Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

A story as old as movie franchises; the best trilogies really only come in pairs. While the third Thor adventure was arguably better than the first two, we weren’t so lucky for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. The first Ant-Man films were smaller semi-separate standalone adventures within the greater franchise. They only tangentially introduced new characters and events for later films, but major universe plot beats and characters weren’t lumped onto those entertaining heist flicks. This third outing requires Marvel’s tiniest hero to carry a lot of MCU franchise weight his character was never designed for. A trip to the Quantum Realm or “Microverse” could have been a fun nod to Mike Hodges' (RIP) Flash Gordon, but sadly it plays more like a frustrating retread of Tron: Legacy meets Guardians of the Galaxy. 

One-time criminal and former Baskin-Robbins employee Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has helped save the world. Now, he’s shilling his new best-selling memoir while Hope (Evangeline Lilly) AKA The Wasp is saving the world through her company. Meanwhile, Scott’s daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) has been getting arrested just like dear old Dad. But with the help of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), she’s been working on a beacon to map the Quantum Realm. Before Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) can warn them of the danger, the whole family is sucked deep into the mysterious Quantum Realm filled with strange and bizarre creatures, and ruled by the tyrannical Kang the Conqurer (Jonathan Majors) and his deadly minion M.O.D.O.K (Corey Stoll’s gigantic bald head).  

I didn’t hate Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, a lot of people really had it in for this one, but I'm also not a fan either. Like so many pieces of Marvel’s Phase 4, this introductory piece of Phase 5 was a lot of the same ho-hum, "seen it" mediocrity working against it. As the ever-dutiful nerd with decades of comic collecting under their large-ish BMI supporting belt, I’ve done my best to keep up with every piece of the MCU, but Phase 4 may have broken me, or darn well came close. Between too many Disney+ shows to count on top of a rash of genuinely bad cinematic entries, the last couple of years have been tough to be a proud MCU fan. While I’m excited at Secret Wars becoming a thing and Kang is certainly a Marvel Universe heavy to rival Thanos, Phase 4 proved that you can get a lot less with too much and Phase 5 feels to be on a similar rocky footing.

Now to be fair, what director Peyton Reed and writer Jeff Loveless concocted for this third film could have worked, but it still needed to stick to its roots. The Ant-Man films have always been heist films and that format should have been followed within this sci-fi epic structure. Kang has a mysterious object he wants to help power his ship and escape, why didn’t our heroes concoct a plot to steal it before he could get it? We could have still had all of these weird wild characters of the Quantum Realm but also explore their distinct realms and kingdoms similar to what Mike Hodges managed for 1980’s Flash Gordon. Kang the Conquerer is the perfect substitute for Emperor Ming in that scenario. While there’s a big resistance battle to stop Kang, it’s nothing as cool or iconic as Sam Jones on a rocket cycle flying alongside Brian Blessed and the Hawkmen going to battle to the badass tunes of Queen. Instead, I was frustrated to see something that felt almost like a beat-for-beat retread of Tron: Legacy with the facade of a Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Like I said though, I didn’t hate this film. I admit to having fun with it (and it does play better the second time through), but I wanted something different. I loved the visuals of the Quantum Realm and the creative creature design, I thought M.O.D.O.K was hilarious - even if not even remotely comic accurate - and I thought Jonathan Majors was damned impressive and imposing as Kang. It’s unfortunate he’s facing some serious legal issues at the moment because I’ve really enjoyed everything he’s appeared in the last couple of years. I liked the extended family interplay of Scott, Hope, Cassie, Hank, and Janet working together, but at the same time, I never realized how much I could actually miss Michael Peña, T.I. West, David Dastmalchian (in human form at least) and their van.

Not the worst MCU movie or show, I don’t think anything can top Eternals or Thor: Love and Thunder in that arena - both were pretty bad in my opinion. That said, this is another very frustratingly mediocre outing for a studio that once set the high bar for comic books theater screens. 

For another take, here's Bryan's Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Theatrical Review

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania shrinks from the big screen to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with a new two-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital set from Disney. Pressed on a BD-66 with the 1080p sitting on a BD-50, the discs are housed in a standard black case with identical slipcover artwork with raised features. The disc loads to Disney’s standard language option menu before giving you the option to start the film right away or proceed to a static image main menu with basic navigation options.

