As the opening film in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, has the difficult job of setting up the saga’s future, while simultaneously concluding the Ant-Man trilogy in a satisfying way. The film has its enjoyable moments, but overall, it is plagued with terrible dialogue, awkward pacing, and yet another formulaic ending.

THE PLOT

At the forefront of the film are Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, Evangeline Lily’s Hope Van Dyne, Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang, Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet Van Dyne. After an experiment involving a device sent down into the quantum realm goes wrong, the family is sucked into realm, with little to no knowledge of their surroundings, and no means of escape. The family must work together to explore their new environment and make their way home to San Francisco.

THE PROS

Paul Rudd is once again phenomenal as Ant-Man. It seems viewers can always rely on him for a heartfelt and entertaining take on the character.

Jonathan Majors’ Kang The Conqueror does a fantastic job delivering a menacing and emotional performance. After his variant’s brief introduction in the finale of season one of Loki, viewers met the character’s good-natured side. He Who Remains (a variant of Kang The Conqueror) was portrayed as a more considerate villain, only doing what was necessary to preserve the sacred timeline.

Here in Quantumania, Kang is a more fierce and rage-driven man. The film does a great deal to establish just how powerful and threatening Kang can be through his backstory, leaving viewers excited for the villain’s future.

THE CONS

Despite the many eccentric and peculiar aspects of the quantum realm in which the story takes place, I was still bored by this new and strange world, and felt the writers could’ve done a much better job building it. Worldbuilding is so essential in films, and this movie would’ve benefited from a more thought-out approach to it.

Another relevant character that I can’t say stuck the landing was M.O.D.O.K. Reprising his role as Daren Cross/Yellowjacket from the first Ant-Man film, Corey Stoll plays a new iteration of his character, whose limbs and torso shrank upon entering the quantum realm. While the character has always looked good in comics and other media, his transition onto the live-action big screen was underwhelming, and the horrific CGI used on him was hard to ignore.

Another notable con is the writing and pacing of the movie. It felt like some scenes could’ve been removed entirely, while others deserved more attention and elaboration. Marvel has lately amplified the frequency of jokes and comedy in their movies, and – like in the recent film Thor: Love And Thunder – the jokes don’t land the majority of the time.

Finally, members of the Lang family experience little to no character development. The film both physically and emotionally leaves the characters exactly where they began – which leaves viewers to wonder why the movie was even created in the first place.

VERDICT

While it may seem as if I’m being harsh on the movie, there is still much to enjoy. If you’re someone who loves everything Marvel has been putting out recently, you will likely walk out satisfied. But if you’re someone like me, who feels Marvel is leaning towards quantity over quality in recent years, you will probably feel disappointed, as we all know this studio is capable of producing incredible films.

At their best, Marvel movies have always offered either a grounded story in which the protagonist experiences lots of growth, or a grand collaboration between superheroes that drastically changes or impacts the hierarchy of the Marvel cinematic universe. Unfortunately for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, I can’t say this film falls into either of these categories.

FINAL SCORE: 5.5/10