Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Unlike Wakanda Forever, which seems to have mostly been a disappointment, Quantumania is getting very mixed responses. Leaving aside the people who think any new superhero movie marks the end of civilization as we know it, I think there are genuine criticisms, but that’s because not every Marvel movie aims to do the same things.

Wakanda Forever, as I’ve noted elsewhere in this issue, attempts to continue the anti-colonial theme of Black Panther. It is supposed to be a serious movie. Quantumania, aside from a quip about ants being Socialists, is pure popcorn. As such, it succeeds rather well, but if you were expecting anything more profound from it you will be disappointed.

My main objection to previous Ant Man movies was that they made too litte use of Janet van Dyne. By extension that means they made too little use of Hank Pym too, but then we all know that Hank is an idiot. It is bad enough to miss out on using a great character such as Janet, but when you have Michelle Pfeiffer on hand and make almost no use of her, well that’s criminal.

I am happy to report that in Quantumania, both Janet and Hank have much bigger roles. Also Hank is still an idiot. What the ants see in him, I do not know.

Given the bigger role for Janet, there is inevitably less for Hope to do, though she does get one spectacular entrance. Her role is further minimized by the presence of Cassie Lang who is now old enough to have her own supersuit in preparation for an assumed place in the Young Avengers. If there is a moral centre to the film, it is that Scott is only interested in keeping his daughter safe, while Cassie is prepared to sacrifice herself for the good of the people of the Quantum Realm who have been conquered by Kang.

Oh yes, Kang, or at least one of him. This is a very different Kang to the one we saw at the End of Time in the Loki TV series. This Kang has been banished to the Quantum Realm by all of the other Kangs for being too much of an arsehole. Anyway, Jonathan Majors continues to be superb in the role. Which is good because he’s going to be around a lot in future movies.

There are, I guess, three reasons for going to see Quantumania. The first is if you want to spend two hours eating popcorn and enjoying some ridiculous movie fun. The second is if you are a completist like me and want to keep up with everything that is happening in the MCU. And finally, if you are a fan of Janet van Dyne, this is the movie where we finally get to see her strut her stuff. Old lady superheroes FTW!