For all its faults, one thing the MCU has always been pretty good at is staying in the right lane despite all the overlapping stories and characters. The sub-franchises feel of a piece. I could watch the Captain America movies as part of an MCU rewatch but I could also watch just those three movies together. There's always some overlapping universe stuff, but the movies reflect what the lead character(s) are about. Much of that has to do with specific directors putting their stamp on the franchises. Ryan Coogler is Black Panther. Even if he leaves, the movies will be in his image. The Russos imprinted themselves on Captain America. James Gunn figured out Guardians of the Galaxy.
I would've said the same about Ant-Man and Peyton Reed. This was never the biggest of the MCU franchises, but the first two movies setup something reliable. Scott (Paul Rudd) is an affable, accidental hero. Hope (Evangeline Lilly) is the more driven complement to him. Hank (Michael Douglas) is an unwilling mentor. Scott has real legal and personal troubles as well as his comic book troubles. It's this nice San Francisco corner of the MCU. And the movies play with the ridiculousness of Ant-Man's power. The Thomas the Tank Engine fight is the high point of this. And it's why Rudd is a perfect fit. I won't pretend that I adored these movies, but they absolutely had an understanding of the formula that works best for them.
Meanwhile, there's Quantumania. A movie I kind of liked as I watched it and have liked less the more I've thought about it. In this film, the whole gang gets trapped in the quantum realm. That includes Scott, of course, Hope, now married to Scott, Hank, his wife/Hope's mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Scott's daughter Cassie (recast with Kathryn Newton). In the quantum real, they discover a whole CGI world that is under the rule of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). They must find a way out while also stopping Kang.
Unfortunately, Quantumania plays with the Ant-Man formula too much. To start, the CGI world has no tactility. Since it's a foreign world, there's no ability to play with size. One of the simple joys of Ant-Man is seeing something that's normally small get really big or vica versa. With no recognizable objects in the quantum realm, any playing with size is stripped of all context. Also, the movie splits the group up in disastrous ways. Scott and Cassie are together in one story. Hope, Hank, and Janet are together in the other. That means Scott has to be the adult in the room for most of the movie. That's not what Rudd excels at. He can do heroic moments, but he's not a Chris Evans. Scott is so much more interesting when Hope is one-upping him and Hank is judging him. So, the Hope/Hank/Janet group is missing a punching bag. Hope largely disappears. Janet is stuck apologizing a lot for things she never mentioned. Hank doesn't have a target for his wry insults.
It's a shame, because there are elements I really like. The core cast remains great if actually in a scene together. This is Jonathan Majors' first film appearance as Kang, and he establishes himself as a worthy follow-up to Thanos. I can't wait to see even more of him. Ignoring some age wonkiness, I'm really excited to see Kathryn Newton in the MCU. She's an actress who keeps popping up in things I've seen. I've been waiting for her to get picked up by a franchise for a while now. She isn't great in Quantumania, but this is a tough movie to be introduced in. They rush through her reintroduction early in the movie, including the fact that she has an Ant-Man suit for some reason. By the time they are in the quantum realm, they treat her like an already established character. I think she'll fare a lot better in a more tactile world.
Quantumania is the most an MCU movie has every felt in service of the universe-building over the specific franchise. The universe-building has always been a part of the MCU movies; often annoying and transparent parts. Never this dominant though. As a piece of placesetting for Phase 5 of the MCU, Quantumania does its job. I just wish it didn't come at the expense of the Ant-Man franchise.
Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend
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