, it is something I never would have expected to see, and I got a kick out of it, but for every nifty moment like that, there is sea of exposition, as if the filmmakers don’t trust the audience to understand what is happening unless it is spelled out for them.
The loud, CGI-overload climax fills the screen but doesn’t grab the imagination. There are cool creatures and action enough for any two movies, but it all feels thrown at the screen, willy-nilly. There is a lot of it, but none of it is memorable or particularly original.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is a let-down, a movie that feels more like an introduction to the next batch of MCU movies than a standalone.
I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. This week I have a look at the anti-hero flick “Black Adam,” the historical drama “Till,” and the starry rom com “Ticket to Paradise.”
I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about the anti-hero flick “Black Adam,” the historical drama “Till,” the starry rom com “Ticket to Paradise” and the dramedy “Raymond and Ray” on Apple TV+.
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Marcia MacMillan to talk about the anti-hero flick “Black Adam,” the historical drama “Till” and the starry rom com “Ticket to Paradise.”
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the anti-hero flick “Black Adam,” the historical drama “Till,” the starry rom com “Ticket to Paradise” and the dramedy “Raymond and Ray” on Apple TV+.
I join NewsTalk 1010 host David Cooper on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “Showgram” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the anti-hero flick “Black Adam,” the historical drama “Till” and the starry rom com “Ticket to Paradise.”
Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to put on an Eternium crown! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the anti-hero flick “Black Adam,” the historical drama “Till” and the starry rom com “Ticket to Paradise.”
Black Adam, the titular character of the new Dwayne Johnson movie, walks like a superhero, but doesn’t talk like one. He has super speed, incredible physical strength, extraordinary stamina, unflinching courage and a skin-tight suit like goody-two-shoes Superman, but he’s also got an attitude. “My powers are not a gift,” the DC Comics character says, “but a curse. Born out of rage.”
The character’s origin story dates back thousands of years to ancient Kahndaq, a tyrannical kingdom where a power-hungry, despotic king has enslaved his people to mine a rare substance called Eternium that will help him attain God-like powers.
(POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD)
When one young worker fights back, his bravery is rewarded by the Council of Wizards, and before you can say the word “Shazam,” the child is imbued with mystical powers. When the youngster’s family is targeted for death, he makes the ultimate sacrifice and transfers his powers to his father Teth-Adam (Johnson). Stripped of his mystical energy, the boy is now human again, and is soon killed.
Filled with rage, Teth-Adam uses his powers to unleash demons, a crime that sees him imprisoned for 5000 years of dreamless sleep. “The world needed a hero,” he says. “Instead, it got me.”
(END OF SPOILER ZONE)
Awoken in modern day by university professor and resistance fighter Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi), he emerges as a vengeful entity with a twisted sense of integrity. “I was a slave until I died,” he says. “Then I was reborn a god. My son sacrificed his life to save me. Now, I kneel before no one.”
His old home of Kahndaq is now under military occupation by an organization called Intergang who set their sights on finding the ancient Eternium Crown of Sabbac at any cost. But with Teth-Adam back on the scene, that cost come with a huge, bloody price tag.
A larger-than-life justice machine, his violent curbing of Intergang soldiers brings him on a collision course with the Justice Society of America, Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and the winged Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), a group of superheroes who enforce global stability.
“Heroes don’t kill people,” says Hawkman. “Well,” says Teth-Adam, now renamed Black Adam, “I do.”
It’s about time Dwayne Johnson played a superhero, or mystical anti-hero, or whatever the heck Black Adam is supposed to be, right? A real-life, larger-than-life character, he physically fits the bill—no padding required in his tight spandex suit—and his heroic bona fides are well defined. He’s a natural, but here he’s saddled with a reluctant hero’s journey. His morose character works against the very traits that have made The Rock beloved. He’s all pumped up, that is for sure, but the charisma that usually flows so effortlessly out of him has narrowed to a trickle. Even though he is omni-powerful, Black Adam, the character, is about as interesting as a glass of tepid water. It’ll quench your thirst, but isn’t all that fun.
It doesn’t help that Johnson is surrounded by Dollar Store versions of more established superheroes. The Justice Society of America are generic brand world-savers, but do add a bit of zip to the proceedings, even if they put you in the mind of Dr. Strange, Storm, Ant-Man and Falcon while doing so.
“Black Adam” is one big kaboom. The plentiful action scenes are CGI orgies, large-scale land and air battles meant to distract from the clunky, exposition heavy story. As an origin story there are lots of moving parts as we get to know Teth-Adam and Justice Society members. Layer in historical perspective and a theme of freedom over tyranny and you have a movie that feels, simultaneously, over-stuffed and yet, because nothing is explored in any depth, undercooked.
I’m sure “Black Adam” will be the beginning of a new franchise for Johnson, and it should fill the hole felt by DC fans aching for more Zach Snyder-esque slo-mo (even though the film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra) but I found the cluttered, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” story more forgettable than fun.
Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to pull a rabbit out of your hat! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the romantic fantasy “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” the Stallone superhero flick “Samaritan” and the vampire bride flick “The Invitation.”
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” now playing on theatres, kicks off Marvel’s phase five with a talky sci fi story, heavy on the scientific blather. Instead of “Quantumania,” a more appropriate subtitle could have been: More Fun Than Physics Class!
