Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania Review - 5 Ups & 5 Downs
Downs...
5. The Squandered Supporting Cast
One of the strongest aspects of the first two Ant-Man movies was their diverse and entertaining supporting casts, where even the most minor members of the ensemble got memorable, often hilarious things to do.
But setting Quantumania almost entirely in the Quantum Realm means that fan favourite characters like Luis (Michael Pena) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) are nowhere to be seen, nor are Scott's ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) or her new husband Paxton (Bobby Cannavale).
Some cameo appearances in the movie's Earth-set opening sequence would've been nice, no?
Beyond that, even most of the supporting characters who are along for the ride feel oddly underserved - despite her name literally being in the film's title, Hope aka The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) is bizarrely sidelined for huge chunks of the story.
Likewise Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) is basically just part of the furniture bar a few amusing one-liners, and even the enticing new characters - such as Quantum Realm residents Quaz (William Jackson Harper), Veb (David Dastmalchian), and Jentorra (Katy O'Brian) - feel like little more than broad, thin sketches.
There's so much potential to be explored here, and yet outside of the three central characters, the cast is largely stranded with little of interest to do.