Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Is Like An MCU Episode Of Rick And Morty
[There are some light spoilers for "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" below. Fair warning!]
There's a lot to unpack in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." But on first viewing, one thing that is very apparent for any well-versed geek is there's a recognizable style of bonkers humor to this Marvel film that is exacerbated by being set in a truly bizarre sub-atomic world. When you're messing with the Quantum Realm, things get weird really fast, so it only makes sense that Jeff Loveness was brought in to write this one.
Loveness has credits on some very funny things, like "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Onion News Network," and a little show called "Rick and Morty." Now, "Rick and Morty" is a bit of a delicate subject at the moment thanks to the controversy surrounding co-creator Justin Roiland, who is no longer going to be a part of the series. But if you needed any proof that "Rick and Morty" is bigger than just one very problematic man, then look no further than "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which manages to feel quite a bit like that very popular show, minus the cursing and drunk uncles.
We have portals in space and time, we have multiverse shenanigans, we have a surprising emotionally charged family dynamic, and we have crazy aliens with goofy voices that do random, badass sci-fi things like shoot huge laser beams out of their heads or excrete juices that let you understand all alien languages once you drink them. All of that would be more at home in a "Rick and Morty" episode than in your traditional Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
The movie could have used more 'Rick and Morty' humor if I'm being honest
Unfortunately, the fact that there is so much "Rick and Morty" style gonzo fun in the movie might be one of its biggest problems. Being an MCU installment, specifically one that's supposedly setting up the major threat for Phase Five, there's only room for a light dabbling in the weirdness on display. Once you meet characters like Veb, an excitable jelly creature that longs to have "holes" of its own, you immediately want to see more of these crazy aliens. But the third "Ant-Man" film gives you just enough to make you marvel (no pun intended) at the creativity on display before it bogs you down with setup for future movies.
I can't help but feel that if the movie doubled down on the "Rick and Morty"-ness, it would have worked a bit better. I mean, the sense of humor is for sure at the forefront, but it was never more interesting than when giant intelligent ants came to the rescue, or when Michael Douglas' Hank Pym was forced to pilot a ship by sticking his hands into sentient water wiggles, or William Jackson Harper (Chidi from "The Good Place") — who plays a telepath named Quaz — had his forehead glow when he read someone's mind.
Jonathan Majors did a lot to keep the villain Kang the Conqueror compelling, but it really was the weird sci-fi and fantasy stuff that gave this particular MCU entry life. Loveness may not have made "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" Marvel's "Rick and Morty," but he and director Peyton Reed showed us just enough of that flavor to make me really want more.