Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When you take a new step into storytelling, you have to prepare for imperfection because no story is going to feel such for everyone. This statement couldn’t be anymore true when Marvel Studios started Phase 5 of the MCU with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

PLOT

The film follows Scott Lang who has begun another path in his life after taking part in undoing Thanos’s snap. He has written a book of his past adventures as Ant-Man, whereas the Pym family have been exonerated after the Sokovia Accords being repealed. Now, Scott’s girlfriend Hope Van Dyne has rebranded her father Henry/Hank’s foundation to use Pym Particles for a global change, earning herself a Humanitarian Award in the process. Although Scott appreciates the life he has with her family, things are more strained than before with his now teenage daughter Cassie. When he was stuck in the Quantum Realm during the Blip Era, she has been grown as a political activist to defend people that became displaced in the said era. One day, she shows her father a new device she made with Hank & Hope that can establish contact from the other side of the Quantum Realm. Due to Hank’s wife Janet having an unspoken traumatic experience being stuck there for decades, she forcefully shuts off the device. It would only be too late because all five of them would be pulled into the realm. Scott & Cassie would be separated from the Pyms as they would try to figure a way back to their dimension. The Langs would meet a group of rebels while the Pyms meet a former friend of Janet’s named Lord Krylar (Bill Murray).  The latter shares with them that things have drastically changed since Janet left because after she did, a conqueror named Kang became a new ruler for the Quantum Realm. Although he is assigned to arrest them, he does warn them that the Langs will join them as well. When the Pyms escape from authority, Janet finally explains to her family of her experience: At one point, she found him as a traveler exiled from his council. She tried to help him rebuild his ship that can help him travel through the multiverse, but when she saw that the exile resulted from him destroying entire timelines, she chose to enlarge the ship’s power core beyond use. Because he had no choice to stay, he still had the resources originating from the 31st century to make his own civilization dubbed Axia. Scott & Cassie would encounter Freedom Fighters who know that Janet’s encounter with the Conqueror inadvertently led to him ruling the Quantum Realm. They soon get attacked by a Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing (MODOK), who turns out to be an old enemy they remember to be Darren Cross. He has proven to have survive but became dis-informed due the destruction of his Yellowjacket suit; The destruction left him to have a massive head and tiny limbs that led to his necessity of a weaponized hover chair as a result of being Kang’s servant. He takes the Langs to the Conqueror and with his display of power, he convinces Scott to retrieve his power core. Around the time he uses his own set of Pym Particles to shrink the core, Hope would arrive with her parents to help him shrink it. However, Kang would take it for himself and go back on his promise to free Cassie from captivity. He would then take Janet with him and have Darren attack Hank, destroying the ship he was piloting. With Hank’s hyper intelligent ants pulled into the Quantum Realm as well, he, Hope and Scott have enough help to take the stand against Axia. Having Janet to himself in his quarters, he gets the chance to give his own explanation of being exiled: He was wiping out timelines as his plan to thwart his council who exiled him out of fear. With the use of her own suit to shrink & enlarge, Cassie breaks out of captivity and frees rebel leader Jentorra (Katy M. O’Brian). Together, they rally the rest of the freedom fighters to attack Axia. As that happens, Scott turns into Giant Man to break through Kang’s citadel. When the conqueror joins the fight, he gets briefly outnumbered by the ants a rebelling Darren, but he quickly overpowers what surrounds him until fighting the heroes. Janet would fix the core to open a portal back home. She goes through alongside her family , but Kang fights Scott for the way out. With Hope’s help, the Ant-Man is able to defeat the Conqueror by throwing more Pym Particles to destroy the core. It’s distortion would suck the villain into the core and would be declared dead. It does close Janet’s door but with Cassie’s satellite, she is able to open a new portal to bring back her dad back. Although Scott is happy to have survived another adventure, he does admit to himself concern of what can happen after the death of Kang but chooses to not overthink it. A mid credit scene would show Kang’s council, that turn out to be countless variants of himself, who happen to grow worry too many outsiders are knowing of the multiverse and could destroy their dynasty. The film would end in a post credit cliffhanger, showing TVA agents Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) investigate a Kang variant named Victor Timely.

THOUGHTS

The best way to discuss this film is through Pros and Cons.

