Ant-Man has been one of the MCU’s most obscure characters ever introduced on screen. The superhero’s first two films have been more on the light side when it came to storytelling, but he also made his way into the larger MCU as a whole. The stakes have been smaller in Scott Lang’s previous adventures before Endgame when he became integral to the ultimate battle with the strongest being in the universe. With his third outing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, he has the big task to jump-start Phase Five of the Multiverse Saga is perhaps the most ambitious film out of the other films featuring the tiniest hero. The movie also introduces the audience to the next Big Bad of the MCU in the form of Kang the Conqueror. What Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has done is turn things around for better or worse when it comes to the larger universe and for our main hero.
The film begins with Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) embracing his status as an Avenger doing appearances and promoting his book accounting for his versions of what went down during Endgame. We also see him spending quality time with his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) as she learns about the mysteries of the Quantum Realm from both Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lily). The film doesn’t spend too much time on the family drama as it jumps straight into the action once everyone gets sucked into the Quantum Realm after Cassie’s signal from her device brings everything into this vast new world. This starts an adventure with Scott’s family as they uncover the secrets of the Quantum Realm with the help of Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Their journey soon becomes a matter of survival once they come face-to-face with a powerful adversary known as Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
The theme that carries throughout Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is family, which works well when developing some of the relationships between these characters. Scott and Cassie’s father-daughter relationship is one of the strong points of the movie thanks to the performances of Rudd and Newton. The film fully displays how Newton has grown in her father’s absence as he tries to make up for the lost time to be in her life. There’s definitely some growth that develops between them that delivers some really heartfelt moments between them. It is perhaps one of the film’s strongest elements that help bring the story together.
The same can be said when it comes to Pfeiffer’s role as Janet. There was little screen time in the last film to develop her character, but this movie really expands on her character as audiences learn more about what happened to her in the 30 years she was stranded in the Quantum Realm. Pfeiffer does a great job showcasing how strong and independent Janet is seeing her going through the trauma of living through the most painful years of her life being isolated from her family. It comes off as a powerful performance by the actress. She shares enough screen time with Douglas and Lily to create the special bond they share as a family going through this tough journey into the Quantum Realm together. Ultimately, we don’t get to see enough of Douglas and Lily as we like as they are pushed into the background after being a bigger part of the Ant-Man films prior to the third one.
Perhaps the most biggest character to make his presence in the movie is none other than Kang, delivered splendidly by Majors. We got to see a glimpse of him from Loki as a variant, but we see a whole different version of that character here. What we get from Kang is a vicious antagonizing threat who proves just how powerful and deadly he is. Majors put some layers into this character by making him out as someone who has found himself struggling with his purpose and ends up becoming who he is with the power that is given to him. Majors pulls off a brilliant performance showcasing the terror that Kang brings to the table, offering us a taste of his power and how smart and calculating he can be.
Kang is considered a powerful enemy of the Avengers, so seeing him go toe-to-toe against Ant-Man can be a little daunting and strange, to say the least. However, the action sequences we see between these two are made so well. The film manages to find ways to make Ant-Man much of an obstacle to Kang whenever they are put on screen together. It’s as if Kang was made to be a villain worth going against for Marvel’s tiniest hero who can also grow in size. The shots of them getting into a fistfight make the battle that much more engaging, building up the tension toward the film’s third act.
Another enemy that will certainly be grabbing audiences’ attention is the addition of MODOK. Comic book fans are aware of who this villain is, so it is interesting to see the floating head make his live-action debut. It does often feel weird seeing an oversized head in a weird-looking body. It is the case of a character looking good on the page but maybe not translating well on the screen. He does have an effect on you once you get to know him and his journey that led to his transformation. In some ways, it does fit into the narrative that carries over into the film.
Since most of the film takes place in the Quantum Realm, the visuals of this mini-universe are truly breathtaking. It is stunning and oftentimes wacky to see the inhabitants of this universe, something that hasn’t yet been explored in the MCU. It often gives you Journey to the Center of the Earth vibes when we see these characters traveling into this strange new world. It is a sci-fi film all the way through as we discover micro-species within this universe, offering some creativeness to this new group of characters we get introduced to. The only problem is, they are often put off as comedy relief instead of showcasing how they live life in this vast dimension they call home. It would be great to see how the oppression of these creatures started against Kang who took over their universe. It is definitely something that the film could’ve explored more in detail rather than be a background that just furthers the plot.
In the end, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania does represent some great ideas of creating a heartwarming story on family and looking deeper into the mysteries of the Quantum Realm. Majors and Pfeiffer offer some top-notch performances on screen, which does balance off some of the things that didn’t quite work in the film. It is Ant-Man at his finest when it comes to scaling, even though it doesn’t fully explore its themes as well as some of its other characters. It’s a promising start to what may come in Phase 5 as we go deeper into the Multiverse Saga.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases in theaters on February 17, 2023.
