Quantumania Is A Step Backward For The Ant-Man Series (By Trying To Be An Avengers Movie)

If you, like me, are a fan of the first two “Ant-Man” films, the third entry may not be quite what you were expecting. “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man and The Wasp” (for the love of Ant-thony, vary the titles a bit) were charming films, smaller in scale than some of the other Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings, and a breath of fresh air because of it. “Quantumania,” however, is complicated, unclear — full of CGI, unexplained characters, and visually exhausting. It’s frustrating to those of us who really needed the break from the increasingly complex MCU that is starting to require a Master’s degree in Marvel Comics to keep up.

Bigger isn’t always better. Making things smaller in scale can be exactly the right call, something Ant-Man should know better than the rest of us. The first two films introduced us to Scott, who was the friendliest criminal. Seemingly always good-natured, he gave us a look at what it takes to refocus on the world instead of yourself. He was fun and light, and along with Luis (Michael Peña) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian), the banter was enough to refresh fans’ joy in the MCU. 

Look, things get dark in the world of these comic-based films and, now, TV shows. There are constant existence-ending threats. The world has to accept the aliens, other inhabited planets, and a whole lot of beings who want to kill them off. Sometimes it’s important to pare down and tell a smaller story to remind ourselves that everyone isn’t standing in an outward-facing circle with weapons all the time, serious and ready to fight. Sometimes heroes are just like us … albeit with some super cool tech that changes their sizes.