PROS: We all know Marvel fans like myself have had high expectations towards the MCU after the gigantic success it gained through the Infinity Saga (from 2008 to 2019). When the franchise came back with companion shows and specials that would crossover with the films as part of the Multiverse Saga (starting from 2021), we had to be prepared for each possible direction that would be taken. While some entries weren’t amazing, it doesn’t immediately mean it’s terrible. This is definitely the case here because Director Peyton Reed gives another overall entertaining adventure. The first two had low stakes in comparison due to being centered of heists. This film takes a massive turn and focuses on the new arc for the saga that is to protect the multiverse. Because Ant Man had been involved in low stake adventures before taking part in the fight against Thanos, we never thought we’d see him and his inner circle go through this without the Avengers. Nevertheless, that wouldn’t mean that it wasn’t exciting to get through. It was unexpected and worthwhile which made the whole viewing experience better. While I have my issues with MODOK’s design, I do believe overall designs of the Quantum Realm was incredibly unique to witness from beginning to end. I never thought we’d get this exploration after Endgame, which only made me grateful of every second we got out of it. Every glimpse of its sky to the vast colors surrounding the citizens and its locations were still surreal to me. Even the costumes given to the vast residents were impressively distinguishable. I never said it before, but I really appreciate Christophe Beck’s compelling score used throughout the trilogy as in each time, especially here, because you felt all the simultaneous intensity & excitement we’re supposed to feel. Since the first two were comedies at heart, you still get some fair shares of laughter like every callback to Baskin Robbins, Ruben Rabasa innocently mistaking Scott to be Spider-Man or William Jackson Harper’s Quaz openly irritated of his ability to be a telepath. Considering how different this movie is, you would think this stuff shouldn’t fit yet it does and I’m relieved that it does. While I surprise myself when I say this isn’t the best Ant Man movie, I still think it’s a good film period because the new stakes are able to share a whole other theme this time around: Here, we come to understand that the older we get, we have to be reminded why we do what we do. We’ve been in love with Paul Rudd’s portrayal of Scott Lang because behind the comedic quips, we admire how much he cares for his loved ones. All he wants to do is be with his daughter and he’s gone through multiple side bumps to get that. And now that he does, it is a challenge for him to prevent himself from losing it again. He chose to slow down with his heroic duties because it is his opportunity to catch up on her life he missed out on. Seeing how much of a difference Cassie wants to make, he is reminded that he chose to be a hero because it feels good to help people in need. When she’s in danger, dad mode becomes avengers mode for him because the last thing he wants is for her to get hurt. So when he calls out Kang in giant form, you knew he was done holding back. Even when he wasn’t sure how to stop Kang, he continued his heroism when destroying the core. He knew of the true greater good that was giving up his fatherhood to prevent a Conqueror from destroying his daughter’s life along with infinite others. Thankfully, he didn’t have to miss out anymore of hers. I don’t even blame him for choosing to not overthink of what can happen after Kang’s defeat because there is no way he could’ve guaranteed there is more to come. For now, he deserves to be at peace before he is needed again. Considering how the legacy of heroes can pass on, I think it’s great to see Scott have the chance to pass it on to Cassie For those who were lucky enough to see the the way Hank did for Hope. Kathryn Newton had big shoes to fill and she was lucky enough to fit right in to this recurring role. She reminded us Cassie is always a hero at heart because she is always acting with compassion and can’t stand it when people refuse to help. Seeing her adopt her heroic persona that is ‘Stature’, her experience arguably improves by the second. Even though it was an accident to make a Quantum satellite, it was still used to best advantage to bring her dad back. And you know you’re a hero if you can convince heroes to switch sides. It shouldn’t be easy for anyone, but she made it appear such when encountering MODOK. On the other hand, Evangeline Lilly still has us appreciate Hope for always being focused no matter what surrounds her. All she wanted was to reconnect with her mother, but with her being rightfully secretive, it led to a roller coaster of a journey for them to get there. While that could’ve been avoided, it didn’t stop her from being on the same page to overcome a big threat. She even proves to be a good tutor in general since she and her dad Hank quipped Cassie her first suit because she knew had the potential. And her defending Scott from Kang reminded us how compatible they are for each other, as they refuse to let danger separate them. I was conflicted on how Janet would be re introduced during the second film because she deserved to be more than a macguffin. However, the casting of Michelle Pfeiffer had me lessen my worry as this film properly fleshed her out. The fact she knew about Kang and chose to not talk about it proves how traumatic her experience was. Yes she could’ve saved all the trouble by giving enough details to stay away from the Quantum Realm, but even in a universe where superheroes exist, it’s never easy to digest that the multiverse exists as well. She spent as long as she could to run from what scared her and once Kang found his way back to her, even she came around to understand the benefit of running away is temporary. If her relationship with him proved anything else about her, she remained selfless by putting others before herself. She could’ve went straight home and let Kang do what he wanted, but knew it wasn’t worth allowing. It may have been temporary to enlarge the core before Scott & Hope destroyed it, but it bought some time for the multiverse to prepare for inevitable danger. I still dig Michael Douglas because although Hank isn’t as experienced either in comparison to his wife, it doesn’t stop him from putting his knowledge to good use in order to help however. We’re lucky to see it still pay off when his ant army came through during the climax. For those who got to see the first season of Loki beforehand and saw the first Kang variant, He Who Remains, you knew we just reached the beginning of the most villainous reign of an antagonist since Thanos. Apart from the distinguishable others like Victor Timely or those who make up the Council (Immortus, Rama Tut & Centurion), Jonathan Majors is at his most memorable when playing the exiled one. Kang lives up to the hype to being downright psychotic. He thinks there is a benefit to the madness which is eliminating timelines that wipe out trillions of variants. He thinks there is a greater good to his actions, but is truly doing this because he thinks he is the only version of himself that should exist. Rather than making a compromise with the Council, he was only concerned with putting himself over them all which embarked him on an impossible conquest. He doesn’t care about order as long as he is at the top of his own food chain and he chose to be violent in hopes to ensure just that. Every scream and every grunt he unleashed when in action, you knew hesitation doesn’t exist in his genes because that’s how determined he is to get what he wants. The fact that he was pretty close to getting out only proves frightened we should be when there’s a dictator on the loose. With him out of the picture, we could not have predicted what the council would have in store for us by the time should they ever make a move. And if the second season of Loki did anything for us, it only delayed what was inevitable.

