Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Review – A Buggy Start to Phase 5

Here’s a question for everyone to ponder. If you had to choose between the first two Ant-Man films, which one would you prefer more? While I’m no prophet, I can guarantee that most people would go with the original, which released back in 2015.

With Edgar Wright’s influence all over the story, Ant-Man (2015) propelled a street hero to levels never seen before. Paul Rudd and his charismatic performance help make the new Marvel hero’s adventure an entertaining affair. But rather than capitalizing on the character’s history of being a goofball to create films that invoke campy humor, the sequel takes on a much more expansive route with the addition of villain Ghost and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet van Dyne. And to top it all off, Avengers: Endgame gave the character and the then newly introduced Quantum Realm the ultimate platform, as it became the base of the film’s time heist adventure.

Just like its predecessors, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania takes the stakes higher than ever as Scott Lang and crew come face-to-face with MCU’s next big-bad, Kang the Conqueror. The character was first teased in the Disney+ series, Loki (It’s essential viewing). So, did Marvel make the right choice to pair Lang and co. opposite the daunting Kang the Conqueror? Well, yes…. and no.

For starters, the film handles the larger stakes much better than Ant-Man and the Wasp, which isn’t to say much. But it is fair to say that director Peyton Reed has learned from some of the mistakes he made with the sequel. However, the threequel also offers a ton of new mistakes that fail to highlight the USP of the franchise, immense hilarity.

The biggest error comes in the form of the Quantum Realm itself. With the entire film taking place inside it, Marvel Studios had its best opportunity to flex its prowess at building CG worlds. However, after seeing the likes of Avatar: The Way of Water, Quantumania lags quite far behind. While the realm has moments of utter beauty, a lot of times, the designs feel a lack of cohesion, and some may say that the sets might be ripped right out of something like Spy Kids 3. In the end, the Quantum Realm might be a bit of a disappointment for many, after being teased a lot in the past Ant-Man movies.

Regarding the plot itself, most wouldn’t be wrong to say that it feels less of an Ant-Man film and more of a Kang the Conqueror launch vehicle. As the Phase 5 starter, it’s understandable to see Jonathan Majors’ character finally make his long-awaited appearance. However, unlike the many teases that Thanos received in Phase 3, Marvel Studios makes the ultimate mistake of sidelining the story of its main protagonist at the expense of building a larger MCU.

The film’s humor lands quite well for the most part. Unlike previous Marvel outings like Thor: Love and Thunder, the comedy in Quantumania works well, with actors like Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer showing off their comedic chops. Even Corey Stoll’s return as MODOK is peak hilarity (The character’s design could have been better). However, despite the new additions, the lack of Michael Peña’s Luis and his impeccable story recaps were sorely missed.

But all the funny moments can’t save the mess that is the film’s plot, as it sidelines one too many characters. Take Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne for example, who had no involvement in many plot points of the film. Even Paul Rudd’s Lang doesn’t have a meaty role compared to the likes of Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, as the duo takes the lead on life inside the Quantum Realm.

On the performance side of things, everyone brought their A game. Following his heroics in Avengers: Endgame, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang remains the funny character that we know despite the newfound celeb status. In addition, the actor doesn’t take a step wrong to show off his comedic timing. Kathryn Newton’s first turn as Cassie works quite well, especially during some of the emotional beats involving her father, Scott. Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer also have a valuable hand in increasing the film’s humor coefficient, and they sure don’t disappoint.

Despite the strong outing from returning characters, it’s quite hard to take your eyes off Jonathan Majors when he makes his way. As the menacing villain, Majors showcases why he’s one of the most sought-after actors in the world right now. His layered performance to bring Kang to life is one to watch for. Despite all the film’s shortcomings when it comes to the plot of setting up Kang the Conqueror as a fearful MCU villain, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania delivers without any issue. Fans should be excited to see what the antagonist has in store in future MCU outings.

In conclusion, Ant-Man and the Wasp works quite well to set up Phase 5 of the MCU. But, unfortunately that’s about the only thing that it does quite well as the film is marred by an overly complicated story that takes place inside a realm that’s lackluster to say the least. It’s a shame to see where the franchise and Paul Rudd’s character have ended up, as I make my way to watch the original Ant-Man for the 400th time.