Ant-Man & the Wasp : Quantumania Review

Ant-Man & the Wasp : Quantumania Review – Kang Conquers an Otherwise Standard MCU Affair

Ant-Man & the Wasp : Quantumania is the 31st film in the MCU, marking the start of its 5th phase.  Up until now, the Multiverse Saga has seen many various projects that either had little to do with the Multiverse, or heavily feature it.  With the start of Phase 5, Marvel aims to start connecting it all together and set up Kang as the next cross-movie threat, with Ant-Man and the Quantum Realm at the forefront.  The result is a film that can’t quite escape its MCU-isms, despite some creative ideas and one of the most intimidating villains of the MCU.

Majors’ Captures the Weight and Gravitas of the MCU’s Strongest Villains

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

One of the most important tasks this movie has is to make the audience fear the next cross-movie villain.  While the movie may have mixed results elsewhere, Kang is easily the best part of this movie.  While the audience got a glimpse of what Majors’ would bring to the MCU in Loki, his performance here shows why Kang is such a threat.  Kang carries some similarities to He Who Remains from Loki, mainly wanting to stop his other variants by any means necessary.

The difference, however, comes from the ruthlessness of Kang.  Quantumania thankfully cuts back on many of the MCU jokes, to the benefit of Kang.  When this character makes a threat, it’s clear that he is more than willing to follow through with it.  Even without his armor, which gives him his deadly abilities, the physicality Majors’ puts on display shows he is a threat in mind, body, and spirit.

A CGI Mixed Bag

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

One area Marvel has been struggling with in recent years is in CG.  Quantumania is no exception, though unlike other projects like She-Hulk where the CG floundered, or Wakanda Forever, which looked great, this film is somewhere in the middle.  One of the areas this film stands strong in is how creative the film can get with the Quantum Realm.  Strange creatures like broccoli people or living buildings inhabit the building.  Unique ideas such as a scene involving multiple Scotts, or the Quantum Realm itself stand as some of the most creative aspects of the MCU.

However, this film also includes the character of MODOK.  While this character has always looked ridiculous in the comics, the movie at first does a great job introducing the character and how dangerous he is.  That said, when the mask comes off and his face is revealed, it still somehow looks… not right, and not in the way it’s supposed to be intended.  It is one of the most uncomfortable instances of an uncanny valley recently.

Final Thoughts and Verdict – A New Dynasty Begins with Mixed Results

While these aren’t necessarily positives or negatives, there are some things to keep in mind.  Despite this movie having The Wasp as a titular character, she isn’t really all that important to the story.  This is more focused on Scott, his daughter Cassie, and of course, Kang.  All the actors are as charming as ever, and Kathryn Newton does a solid job as the adult Cassie.  In addition, the two post-credit scenes are worth staying for, especially the first one, which shows some of the dangerous things to come.

As it stands though, Ant-Man and the Wasp : Quantumania is simply a fine movie, but for how important this film is made out to be, is just being fine a good thing?  Phase 4 as it stands was a mixed bag, and if the MCU is going to survive, it needs to regain that consistency in quality from Phase 3.  As it stands, this movie is fine, but focus needs to be put into making future projects great, but this movie at least provides a solid enough basis to do so.

Final Rating – 6.5/10.

Check out the previous Ant-Man films on Disney+.