Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Recap: Paul Rudd is back in action, but has he found his match in Jonathan Majors’ Kang, and what does this mean for the launch of Phase 5 of the MCU?

With the Avengers: Endgame Now that it’s been history for a few years, and its place at the box office is currently being questioned more by Avatars than any other Marvel character, at the behest of Marvel CEO Kevin Feige, the MCU is now entering Phase 5 and using the third feature film incarnation of ant man and the multi-villain thoroughbred rise of Kang The Conqueror to continue this in an essentially self-contained transitional film. As such Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a mixed bag that still retains the lighter comedy of the 2015 original and its 2018 sequel, both set in San Francisco, but now takes us deep into a subatomic universe where the family characters wield both good and evil forces and some crazy new creatures that look like they came straight out of you war of stars Bar and a mission to save this dizzying community of colorful creatures terrorized by another comic book legend, now embodied by the imposing and talented Jonathan Majors, who clearly aspires to be the next big player in the MCU.

As things get rolling, we see that Hope Van Dyne aka The Wasp (Evangelne Lilly back in fashion) has managed to get her mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer in a welcome lead role here), who has been in the Quantum for 30 years Realm lives, trapped too free, and like a soldier returning from the hell of war, she hesitates to share her experiences. We meet them on Earth in San Francisco, and there’s also Scott Lang (Paul Rudd in happy mode), now parading through the streets to the beat of John Sebastian’s catch cutter Welcome back theme. It’s five years after his world-saving efforts as the Avenger with no discernible superpower other than shrinking and communicating with Ants, he’s written a best-selling book and seems content to be a family man with teenage daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) and domestic happiness. with both Hope and her parents, Janet and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), handing over the day-to-day management of the Pym Foundation’s future to Hope. However, family life has barely resumed when an experiment by Cassie fails and they are all sucked into the Quantum Realm, just as Alice was sucked straight down the rabbit hole.

This strange place is no wonderland, however, as we can tell from Janet’s worried expressions and veiled warnings that there is more to the carnival freak show than meets the eye. We got the clue early in the film, as the terrifying presence of Kang, whose greatest and scariest quality is his ability to defy any logic of time to his overwhelming advantage when he first met Janet there that day. She knows a lot, but keeps a lot of what she knows secret. She certainly has connections, including the mayor-like presence of the rather goofy Lord Krylar (Bill Murray in an extended cameo), more than an acquaintance.

There are also the freedom fighters, led by Jentorra (Katy O’Brian) and Quaz (William Jackson Harper), to lead the newcomers to the state of this union. They have their hands full as Kang really is a terrorist, aided by his number two, a strange floating head named MODOK. (short for Mechanized Organism Designed Only For Killing) and hey, didn’t he get rid of the distorted face and voice of none other than Darren Cross, the Yellowjacket in the first ant man? Is he back or is this another prank of Kang’s time travel escapades? Corey Stoll plays him, although he is not credited in the press releases (but appears prominently in the credits), and in a word steal This movie. He is an insurgent.

Of course, as with any Marvel film, ultimately the heart of it all is the action and the battle for world domination that our heroes face in two different ways as Scott and Cassie are separated from Janet, Hank and Hope. and finally their alter egos when they step in to save the day. Keep in mind though, and this isn’t a spoiler, that this is all designed to build a future series of films, not necessarily to continue them, as evidenced not only by the inevitable Easter eggs in the credits, but also by the James Bond -Promise on screen: “Kang Will Return”, but then How (we can certainly look forward to where Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Take us). Majors certainly has the power, if not the fun, of some other Marvel characters here, having previously taken on a variant in the KCU (Kang Cinematic Universe) as He Who Remains in the Disney+ series. Loki. The possibilities are seemingly endless. Rudd is a delight to welcome back in his signature role, as is Lilly. It’s also great to see that Douglas is still going strong and Pfeiffer in particular has a lot to do this time and really brings it home. Newton is also a keeper wherever we go. Among the various creatures, Veb, voiced by David Dastmalchian, is a lot of fun.

The visual effects team is undoubtedly making their money, but as mentioned, it really seems to be more inspired by the world of George Lucas than Marvel when it comes to all the new tradable creatures created for this quantum leap in the series. I also have to confess that I’m getting tired of the flashy and fiery wizard style effects that so many enjoy in these comic book movies. Mix it up next time guys.

However, the final judgment on all of this belongs to the fans, and the big question is how they will embrace whatever Feige and the team have in store as we enter this new phase of the MCU. Stephen Broussard produced with Feige. Peyton Reed directed the script, written by Jeff Loveness, both in the classic Marvel style.

Disney releases Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with previews on Thursday and full opening on Friday, even day and date in China which means it could be a very pleasant Presidents Day holiday weekend.