There Should Be More Mania for QuANTumMANia!

 The movie going public continues to baffle me.

Over three hours of giant cat-Smurfs swimming is setting financial records and getting critical praise.

Meanwhile, this fun and exciting visually stunning adventure, that is filled with heaps of good family feelings, is underperforming and being critically "pooh pooh"ed.

The Quantum Realm was an amazing looking, wild alien world with all kinds of people and things. ("The things ARE also people."- D. Adams.)

Just like the other Ant Man films it was a great Daddy/ Daughter experience between him and (yet another new) Cassie. But the family bonds between Scott and Hope, Janet and Hank, and the different generations were all excellently shown as well. 

Then there were the villains. MODOK was a threat. He was also modified from his comic books AIM based origin to fit better with the plot and characters of this franchise. However, much like his comic book counterpart, he was very much ridiculous and goofy. 

Because...giant flying face.

However, Kang was deadly serious. The jokes stopped when he was around. It didn't take away from the light and fun aspects of the film, but it did set them in sharp relief. Kang was a whole new level of terrifying villain, orders of magnitude tougher against any individual he was facing.

But that was the key, he wasn't facing individuals. He was facing a family. 

The bond between Scott and Cassie, established when she was little in the original films has grown with the character. Now the bond is just as strong, buy Cassie is a young woman with powers of her own. (But she's still her Daddy's little girl sometimes. Is there any wonder I like these films?)

Also, we are so close to a Young Avengers gathering, its hard to contain myself.

Scott and Hope's romance is also a powerful force, but not one that overwhelms the rest of the interactions and story. Its rare Hollywood doesn't screw up that balance.

Hank and Janet bring their powerful screen presences and a sense of both wise older folds and "kick butt, scientist Grandparent fun" to the party as well. Its great seeing a Hank that isn't defined by a single mental break down moment, alongside a Janet who was never a bubbleheaded socialite. 

Yes, I'm still snippy that everything Engleheart was building in West Coast Avengers got torn down after he left in 1989, how is your day going?

The movie is a feel good adventure, in a wild and amazing new world, with a main villain that  hugely raises the stakes of the Marvel Universe, and great family moments. 

Oh yeah, and Bill Murray shows up at one point for no reason...and he's awesome.

What's not to like?