“Despite Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s underwhelming moments, there is a joyousness to this film that I can’t quite shake,” says Annlyel James
It’s time for Ant-Man and the Wasp to explore Quantum Realm. But does it deliver Quantumania?
When Ant-Man was made eight years ago I never imagined the bug-themed superhero would end up having a trilogy. And yet, here we are, Ant-Man leading the charge of Phase 5 in his third outing. His first two movies were light comedic affairs with low stakes. His third movie is still light in tone but the stakes are Avengers-level high with significant implications for the future of this franchise moving forward. And that, of course, leads me to the main event of this film: Kang the Conqueror.
THE CONQUEROR
Ask anyone who’s seen this movie what their favorite aspect of this film was. There’s a good chance they’ll say Kang was the best thing about this movie. And they would be correct. Even though the movie has Ant-Man and the Wasp in the title, this story is all about Kang the Conqueror. Why? Well, there are a couple of factors.
One, the third Ant-Man film acts as an origin story for the villainous Kang variants the Avengers will have to face in the upcoming movies. Even though it takes a little while for him to show up when he does he dominates the story. Two, Jonathan Majors delivers literally one of the best comic book performances in any superhero film. In the same way that Thanos dominated Avengers: Infinity War due to Josh Brolin’s masterful portrayal of the purple genocidal space warrior Majors’ presence is magnetic. When he’s in a scene you pay attention to every word he says. Even though Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man is a character I’ve grown to love in this franchise he feels small (no pun intended) next to Majors’ bravado.
SCENE-STEALER
Due to Kang being such a scene-stealer in this film, there’s an accidental effect on the actual movie’s enjoyment. Because without him the movie is far less enjoyable. If I look past Kang’s inclusion in this film there is an underlying weakness to this story that becomes more and more apparent as the film goes on. Critics say this film feels like a Star Wars movie at times and I agree with them. Unfortunately, the Star Wars movie that I found myself comparing this movie to by the end of the film was The Rise of Skywalker. A movie that is notoriously seen as one of the worst, if not the worst Star Wars film because of its messy storyline and underwhelming finale. The same can be said about Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The story, lackluster as it is, flies by at a million mph. There are a bunch of character arcs to try and resolve all within less than two hours. And by the end, there is an array of plot holes to point out due to the simple fact that Kang and M.O.D.O.K were nerfed for the heroes to have a fighting chance in the film’s final battle.
VERDICT
Despite the movie’s underwhelming moments, there is a joyousness to this film that I can’t quite shake. Especially with the film’s final minutes delivering a feeling I haven’t felt since Infinity War: genuine dread. Sometimes the objection of a story is simply to make you happy. And as I walked out of that theater yesterday with a smile on my face, Quantumania had succeeded in its mission. The Kang Dynasty is coming and I couldn’t be more excited.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania from Marvel Studios is playing in theatres now!
Author
Hello everyone. My name is Annlyel James. I’m a young woman who loves movies of all genres (specifically ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel movies.) I am also a Senior Correspondent for The Future of the Force.
