It could be said that the movie works better as a stand-alone story than as part of the MCU. It was more of a movie with Ant-Man characters in it, which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. Even though the story may not have much to do with the MCU as a whole, there was still a lot to get excited about. The scale and spectacle were still there, but this time they were wrapped in an incredibly silly package compared to the other Ant-Man movies and the MCU so far. Action set pieces and visuals, even if they aren’t always good, will likely be enough for a lot of people. Where the movie falls short is that it doesn’t find the right tone for the story and setting. There’s drama, and the comedy is hit or miss, but the lack of tone balance does lessen the emotional impact, if only a little, as all the side stories come together in the usual MCU way at the end. Along that path, the movie did have enough moments to keep people interested, and most of them came from Kang, who was both charming and dangerous. Even though all he wanted to do was get out of the Quantum Realm, he was sent there because he warned about a threat that might or might not be him. The end of the movie and the two scenes that came after the credits showed the answer.
The performances were what made Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania work in the end. They all made the best of what they had to work with. Even though the movie didn’t use their great chemistry as well as it could have, the returning cast, led by Rudd, was a lot of fun to watch. Even though they were apart more than they were together, they all had their moments of glory. However, they were just like pieces on a board that never quite fit together. Rudd didn’t miss a beat, but Pfeiffer’s performance was the most impressive and deep. She hid so much pain and emotion under the surface as she tried to protect her family from her trauma. But the aforementioned Majors steals the show as Kang, because he is so charming and charismatic that he works on a whole different level. You can’t help but be drawn in by his powerful presence, and the MCU has only scratched the surface of where he can take it as the likely bad guy in the next saga. Visit o2tvseries and stream free movies.
