The word ‘Ant-Man’ is a synonym for everything lighthearted, hilarious and sneaky. Simply because of the perception shaped by Peyton Reed’s first two Ant-Man movies. Paul Rudd’s quips, the quirky Edgar Wright-ish fighting sequence and Michael Pena’s cheeky summary of the film? Ant-Man was made for feel-goodness.
But everything changed, not when the fire nation attacked but with the emergence of Kang the Conqueror, who first appeared in LOKI season 1. The mood surrounding the first trailer, building the momentum towards his grand reveal was nothing short of suspenseful and menacing; a stark contrast to the earlier films. This time, it felt like Marvel wanted Ant-Man to play a bigger role in the MCU (no pun intended) - and with Quantamania, they actually did.
Ant-Man & The Wasp Quantamania starts out chirpy and silly, similar vibe to the previous films, before descending quickly into pure interdimensional chaos. The movie explores Scott and Cassie’s relationship post-Blip; a theme familiar to fans who watched the first film. Due to, well, severe lack of communication and other common family problems, somehow the pair together with the other family members end up in the Quantum realm, unveiling what Janet Van Dyne has been keeping mum since she returned.
Weirdly, despite having her name on the title, the current Wasp played a fairly limited role in the movie. Instead, Janet, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, functions as a key figure in the movie (she is the first Wasp, anyway). No complaints for us since Pfeiffer killed it in her role.
However, despite a number of emotional confrontations, this one lacks a bit of heart. Some of the supposed ‘emotional’ scenes felt forced and were either overdone or recycled. However, its shortcomings are understandable, given the function of this film in the bigger picture.
The ‘bigger’ role we mentioned is the introduction of Kang the Conquerer, a more sinister variant of the character in comparison with the version that appeared in Loki. For some context, Kang first appeared in the Avengers comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1964, a comic that also featured Hank Pym (original Ant-Man/Giant-Man) and Janet Van Dyne (original Wasp). Honestly, the cunning comic version of Kang didn’t leave a mark on us but Jonathan Majors’ interpretation is vividly more diabolical and frightening - redefining the character.
Personally, Kang the Conquerer was the highlight of the film. The way Peyton Reed angles Kang’s presence, the fear in other characters’ eyes whenever the thought of him comes to mind. If Thanos took a while to scare the audience, Kang only took one film. If you’re not an Ant-Man fan but eager to see Kang’s official introduction on the big screen? Then you won’t be disappointed.
Ant-Man & The Wasp Quantamania isn’t perfect but it has the right balance of thrill, humour and excitement of what’s to come. 6.5/10.