Ant-Man an accidental spoof

The third film in the franchise, starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, could be so bad it’s almost a joke.

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Kathryn Newton as Cassandra "Cassie" Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (M)
In cinemas
★★½

Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania a superhero movie or a superhero spoof? I suspect it’s a combination of the two, though it works best as the latter.

Ant-Man himself is close to a superhero parody. Yes, Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is an Avenger but he’s no Captain America. When asked if he’s the one with the hammer, he can’t hide his delight at being mistaken for Thor.

“You’re out of your league,’’ the main villain, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), tells Ant-Man. It’s a line this one-time petty crim has been hearing for much of his life.

This is the third Ant-Man movie, following Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). Hope van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) has similar powers to Ant-Man.

All three are directed by Peyton Reed. The newcomer is scriptwriter Jeff Loveness, whose CV includes the satirical animated sci-fi show Rick and Morty. In that series, as in this movie, time is a fluid dimension.

We start with a refresher on a subatomic universe known as the Quantum Realm. Things kick into gear when Ant-Man, Wasp, Ant-Man’s teen daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), who also has a superhero suit, scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who invented the Ant-Man suit, and his wife Janet van Dyne, who is Wasp’s mother, are flicked into said realm.

Some ants also make it in and they will become important. Ant-Man has been stranded there before, for five years, and Janet for even longer, 30 years.

When they all see the extent of what is down there and ask Janet why she didn’t warn them about it, she says, “I’m sorry I never told you. I just wanted to forget.” The more honest answer would be, “Because we needed to save it for the sequel.”

What is down there is an empire run by Kang, who has plans to conquer the past, present and future. To do so he needs something from Ant-Man and co.

The black-clad Kang has a touch of Darth Vader about him – he has more power in one finger than Ant-Man has from head to toe – and indeed there are times when this movie also looks like a Star Wars spoof.

There’s a cantina scene enlivened by the appearance of a local lord (a jovial Bill Murray) who had a thing for Janet during her realm years. “Not technically,” he replies when asked if he is human, “but”, he adds with a leer at Janet, “yes in the way that matters”.

Most of the locals look like characters from Star Wars galaxies, including one whose head seems to be made from broccoli, and Kang’s soldiers, like Darth’s Stormtroopers, are poor shots.

From this point, this two-hour movie is team Ant-Man v team Kang. It’s all pro forma, though there are a couple of interesting ideas that should have been explored further.

Kang, who says he has lived in all times, asks Ant-Man if he is one of the Avengers he has killed. “They all blur after a while.” That’s something I would have liked to hear more about.

And the best scene is when Ant-Man enters a probability storm. Every possible version of himself materialises at the same time.

Will these hundreds of Ant-Men work for or against each other?

As a superhero movie, this one is average. When, towards the end, Ant-Man push comes to Kang shove, the outcome is not explained. And even if there was an explanation it would still be ridiculous.

As a superhero spoof it’s a little better. Hank’s former protege, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), returns in an extended role that can only be comic.

Some of the Marvel (and DC) franchises do feel a bit past their use-by date. “It’s never over,” Kang says at one point. He speaks the truth, for better or worse.

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Sharper (M)
Apple TV+
★★★½

“How can you do what you do?” the beautiful young Sandra (Briana Middleton) asks the beautiful older Madeline (Julianne Moore) at one point in Sharper. Madeline half-smiles and replies, “Practise.”

What Madeline does, and indeed what Sandra and the other main characters do, is the recurring question in this jigsaw puzzle of a thriller that is full of clues, red herrings and double-crosses.

The setting is present day Manhattan. The five main characters are Sandra, Madeline, Tom (Justice Smith), Max (Sebastian Stan) and Richard (John Lithgow).

The story is split into chapters headed by a character’s name. As it progresses, it becomes clear each of them is linked in a not-so-good six degrees of separation sort of way.

It opens with Tom, a quiet young man who runs an antiquarian bookstore.

One day he is sitting behind the counter, reading Edgar Allan Poe, when Sandy, as she calls herself, walks in.

They connect and a romance starts. Sandy is doing her PhD, or so she tells him. She has a black sheep brother named Max, who owes the wrong people a lot of money, or so she says.

Not one of the characters is who he or she first seems to be.

The next chapter is Sandy, followed by Max, followed by Madeline. Richard, a hedge fund multi-billionaire, does not have a chapter but he is pivotal to the plot.

It would be a crime to reveal much more. Viewers will start making their own guesses from the opening chapter, which ends in an unexpected way. I’ll be surprised if there are not a few second guesses as the story unfolds.

Here are a few facts that don’t spoil the plot: Richard is mega-rich. Tom is his son. Tom and Sandy do have a romance.

Max and Madeline are close, whether by blood or desire is something to find out. Max and Sandy/Sandra are close, whether as siblings as first suggested is something to find out.

There are twists and turns as the truth of their relationships are revealed. One development in particular lifted my eyebrows.

Here are a couple of clues as to what might be going on. The title is defined in the opening credits: “Sharper. Noun. One who lives by their wits.” Max’s chapter opens with the Talking Heads song Slippery People. “Turn like a wheel inside a wheel.” The whole soundtrack, including Don Henley singing Dirty Laundry (“Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies”), is spot on.

When Richard meets Max, he offers some advice. “If you’re going to steal, steal a lot.” When Max asks Sandy to name her favourite film, she says “Titanic” (OK, that may be a red herring).

The performances are strong, especially from Oscar winner Moore. Wait for the scene where she slaps the handsome Max across the face and then …

This stylish 116-minute thriller is the feature debut of English director Benjamin Caron, whose television credits include Wallander, The Crown, Sherlock and the Star Wars series Andor. It is written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka.

The result is the cinematic equivalent of a literary page-turner. Each chapter has reveals that means the next chapter is a must-see.

As I watched I had it nudging four stars, but some scenes do strain credulity, and the ending over explains things it would be better to still be thinking about.

Overall, though, a thoroughly enjoyable entertainment.

Julianne Moore in Sharper