CONS:

I’m not gonna deny that I had a good time watching this movie, but it doesn’t excuse the issues I caught onto upon rewatching. Like I’m definitely not the only one who thought it was a bad idea for Darren to be MODOK. I got nothing against Corey Stoll since he chews it up so well. Even if it makes sense for it to happen, you’re not only enforcing things to come full circle, but also wasting an interesting character. Had they stuck with the material and made MODOK a separate character, as well as having better visual effects on him, I would’ve not minded at all for Stoll to play the original version named George Tarleton. Because they didn’t go that, it was hard for me to tolerate anything he says/does. Now I did respect him standing up to Kang because that guy was abusive to him, but I really hard time caring about him when he died doing so. I was about to tip my hat when he said he died an Avenger because that’s technically what happened, but you lose me when he calls Scott a brother. That is absolute bullshit because he only knew him for one night trying to kill him and Cassie. I also cannot be the only one wondering where are the supporting characters from the past Ant Man movies? I can ignore Maggie & Paxton since they weren’t really involved in the second film, but it’s not gonna stop me from wondering where are Scott’s friends from X-CON. You had David Dastmalchian who played Kurt from before to play the alien Veb, yet they couldn’t tell us any kind of whereabouts for either Kurt, Luis or Dave. One sentence can do the trick for me and it’s annoying that Scott probably doesn’t know when he should. The same thing has to be said with Ava aka Ghost because Ant Man was trying to capture quantum energy for her and got stuck in the Quantum Realm due to the Blip. I know Ghost returns in Thunderbolts, but since he and the Pyms were trying to save her, they should be concerned of her whereabouts as well. Going into the main story, I’m wondering how come Kang never tried replicating the formula to Pym Particles? He had the advanced technology to make his own civilization in the Quantum Realm and knew that formula would be the only way to get back the core, yet there is no confirmation if he even tried. That is pretty crazy to realize for one of the most intimidating villains to date. And if he’s beaten a high amount of Avengers from other timelines, he should’ve remembered how to take down Ant Man’s ant army. I know we should accept all possibilities when the multiverse is a factor, but it’s still not the best surprise of an ant army to overwhelm him when he’s taken on tougher challenges. Also, how did MODOK know what the Probability Storm was? Did Kang actually try having him get the core before Janet returned? There should be an explanation on how he knows this shit. Of all the mistakes Hank makes, it definitely weird for him to touch a floating entity as he’s following his wife. Sure Janet says nothing of it which implies she knows it’s safe, but because Hank has been a cautious scientist, he should know the danger of touching the unknown. It’s like begging to be the next Kane from Alien. I don’t want to sound like an idiot, but is there any form of cash in the Quantum Realm? Janet clearly didn’t pay for a single drink so if Krylar paid for anything, I wouldn’t mind that clarification either. I’m going a little bit off point but I got to get this off my chest as well: If Veb has a fascination of having holes he can’t shut up about, why didn’t the Freedom Fighters please him by actually shooting at him? At least one person from the group should’ve known that would work. And if the exiled Kang is gone for good, shouldn’t Janet be worried about the council? She knows who they are and if she really wanted prevent history repeating itself, she should speak up before it gets worse. On the other hand, should the council really be mad about the exiled one getting killed in his own imprisonment? Yes they should be worried of non related variants uncovering the multiverse, but they should be relieved their greatest problem got dealt with. I really don’t want to be more nit-picky than I already am, but how come Scott & Cassie spend most of their time having their helmets off when encountering MODOK for the first time? You can call it an excuse for the actors to have facetime, but since they’re in a whole other area of the Quantum Realm that’s new for them both, they should be protecting their faces as well. Lastly, would it still be a bad idea to contact the Quantum Realm after Kang is presumed dead? I wouldn’t think so because we need a lot of allies for future threats and the Council of Kangs is proof of that. To wrap up, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ain’t the greatest opening for Phase 5, yet is entertaining enough to keep the investment rolling for the rest of the Multiverse Saga. If you’ve already been invested due to past entries, it feels like a No brainer you’ll enjoy this as well.