Unlike the first two Ant-Man films which were fairly slight, light-hearted affairs, Quantumania is an epic, crazy sci-fi adventure, which not only kicks off Phase 5 of the MCU, but which also properly introduces the big villain of The Multiverse Saga, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). Yet despite the increased stakes, the film still retains the humour and sense of fun that made the earlier Ant-Man movies so enjoyable.

Premise: After saving the world in Avengers: Endgame, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a little directionless, much to the annoyance of his now-teenage daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), while Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) is struggling to get her mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) to open up about her time in the Quantum Realm. In an attempt to build some familial bridges, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) helps Cassie and Hope with a project to map the Quantum Realm, but during a test, a mysterious force reaches out from within the Quantum Realm and pulls the family down into the subatomic universe.

Review:

To address the elephant in the room from the off, for some reason the early reviews for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania were surprisingly mixed, but having seen the film, I’m not sure why this was. Perhaps it was because some viewers/critics are suffering from ‘Marvel fatigue’ (this is the 31st film in the MCU, after all), perhaps it was because the outlandish, bizarre sci-fi aesthetic of the Quantum Realm was too much for some, perhaps it’s because some people couldn’t settle into the tonal shifts between the comedy and the more dramatic moments, or perhaps it’s because the collective groupthink has decided that Marvel’s output since Avengers: Endgame has been universally disappointing – but all I can say is that I had a tonne of fun with this film, as did everyone else who I saw it with.

Whereas the 2015 Ant-Man movie was a comedic heist movie, and the 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp was a light-hearted ‘palate-cleanser’ after the traumatic events of Avengers: Infinity War, Quantumania is fundamentally a more dramatic proposition. After finding themselves transported down to the subatomic Quantum Realm, the Lang/Pym/van Dyne family find themselves caught up in a war for freedom against an oppressive Conqueror – which is a far cry from the small-scale, Earth-bound stakes of the first two Ant-Man films. As a result, this movie does feel very different from the earlier films, and is missing certain (beloved) ingredients, such as Michael Peña as the fast-talking Luis.

“…Kathryn Newton brings lots of layers to the expanded role of Cassie Lang…”

But it’s to director Peyton Reed‘s credit that he doesn’t succumb to the temptation to bring everybody back for this sequel, as so many lesser sequels do. As fun as Luis was in the earlier films, audiences can always tell when a character has been crowbarred in for the sake of it, and it’s better not to bring a character back unless you have something worthwhile to do with them. And by clearing some space in the script this way, the movie is able to introduce some great new characters, including William Jackson Harper as the telepathic Quaz, and a blob-creature called Veb that’s voiced by David Dastmalchian.

However, arguably the biggest “new” character is Cassie Lang. Yes, she’s been in the previous two Ant-Man films as well as Avengers: Endgame, but here the role has been greatly expanded to become arguably the film’s the third main protagonist. Taking over the expanded role is the up-and-coming Kathryn Newton, who was excellent in Freaky and who brings lots of layers to a character that could have easily become a ‘moody teenager’ trope. Instead, the love and bond between Cassie and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) which was at the heart of the earlier films is still there, but this time there’s a believable friction between them, as Cassie is full of the unrestrained idealism of youth, while Scott has settled into a more comfortable rut.

“…Michelle Pfeiffer arguably takes second lead behind Paul Rudd…”

But if Cassie is a character that’s benefitted from more development and screentime, it’s probably fair to say that Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) is still a little underserved. Despite being one of the two title characters, Hope’s character is still largely defined in terms of her relationships with the other characters (mainly Scott and Janet), rather than having a character arc of her own. But that said, an argument could be made that Hope is not the ‘Wasp’ referred to in the film’s title – I joked in my review of the 2018 sequel that the third film should be called Ant-Men and the Wasps, and in this threequel, it’s Janet van Dyne who arguably takes centre stage behind Scott as the film’s second main protagonist.

Michelle Pfeiffer may have only got a few minutes of screentime in the 2018 sequel, but here, the secrets that she’s held onto from her 30 years trapped in the Quantum Realm are the driving force for the main plot, and Michelle Pfeiffer gets plenty to do during the course of the film (although she does seem to get a little side-lined in the final act, as the younger characters lead the action sequences). The prominence that Michelle Pfeiffer’s and Kathryn Newton’s characters are given does mean that there’s a lot less screentime for Michael Douglas’ original Ant-Man Hank Pym, but a bit like with the omission of Michael Peña’s Luis, it’s perhaps best not to force additional subplots into a film that aren’t strictly needed. That said, while Michael Douglas does have a lot less to do in this film than in the previous two, the moments that he does get all make an impact, so perhaps sometimes less is more.

“…Jonathan Majors’ performance is arguably the highlight of the film…”

Of course, although this is a spoiler-free review, we have to talk about the performance that makes the most impact in this film, and that’s Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. Jonathan Majors previously played a ‘variant’ of Kang (known as He Who Remains) in the Loki TV series, but here he makes his first ‘proper’ appearance in the MCU, and he doesn’t disappoint. If you’re going to spend the first half of the movie building up the threat and reputation of an unseen villain, that villain better deliver when he does finally arrive – and Kang certainly does that in this movie. Jonathan Majors’ performance is arguably the highlight of the film, as he approaches the role in a quiet, understated way that only intensifies the character’s menace, and his cold and calculating ruthlessness makes him an instantly formidable antagonist. And just like some of the MCU’s best villains, there is a twisted, misguided logic to his viewpoint – in this case, Kang very much sees himself and his rule of the multiverse as a necessary evil to protect it from an even greater threat.

Kang’s introduction at the start of Phase 5 – following on from the big-screen multiversal antics of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in Phase 4 – firmly establishes the direction of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, the three-phase overarching storyline following on from Phases 1 to 3’s Infinity Saga. But Quantumania doesn’t lose sight of the need to tell a complete story in this film, even while it’s setting up future plot threads – for example, the introduction of M.O.D.O.K. in this film came as a complete surprise to me. M.O.D.O.K. is an inherently ridiculous (borderlining on silly) premise for a villain, but somehow Quantumania managed to not only find a way to make him work onscreen, but also to use the concept of the character in an entirely unexpected (and surprisingly satisfying) way.

“combines comedic moments with interesting sci-fi concepts & genuinely emotional character beats…”

There are many, many other nice touches that add to the enjoyment of the film, from the crazily inventive visuals in the Quantum Realm, to Christophe Beck’s vibrant score. If I’m nit-picking, there are a few moments in the Quantum Realm that feel a little bit “greenscreen-y”, but they’re far outweighed by the imaginative use of CGI to make the subatomic world and its inhabitants unlike anything that’s been seen on the big screen before. The excellent “probability storm” scene is a brilliant example of how the film is able to combine comedic moments with interesting sci-fi concepts and genuinely emotional character beats.

Overall, if you’ve had your fill of Marvel/superhero films, then this is unlikely to turn you around, and equally, if you go into this expecting the kind of emotional highs that you got from Avengers: Endgame, then of course you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re looking for a fun couple of hours, then Quantumania is an absolute blast, combining out-there sci-fi concepts and laugh-out-loud moments with the introduction of Marvel’s next genuinely intimidating big-screen villain.

Also, make sure you stay for the two end-credit scenes, both of which set up where Phase 5 of the MCU may be going from here…