Quantumania: Ant-Man vs. Kang

This review article contains movie spoilers from the new Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

When Scott Lang was first introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2015 at the end of Phase 2, I was eager to see how Paul Rudd would fare standing beside established greats like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Sharing a stage with such big names made me question how important of a role he would play in the Infinity Saga, but to my surprise, Paul Rudd was set to become the most underrated hero of the MCU.

For those of you who are caught up with every single movie and series included in the MCU, it’s no secret that Scott Lang is why everyone was able to be returned to their respective homes, due to his experience with the Quantum Realm and access to Pym particles. As we saw in Ant-Man and The Wasp in 2018, Scott, his partner, Hope Van Dyne, and Hank Pym were able to retrieve Hope’s mother, Janet from the Quantum Realm against all odds and reunite a broken family. 

But what did Janet leave behind after her 30 years of living within the Quantum Realm? The answer: untold secrets containing a looming threat to the entire multiverse.

Lang’s inner dialogue in Quantumania opens the movie utilizing his humorous character that we love so much, talking about how great his life is after defeating Thanos. Honestly, he has it all: adoring fans, his partner, his daughter, and his freedom.

Although he lost five years of watching his daughter grow up, he’s determined to be the great father figure he’s always wanted to be for Cassie. And she rightfully takes after him, by landing herself in jail numerous times for attending protests and fighting for social justice by using her own Pym particle suit to steal a cop car.

Cassie’s attitude throughout the film’s beginning toward Lang’s prioritization of concern over her future due to her growing rap sheet seemed to bug me, simply because of how short-sighted her thinking was. She saw his concern as a nuisance and took it as him not caring about the things that were happening within the community when all he wanted was to make sure that she didn’t follow the same thorny path as him.

The overall visuals of the movie seemed pretty standard to me for a Marvel movie, although the environment seemed a lot more like outer space, similar to the Guardians 2 movie. It definitely felt like their environment was foreign and unexplored territory, using a nice variety of chaotic color schemes and dark ambiance.

As always, the comedic bits were on par with Ant-Man’s reputation. From drinking the ooze to the blob character named Veb, whose fascinated by the number of holes that humans have, to the friendly, combat greeting between Janet and a band of ruffian travelers, there is not a dull moment in this movie. And of course, Scott Lang is always one to lend a sarcastic comment or two.

This movie also brings Kang the Conqueror into the spotlight as the next big bad of the MCU. His reputation for being a world killer and a threat to the multiverse is certainly present throughout most of this movie, but I will say that I never would’ve guessed that he’d be so quickly taken down by an army of enlarged, intellectual ants. Yes, read that correctly: ants. Also, the arrival and later redemption of M.O.D.O.K were nicely executed, seeing as how his character in Quantumania was made to be a joke.

In the end, Scott is reunited with his family to his own universe and Kang the Conqueror is vanquished. But even Lang’s inner monologue begs a few questions. Is all right with the world? Is Kang truly gone? Or have their actions reaped unknown consequences of higher proportions? The truth remains to be seen in the upcoming phases of the MCU.

My overall rating of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a solid 7.5/10.