The first two “Ant-Man” films were a breath of fresh air in the world of complex stories and interconnected superheroes. They were lighter in tone, funnier than the others (Paul Rudd is a national treasure), and they felt like calm during a storm. This one wasn’t. “Quantumania” is far more complex. It introduces the main villain of Phase 5, which this film begins — Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). We did see him in “Loki,” of course, but that was only one of the Kang variants. This version of Kang takes far more explanation than we had time for in two hours. In fact, I don’t think we really got a good explanation at all, but your mileage may vary.
In this brief visit to the Quantum Realm, we learn that Scott is reexamining his life regarding the time he lost with Cassie. It’s mentioned but barely explored. We have a continuing relationship between Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and Scott, which felt like it didn’t exist outside of a brief look during a car ride. We also have the fact that Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) spent 30 years down there and has barely spoken about it.
Good setup, right? Wrong.
We still don’t know anything about her time there other than how she met Kang. She’s got history here, and it’s a world we’ve barely visited. Yes, introducing Kang is important, but honestly, after seeing only glimpses of other parts of the multiverse in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” I want to know more about this one. You broke it all open, Marvel. Let us actually see it.