Dog’s Movie House: “Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania” A Good Start To The Next Big Marvel Storyline!

“Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania” is the most ambitious of the three Ant-man movies by far and director Peyton Reed is mostly up to the challenge. He stages and frames the exotic and colorful Quantum Realm with bright splashes of color and flash, cramming every frame with wonderous visuals. Honestly, it would take multiple viewings to see everything and that’s one of the film’s strong points. The other is in the performances. Paul Rudd does a great everyman turn as Scott and he gets a little more serious here when it comes to dealing with his daughter. Newton is equally good as Cassie, and some of the moments between the two are the best in the film. Lilly and Douglas have their moments, but their presence in the film is somewhat muted compared to some of the other characters. And the ever delightful Pfeiffer actually becomes a pivotal character as her arc is resovled from her long time spent in the Quantum Realm during the other movies.

The MVP of “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania” is Jonathan Majors as Kang. Since he’s poised to be the big bad during this new overreaching MCU arc, it’s important for Kang to leave an impression, and Majors doesn’t disappoint. He has a quiet charisma that leaves just enough humanity to allow the audience to sympathize with him before he shows off his evil side. It’s a delicious performance that heralds the arrival of the next big bad in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one that might actually surpass Thanos.

The effects are very good and the action set pieces are fairly creative. The one point where “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania” is inconsistent is in the humor, which is suprising because the laughs are a hallmark and highlight of the previous films. One of the issues is the lack of Michael Pena’s scene-stealing Luis although his absence makes sense given the nature of the story. But for whatever reason Jeff Loveness’ script is inconsistent when it comes to the jokes, particularly when it comes to Corey Stoll’s MODOK. The killer robot with the big head has an interesting visual look but the humor undercuts some of MODOK’s otherwise compelling story. Some of the jokes land with something of a thud, but that doesn’t really hurt the movie: it just keeps it from acheiving classic status.

Overall, “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania” is a fine piece of cinematic entertainment and a worthy entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. See it on the big screen for the plentiful visuals and Rudd and Major’s performances. “Quantumania” proves that there are still some original stories to tell in the superhero universe. 4 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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