So, I am in Kansas City right now hanging out with my good college friend Dan, and we checked out Marvel’s thirty-first MCU film this past weekend Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which kicks off Phase Five of the Multiverse Saga. Peyton Reed returns to direct the third installment in the Ant-Man film series with Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as the titular characters Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne/Wasp. Rounding out the cast is Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang), Michael Douglass (Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet van Dyne), and Jonathon Majors (Kang the Conqueror). The movie picks up after Avengers: Endgame, with Scott Lang trying to balance his superhero duties and his responsibilities as a father. However, things take a turn when Scott, Hope, Cassie, Hank, and Janet find themselves in quantum realm and need to find a way to escape. This leads them on a thrilling adventure as they battle a new villain, Kang the Conqueror, who poses a threat not only to their world but to the entire multiverse.
So, how was this film? Overall, the movie was fine. With most Marvel films, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was fun and entertaining throughout, and I am sure the general audience will enjoy this film as well. Firstly, Paul Rudd’s charisma as Scott Lang/Ant-Man is enough to carry the whole movie. He balances his comedic charm along with the sweet father-daughter stuff and the raw emotional moments in the film. Even if you do not like the story and/or plot of the movie, it is hard to dislike Paul Rudd. Michelle Pfeiffer’s portrayal of Janet Van Dyne was a noteworthy performance as the film adds a surprising amount of depth to her character. Kathryn Newton also delivers a solid performance as Cassie Lang, although it was strange that Marvel decided to recast the character from Avengers: Endgame. The world of the Quantum Realm was wacky and whimsical, using unique and creative designs for all the side characters and architecture, clearly taking strong inspiration from Star Wars.
However, despite the interesting nature of the Quantum Realm, it looks visually very bland. When the characters have a red, purple, and black color scheme, and when the background has a red, purple, and black color scheme, everything gets messy. It might have been just me, but some scenes just looked very dark, and when there is little contrast between the characters and background, it becomes super hard to follow any of the action. Also, since the movie takes place in a foreign landscape, there is a loss in the sense of scale, which takes a lot of impact away from the shrinking and growing powers. What makes the Ant-Man films fun is that the shrinking and growing effects are done in the context of everyday objects, which gives the audience a reference to understand the scale of scenes, which can lead to visually funny, entertaining sequences. Without that scale, then many of the action sequences become mundane.
Another major issue I take with the movie are the story decisions. The second Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer made it seem that the movie was going to be about Scott Lang getting a second chance to spend time with his daughter, that he might have to make a deal with Kang in order to get back his time lost from the blip. The marketing pushed the idea that “time” was going to be the thematic thread that would tie the story together for all these characters. None of that internal conflict was in the movie, which was super disappointing. And now, onto the big bad himself Kang the Conqueror. For anyone wonder about how Jonathan Majors performed in this film, you can rest assured that he was great. Majors brings an intimidating, nuanced presence to the role of Kang the Conqueror that I am sure many fans were anticipating. However, I have very strong qualms with how his character was handled. For anyone who has seen Loki, Kang’s role in this film feels very redundant, but I will not go too much into it for spoiler reasons. I am not sure that what the movie creators did with Kang was enough to justify him to be the next big threat for Phase 5 and 6 of the MCU, leading up to Avengers: Kang Dynasty. If anything, the movie lessened the threat of Kang, which was the opposite of what you want out of the main villain. Also there are mid-credits and post-credits scenes as well if you do not know whether to stay after the movie is done.
Overall, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is an enjoyable addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it may not be perfect, it’s still a fun ride that fans of the series will surely enjoy.
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