“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is a wild ride that will be more to some tastes than others.
You can imagine a pitch meeting for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” — one sticking to references within the Marvel Cinematic Universe — going something like this: “It’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ meets ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ meets, you know, an ‘Ant-Man’ movie.”
“Quantumania” is, after all, an “Ant-Man” movie, following 2015’s “Ant-Man” and its 2018 sequel, “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”
All of them star the ever-likable Paul Rudd, as Scott Lang/Ant-Man; “Lost” alum Evangeline Lilly, as Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp; and the great Michael Douglas, as Hank Pym, Hope’s father and once himself the Ant-Man.
In those two highly entertaining movies, our heroes exhibit the ability to shrink to insect size — and occasionally to become gigantic — as well as to control an army of ants to help save the day.
And when compared to “Quantumania,” those first two romps seem positively grounded in reality.
A science-fiction-inspired, visually dazzling, largely fun but also frequently nonsensical experience, the latest MCU entry — the film that begins Phase 5 of Disney-owned Marvel Studios’ ever-expanding saga — takes us farther into the Quantum Realm.
This isn’t your father’s Quantum Realm (or, more accurately, Hope’s father’s QR). This is a deeper-down layer where Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), had lived for 30 years before being rescued by the gang in the second movie.
Turns out Janet hasn’t been entirely forthcoming about her experiences in the QR, including what and who resides there. Relatedly, she is alarmed to learn Hank and Hope have been helping Scott’s daughter, Cassie — now 18 (and portrayed by newcomer Kathryn Newton) — with an endeavor to send an exploratory signal into this subatomic inner space.
Well, Janet’s concern quickly proves to be justified, as someone or something uses the signal to pull all five of them into the QR.
Scott, Hope, Hank and Cassie soon learn what Janet knows, that the world-within-a-world is populated by a wide array of intelligent beings, including blobs, monsters and humanoids, one of whom bears a striking resemblance to Bill Murray.