As Disney has regulated Dolby Vision HDR for Disney+ and digital vendors, we have another impressive HDR10 2.39:1 2160p transfer for disc. Aside from some dodgy CGI effects, this is a damned good transfer allowing you to fully appreciate fine details with crisp clarity. Facial features - for humans anyway - are fully appreciable letting you take in every little follicle of beard stubble or hair. Clothing and production design and the practical effect creatures look great. Where this added resolution can hit the image a bit is when you see rushed CGI effects, which apparently were being finished right up to the wire before premiering for critics. There are several oddly out-of-focus backgrounds that can be pretty distracting compared to other shots within the same scene, and some of the effects for certain all-digital creature creations just never come to life.

HDR10 is well applied for this release allowing colors to enjoy a full range of hues - if the Quantum Realm is nothing else, it’s colorful and pretty to look at. Primaries enjoy plenty of pop without being over-saturated. Skin tones are natural and healthy without looking peached or too hot. Black levels are strong giving plenty of natural three-dimensional depth to the image. This is most impressive for the practical sets, but again, when the background is just all out of focus when a castmember standing in ¾ middle, depth isn’t that great, and in something that’s becoming a frustrating trend, it’s getting easier to spot when that digital screen or The Volume is being employed. When it looks good it’s beautiful, when it hits a digital bump, it’s a bit distracting.

As is the case with all Marvel releases, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania packs in an Atmos track, that thankfully is pretty good. I did have to pop my levels up a little bit, one or two notches, but overall I didn’t feel like there were any frustrating softness issues to contend with. While big action set pieces have a little rumble in the subs, the low end is similar to other Disney Atmos tracks where the LFE response only skirts by without really pummeling your setup as one might hope. If you’re coming off of recently rewatching Top Gun: Maverick (like I just did), this disc may not be a worthwhile chaser; it's a tough act to follow. For its own merits, there’s ample surround presence with nice imaging throughout the front/center, side, rear, and into the height channels. There’s a lot of flying objects and laser blasts and that helps keep those heights active without just being a simple accent point in the soundscape. Dialog is clean and clear throughout without issue with Christopher Beck’s score filling in the mix nicely. Overall pretty good and better than an average Atmouse mix, but nothing to call reference either.

About the size of the Quantum Realm, the bonus features package for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania doesn’t sport the biggest or best batch of bonus features. The best and most interesting is Jeff Loveness and Peyton Reed’s commentary track. It’s an energetic scene-specific track and the pair bounce off a lot of detail and inspirations for various easter eggs and character details and taking the film out of the crime heist genre and into the sci-fi epic. Everything after that is pretty basic EPK and filler. The Deleted Scenes aren’t really “deleted” so much as seeing David Dastmalchian as Veb work his part in the mo-cap suit. None of the bonus features are on the 4K disc, only the included Blu-ray.

• Audio Commentary featuring Peyton Reed and Jeff Loveness 
• All In The Family (HD 7:28)
• Formidable Foes (HD 11:36)
• Gag Reel (HD 1:52)
• Deleted Scenes (HD 2:59 Total)
• Drink the Ooze
• I Have Holes

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania wasn’t the worst of the MCU, but it doesn’t keep it from being a bit of a disappointment. Pieces work, there are chunks I really enjoyed, but most of the movie is upstaged by the dynamic performance from Jonathan Majors and the bonkers reveal of Corey Stoll. Hopefully, these movies can get back to being genuinely cinematic again. I feel like post-COVID and this hard push in Disney+ streaming edged too many of their stories into becoming a less grand and fulfilling Marvel Television Universe rather than the genuine Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania makes for a fine disc. The movie may not be the best thing ever made, but the 2160p HDR10 transfer is strong - even if it can expose some of the iffy CGI effects shots. As far as Disney Atmos tracks go, this one is pretty good, above average for the studio but not exactly a heavy hitter either. Bonus features are a bit tiny, but the audio commentary is worth the listen if for no other reason than to hear the filmmakers thought processes why they took the character into this direction. Not my favorite film, not the worst, for fans looking at adding this to the collection, it's a no-brainer. Recommended