Director: Peyton Reed

Writers: Jeff Loveness, Jack Kirby

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Stars: Paul Rudd, Kathryn Newton, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Majors

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As Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) embraces his new normal after the events of Endgame, we catch up with him as he promotes his autobiography “Look Out for the Little Guy” whilst rebuilding his relationship with his daughter. At a family pizza night Cassie (Kathryn Newton) surprises her Dad when he finds out she has been studying the Quantumrealm and in a sudden accident the 5 Lang/Pyms get sucked into the whacky world of the Quantumrealm. 

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Freak event after freak event causes the party to be separated and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) leads Hank (Michael Douglas) and Hope (Evangeline Lilly), whilst Scott and Cassie find themselves caught up in a rebellion uprising against “The Conquerer”…

Enter Kang. 

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Jonathan Majors returns to the role of Kang the Conquerer after his cameo in the season one finale of the Disney+ series Loki. Kang has one ambition, to conquer all multiverses because of the horrors of his past. 

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Scott and his big team work together to find a way out of the Quantumrealm, whilst battling Kang and supporting the socialist uprising along the way. 

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Majors performance holds the entire film together in an unexpected way and develops the character in both his past but also his future. Kang is joined by comic book favourite M.O.D.O.K, who has a somewhat familiar face and is used as a violent pawn in Kang’s vicious game. 

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Cassie, now brilliantly played by MCU newcomer Kathryn Newton, is a rebellious teenager who supports the rights of those whose lives were ruined by the blip.  However, this socialist behaviour leads her into sticky situations, both in the Quantumrealm and in her reality. Newton is fantastic in the role and embodies the sass and confidence that Cassie has yet to bring to the Ant-Man stories. 

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The visual effects and world building bring an almost Star Wars edge to the MCU, the closest we’ve seen to this point is from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, however this time it is all consuming. Parts of this film was shot on the MCU volume and kudos to all involved in creating this wild and whacky world. Although occasionally ropey, the effects are vivid and fast paced, keeping up with the energy of the film and its pivotal characters. 

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Despite the ambitious surroundings and storytelling, ultimately the film felt like a character piece. Focusing on the relationships between Scott and his family and Kang and his past. 

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The full title of the film is Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, although including The Wasp in the title is unjustified as, yet again, Hope Van Dyne is completely underused. She has one epic moment towards the finale of the film but otherwise she is forgotten about and pushed to the side. A disservice to both character and performer. 

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Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with this film, it is completely different to anything seen in the MCU so far and manages to utilise the great character performers at its disposal. Majors and Newton are absolute standouts and Rudd manages to continue Ant-Man’s legacy with both humour and heart. I can’t wait to see it again and thanks to the TWO credit stings, I can’t wait to see what’s around the corner for Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.