Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Phillipe Andro

Marvel studios storms into theatres once again with its latest installment in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as it sets up the intriguing future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film essentially poses the question: What if Ant-Man was in an Avengers movie – all by himself?

The film follows Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) as Ant-Man, as he learns to adapt to life following the universe-threatening events of Avengers: Endgame. After which, he returned home to find his daughter, Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), five years older. Scott struggles to grapple with this, having missed out on the crucial younger years of his daughter`s life. But then a dubious experiment goes wrong, causing Scott, Cassie and the rest of the Ant-Man family to be shrunk down and thrust into the enigma that is the Quantum Realm.

There they find a haunting new world, where they soon discover that they are not alone. They encounter the malevolent - Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who now rules over the Quantum Realm. Kang is a sinister and vengeful being, having once been powerful enough to travel to different universes and communicate with different versions of himself. But his ultimate goal is simple: to CONQUER wherever he goes.

With this immense power and wisdom, Kang uses Scott`s responsibility to protect his daughter against him. He plans on doing everything in his power to prevent them from slowing his cataclysmic crusade across the multiverse.

Our group of heroes must then embark on treacherous journey to defeat Kang and escape the Quantum Realm. Will Ant-Man be able to take-on and defeat the force of nature that is Kang? Or will he be crushed under Kang`s boot and award Kang another sweet victory over another fallen Avenger?

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania excels best as a movie when exploring the world within the Quantum Realm. It truly feels like a Star Wars-movie inside the MCU. With various alien-like creatures and beings inhabiting the Realm. The music score is operatic and very cinematic, and a highlight of the film for sure. The true standout that makes this film worthwhile is Jonathan Major`s portrayal of Kang the Conqueror. He is exceptional at pulling off the personality of a more restrained villain, who does his best to play up appearances to get what he wants from others. But every nowand-then his deep-seeded rage will seep through his deceit to create a truly menacing antagonist. The film embraces the more outlandish and wackier side to marvel comics, which sets this film apart from other Marvel entries.

However, the film does often suffer from an over-reliance on the use of green screen and visual effects to pull you out of the experience. Some dramatic and key-moments can be overshadowed by some misplaced Marvel, which at times was unpleasant.

Overall, the film succeeds in introducing Marvel`s next big-baddy and establishing Kang as the future threat to the Avengers. It focuses on a new and unexplored world filled with mystery, creative creatures and wonder. It sets up the future of the MCU and gives Ant-Man his most daring adventure yet.