Phase 4 of the MCU was, I don’t think it’s unfair to say, a mess. After a decade of almost seamlessly weaving together disparate characters, styles and story arcs, culminating in the brilliant Infinity War / End Game double header, Marvel seemed to have lost its, once steady, grip on its Universe.

Where the 2021 films ranged from the brilliant (Spider-Man: No Way Home), to the disappointing (The Eternals), the 2022 offerings limped Phase 4 to a close, each feeling like watered down versions of the films they were supposed to be.

It was an unfocussed attempt at tying up loose ends, and setting up future plot points, that ultimately fell flat.

So, after all of this, and seeing the less than positive reviews of Quantumania, I went into the latest Ant-Man adventure with a sense of trepidation.

What I got, however, was an enjoyable, if CGI heavy, romp, that did more the move the franchise on, than practically all of the Phase 4 films put together.

Paul Rudd is, of course, excellent in the lead role and he has excellent chemistry with Kathryn Newton - the third actor to play daughter Cassie in the franchise - and their relationship provides the film with its main emotional hook, as well as Scotts main motivation throughout.

Their relationship in Quantumania feels like the closing of Scotts arc. He has rehabilitated himself, over the course of the Universe so far, in pretty much every area, and here he and his daughter finally find their peace.

Interestingly though, and one of the more major criticisms that I would have of it, Quantumania sees The Wasp - the first female superhero to be included in the title of a Marvel film - more or less sidelined, given far less to do than in both of the previous Ant-Man films. Evangeline Lily does solid work with what she’s given, but The Wasp can’t help but feel like the least important part of this film.

Less important, certainly, that the relationship between Scott and Cassie. Less important than Janet - the original Wasp -, her journey back into the Quantum Realm, and her relationship with Hank. And less important than the Kang’s introduction to the MCU film world.

It is a disappointment, as I like Evangeline Lilly as an actress, and the character of The Wasp, but she is possibly the only character in the film who doesn’t have any kind of character development - even the weird translucent jelly creature, not deemed important enough to be given a name, got his holes - and I couldn’t help but feel like the writers didn’t know what to do with her. As if they felt they had told her story in the previous films, and had nothing left to say.

Jonathan Majors on the other hand, as Kang the Conqueror, is easily the films biggest selling point. His performance is, at times, understated. His threats, more matter-of-fact statements, given everything he says an added layer of menace.

The role is going to be a chance for Majors to showcase himself, and his range. With Kangs from an infinite number of Universes to inhabit, it will be a challenge for him to try and make each distinct from each other, but it is a challenge he appears to be relishing.

Crucially he will, as Marvels new Big Bad, give us something different to Thanos to watch and contend with. Whether Marvel can pull it all together remains to be seen, but one thing Quantumania did do is, to some degree, begin to relight an excitement for the Universe that had previously been extinguished. I am hopeful, if trepidatious, about its future.

Other than Majors’ performance, one of the key things that Quantumania gets right is its humour. It is, from start to finish, consistently funny, which is, at least in part, where the MCU has fallen down in recent years.

The majority of the jokes land, especially those around the ragtag group of fighters Scott and Cassie meet early in the film, and in this aspect especially Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania felt like the MCU of old. A franchise which I once described as been funnier than the majority of modern day comedies.

The Quantum Realm itself is well realised and put together, but it is hard to get away from the fact that what we are watching is basically a two-hour long CGI Dump. It is an interesting world, and I would be interested in seeing more - perhaps a prequel of how Kang gained his power - it does, ultimately, start to feel a little clinical.

With Quantumania we finally see the Marvel Cinematic Universe looking forward again, rather than trying to tie up loose ends and winding up in knots.

While your patience with it may depend on how much you are willing to put up with its CGI, it is a film which gives me hope that the MCU isn’t as washed up and out of ideas as I feared it might be. Whether it can pull it off remains to be seen, but, even in isolation from the rest of the Universe, Quatumania is a fun and fresh film which breathes new life into an ailing franchise.