In Defense of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Jesus Cortez – Writer

Spoilers Warning

The MCU has been eaten alive over its recent projects; for example, Thor: Love and Thunder and She-Hulk were poorly received, and now so is the latest installment of Ant-Man. There have been multiple articles insisting that the movies are a dumpster fire and even claiming the downfall of the MCU, though I would argue that the movies are not as bad as many claim them to be.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania picks up Scott’s story after the events of Endgame with new elements in his life like an older (and recast) Cassie Lang, a newly published book, and more recognition for being Ant-Man. The story focuses on Scott, Cassie, Hope, Janet, and Hank Pym getting sent to the Quantum Realm and needing to escape from Kang The Conquerer and other Quantum Realm beings. While the movie may have some flaws, here are some of the things that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania did right.

Kang The Conquerer

Kang was built to look scary strong throughout the film. Jonathan Majors helped tremendously in this role to make Kang look threatening and unmerciful. When he captured both Scott and Cassie, he showed that he was willing to kill Cassie to achieve what he believed was his purpose. While it can be argued that many young heroes get threatened by villains, this one felt different since it was her first appearance as a hero, making her look more vulnerable.

It was also eerily cool to hear him tell Scott that he has killed The Avengers before. He struggled to understand which Avenger Scott was because “They all blur together after a while”. His power is also shown in their final battle scene through sound as Scott’s punches sound like taps while Kang’s sound like canons. A little subtle showing is always appreciated.

Overall, Kang felt like a much stronger villain than others from stand-alone MCU films and may even be the key highlight of the film. He is slated to be a big bad for the next coming films, though the future of Kang is uncertain due to the controversy involving Jonathan Majors.

The Supporting Characters

I want to give a big shout-out to Veb as he stole the show when it comes to the Quantum characters. Voiced by the funny David Dastmalchian, Veb reminded me of Korg from the Thor series, which is an absolute win. His social awkwardness made him a very charming character which made many viewers happy to see him finally get his holes.

Other characters like the telepath Quaz added charm to the film and did well to support Paul Rudd in the humor scenes. I would even throw M.O.D.O.K. in here as he was also in some of the funny scenes in the movie, especially in his final moments as he died an Avenger. Really love how everyone wants to be an Avenger as if they were kids and The Avengers was the cool club in school.

The Humor

This one may be an unpopular opinion but the humor really wasn’t as bad as many think. Comic books are known for being campy, so it shouldn’t be too surprising when comic book films carry over a little of that campiness, especially one led by Paul Rudd.

Speaking of Paul Rudd, he carried the humor throughout the movie but the supporting characters did a lot to help. Most of the humor came from awkward social situations, which Paul Rudd does well. This is seen in Scott’s interactions with Veb, Quaz, M.O.D.O.K., and the humans in his everyday life.

The humor isn’t for everyone, but it’s also not terrible.

The CGI

Hear me out here. I am not saying that the CGI was phenomenal because it wasn’t. However, the CGI also was not as bad when all things are considered. The CGI was extreme but it also sort of needed to be, since the majority of the movie took place in the Quantum Realm.

It is understandable why CGI would be heavily used in this specific film, though more practical effects would have been beneficial. While the negatives of the CGI might have given off Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over vibes, some scenes reminded me of Star Wars with all the extraterrestrial beings and the lighting effects.

Moving Forward

While I am defending this film, there are also things that I hope they do differently moving forward. First thing, don’t leave out our guy Luis. He is a staple of the franchise and is a fan favorite that is rightfully expected to be in the movie.

I think the movie tried to do too much for its own good. Picking a few big ideas and rolling with those selected themes would work better. For example, the movie could have better fleshed out the relationship between Scott and Cassie. It would have worked better to have her return to save Scott instead of Hope in the final scene to better cement their relationship as heroes.

The big thing for all MCU movies is making each stand-alone film feel important. I love that each movie connects with the universe but the endings to each respective movie need to feel important and not rushed. This specific version of Kang packed a lot of story potential but feels wasted with how abrupt the ending was.

Overall, the movie was not as terrible as many critics claim it to be. It was funny when it needed to be and serious at other points. The new characters alongside Scott Lang carried the humor and gave the movie a charming feel, while Kang brought back the serious tone, never feeling campy. While the CGI wasn’t too great, it makes sense as to why it was heavily utilized in this film.

So if you like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, that’s okay. There is plenty to enjoy. If you don’t, that’s also fine.