'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' explores life in a subatomic netherworld

Marvel has finally given an elaborate view into the mysterious world of the Quantum Realm in their latest flick ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’. The film that hit the screens on Friday garnered much curiosity from Marvel’s fan base as it paves the way to Phase 5 of the franchise.

After protecting Hank Pym’s valuable shrinking technology from an evil scientist, Darren Cross, and being a major part of the Avengers to save the world from Thanos, Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, is pretty much clueless about his future.

Things are the same until his daughter, Cassie, discovers a device which can send a signal to the Quantum Realm, an unknown subatomic dimension where the time and space system is nothing like ours or any other world. Though she came up with this discovery in order to study the realm, a signal goes to the wrong person, sending Scott and his loved ones to the Quantum Realm, which is nothing less than James Cameron’s ‘Pandora’ in a darker version. How they strive to understand the realm, its people, existence of a multiverse and the 'usual chaos' forms the rest of the film.

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ not only introduces a new villain for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it also gives a glimpse into the fans’ much-pondered question: how did Hank Pym’s wife Janet exist when she was trapped in the Quantum Realm.

In its recent movies, Marvel had put in unwavering efforts to explore the various aspects of the multiverse or a world beyond Earth. This film would be the franchise’s move indicating a complete shift into a new concept of existence of life beyond our planet.

Like 'Thor: Love and Thunder' or any other ‘out of our world’ Marvel films, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ portrays a number of ‘weird looking’ extraterrestrial beings, of which, half are ‘obviously’ pure evil and the other half under crisis, waiting for somebody to rescue them.

Paul Rudd is a delight to watch as Scott Lang, with his gleeful and witty attitude. Lang’s bond with his daughter, Cassie, is something that fans always eagerly look out for in an Ant-Man movie. This has been delicately portrayed by the duo in this film.

Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Pym, aka the Wasp, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Pym have also delivered a decent performance.

Another remarkable performance was of Jonathan Major, who plays Kang, the Conqueror, a vicious villain who has to be feared and looked out for by the Avengers or the ‘newcomers’. However, the film’s storyline has much less to offer to this character.

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ might not be a celebrated start to Marvel’s Phase 5, but it is definitely a one-time watch for the franchise’s fans.

Spoiler alert! The film has a second post-credit scene which you might not want to miss at any cost.