Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantamania (2023)

I think we can all agree that Avengers: Endgame was the perfect ending to the Avengers. It was the perfect way to ride off into the sunset. However, money makes people think that the juggernaut should carry on so after mediocre film after mediocre film, Marvel are back with the first part of the FIFTH phase. 

The first part of the film is as slow as anything and for a film that was a surprisingly short 125 minutes, it felt like a longer film than 125 minutes. Once Kang got mixed into the story properly, then things started to pick up but that's quite a long time into the movie. The final act felt quite brisk and in previous MCU films this would have gone on twice as long but thankfully they reign it in and it didn’t feel like it outlived its welcome. I did like the cameo from Bill Murray because its always good to see Bill Murray although he didn’t seem to really know what sort of film he was in because his performance didn’t match the tone of the scene or film.

Paul Rudd is as good as ever. It’s hard not to like Scott because Paul Rudd has the charm and charisma to pave over the cracks of whatever he is. Evangeline Lilly…..is in this film. That can’t be argued and whilst I am not the biggest fan of The Wasp, if you're going to call a film ‘Ant Man and The Wasp’ then the film should feature a bit more of The Wasp. She doesn't seem to have very much to do in the film which is the same problem that Kathryn Newton has. There was one moment where she saddled with the whiny daughter dialogue which was a bit frustrating but I did have a question and that is ‘Where did she get the suit?’ Now I know the answer because I have a friend who sat through Loki but it highlights a major problem that Marvel finally seems to be addressing and that is there is too much content that you have to see before you can watch a film. You shouldn’t have to do homework before seeing a film.

There is the issue of M.O.D.O.K which as an effect looked awful. I couldn’t help but think of Krang from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and that isn’t something that you should be thinking of in a $200million film. Also it just seemed like a bit of a random thing to do to bring back Corey Stoll but that’s just a personal choice. There was also a period of the film which looked really dark and I don’t know if that was a creative decision or just something that got missed but it got a bit distracting. Also all this would have been prevented had Janet told about Kang so it's hard to see Janet as anything other than a let-down.

Jonathan Majors is really good as Kang and if handled right, he will be a very good villain for this phase. I think due to Majors’ performance I did find myself sympathising with his character and thinking that wasn’t something that I expected or minded in this film. I also thought that Kathryn Newton was better than the character she was given. Despite some missteps which reduced her character to whiny teenager, she manages to have some good moments in the film and hopefully will feature in more MCU films because she’s a better character than Lilly’s Hope.

Ultimately I enjoyed this film. Once it got going it was enjoyable and I thought it introduced Kang well and provided they don’t rely too much on their TV content then the films in this phase won't have me scratching my head with 101 questions. I think that after the lacklustre feel of the fourth phase, this period of the MCU will have more energy to it and that can only be a good thing. 

The Whale (2022)

Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn't have gone to the trouble of seeing The Whale at the cinema but with the awards buzz that the film (in particular Brendan Fraser) has courted, I thought I would give it a go. Going to the cinema on a Saturday morning, the screening was fuller than when I went to see Babylon. Daren Aronofsky did a film in 2009 which saw him basically resurrect Mickey Rourke’s career and from obscurity to winning an Oscar and it looks like he is going to do the same with Brendan Fraser. 

The Whale stars Brendan Fraser who plays Charlie who is a morbidly obese teacher who during the course of the film is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter as he comes to terms with the fact that he is in fact dying. The film is very light on joyous moments. In fact I would go so far as to say that there are no moments that you could say pause the sad tone that the film has from start to finish. The closest I came to this was when I thought they wouldn't do a joke and then they did. The scene where Charlie is backing into the large wheelchair that Liz has got for him and I thought they wouldn't do the beep-beep of a reversing vehicle and then Liz did that. Some might find the final shot a moment of joy that he is getting that reconnection with his daughter but bearing in mind we don't see it I can't say that it counts. 

There are moments which are quite hard to watch. The scene where Charlie gorges on food after the reaction of the pizza delivery guy almost made me heave which I suspect was the point but it comes from that moment when the Pizza guy is almost disgusted by what he sees as its one of the few relationships that Charlie seems to form and I felt sorry for Charlie because he it's a rare opportunity to interact with someone other than Liz.

The performances are what make this film worth seeing. Fraser is deserving of the plaudits he is getting because it's very hard at times to tell when he is acting and when he is just being himself. His positive stance at several points during the film seem to suggest the character is more Brendan than Charlie. Sadie Sink is also quite good as Ellie. She is just the right amount of angry teen and yet starts to show some personality as the film progresses. I thought that Samantha Morton’s brief scene was powerful but really good and it would be unfair not to mention Hong Chau as Liz who has a no nonsense exterior but has some emotional connection to Charlie and their bond is rather sweet. As much as I think Ty Simpkins is a good actor, I didn't really think that the character had much apart from his scenes with Ellie. 

I like The Whale but I don't love it. Its hard to love this film due to the performances. It is a film that people should see. I think that for a two hour film to take place in one apartment and not feel like its dragging is quite an achievement. It's a rare thing for me nowadays to say that a film has the perfect running time but The Whale is one of those films and whilst the film itself may not win many awards I think the Brendan Fraser will and he deserves it because he seems to be a nice guy and its the sort of ‘back to the top’ stories that people love.