It’s a bright sunny day in beautiful San Francisco for Scott Lang. For us, we are probably in a movie theater wishing we could be the one giving Ant-Man a high five. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania managed to recapture our hearts and continue the story of Scott Lang and the Van Dyne family.
With the introduction to M.O.D.O.K. (Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) and getting our first glimpse at what Kang the Conqueror is actually capable of (Sorry He Who Remains), we are able to get ready for a wild ride the next few years. We didn’t know much about the plot for the first time in a while and it gives us answers as to where Daren Cross went, the hushed history of Janet Van Dyne and what Ant-Man is actually capable of.
While these two villains definitely confused me being matched up to Ant-Man, the team at Marvel showed us that no matter how small, you can definitely kick ass (or at least see Daren Cross’). You have this deadly iconic big headed character who is always in kill mode, but there’s actually some humanity to M.O.D.O.K. that influences the story. How he wasn’t able to kill anyone of importance in the MCU, I am not sure, but I will leave that up for the writers. What I will say, however, is that Kang is THE big bad. He is supposed to be the successor for Josh Brolin’s Thanos. We got to see how powerful Kang can be compared to just being told what he can do so how did this variant get defeated?
A lot of questions were answered regarding Janet’s past. She has been super closed off and reluctant to share her history throughout her time back from the quantum realm (a subatomic dimension where space and time have very different laws). Even in this film, she was extremely hesitant to share her past, but got to grow and open up, which is something we have been needing from her since she hasn’t gotten much screen time in the franchise. Her past is an important part of Kang’s story, making it necessary to know her side of the story to understand who Kang is.
Throwing in Cassie as a young Ant-Man (Antwoman? Antgirl? Antperson? Young Avenger?) as of right now it just appears like it is just a waste of time. I really believe Kathryn Newton lived up to the role and will probably have more character development as time goes on because that is just how Marvel works — most of us have accepted it at this point. Plus this wasn’t her story, it was Scott’s.
As you can see, there is not much Scott in this review, and it is most likely because Marvel wants to move forward in telling multiple stories and utilized this film as a way to give a torch to others. Whether it is for Cassie to be in the Young Avengers or just giving us way too many Antpeople all at once, Scott is still important. He gets to become a dad again. A responsible one. We’re proud of him.
Both post-credit scenes were worth the wait. We haven’t seen a mid or post credit scene that captivates us and illustrates what the saga’s big bad is capable of. We know Kang is going to be worse than Thanos and it clearly shows. If you have seen Loki, He Who Remains was not lying.
This film was worth the wait. If you’ve wanted to see Avengers: Infinity War or Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but haven’t had the time, this film sums up both movies very well. In addition to the film, it’s been announced that we’re also getting a canonical book, written by Ant-Man himself, Scott Lang. While it may not be a real celebrity memoir, I’ll definitely be adding it to my collection. If you are falling out of love with the MCU, this film will for sure bring you back.
TJ Bogart is a Junior Cinema-Photo major who is working on training an army of ants so that they can be the new Ant-Man. They can be reached at [email protected].