Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicks off phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film follows Ant-Man and his friends as they travel to the Quantum Realm, a subatomic universe beneath our own, where they encounter strange creatures and a dangerous new adversary, poised to become the next big bad of the MCU. The film stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Kathryn Newton, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jonathan Majors.

The standout performance of this film is provided by Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. In the first act of the film, Kang is rarely seen and is built up as a major threat through cryptic dialogue. But when he does show up, Majors has an intimidating screen presence, giving hints of a boiling rage behind his stoic demeanor. He also has a great dynamic with Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man. These actors do an excellent job of portraying the conflict between their characters.

Unfortunately, the film suffers from unfinished CGI. Like many recent Marvel projects, the CGI seems rushed, as artists are forced to meet unrealistic deadlines. Throughout the film, it’s clear that there’s a lack of practical sets. There are a handful of sequences that come to mind where the lighting on the actors was different from the lighting of the CGI backgrounds. This was detrimental to the film, stopping me from being immersed in the story.

The past two Ant-Man films were characterized by fun action and comedy. This film has the action but sorely lacks the comedic element. Paul Rudd does his best to deliver jokes but they mostly fall flat. This script felt like it was made in a boardroom of studio executives, plugging in bad jokes and vague explanations. Oddly enough, unlike other MCU films, the film’s tone was very consistent, balancing attempted humor and seriousness.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is an entertaining film that fails at being a conclusive trilogy ending film, instead serving as a preview for another big MCU movie. Marvel’s recent films have shown that the company needs to slow down and create compelling stories instead of just teasing the next big adventure.