The Ant-Man movies have always been a comedic spin-off the overarching Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first two films offered small heist stories that were more relaxed and fun compared to other superhero movies. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the latest installment: “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

The newest movie abandons a lot of the comedic, down-to-earth vibe of its predecessors in favor of heavy CGI and franchise-building. The result is a cluttered and unsatisfying addition to the MCU. Quantumania tries to introduce the next big villain of the Marvel universe, Kang the Conqueror, but it struggles to blend the lighthearted tone of Ant-Man with Marvel’s usual cosmic-scale action.

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is enjoying a life as a famed superhero. His daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) teams up with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) to create a machine that sends signals to the Quantum Realm. Unfortunately, things go awry, and they all get transported into the subatomic dimension. They discover a colorful and surreal environment inhabited by bizarre creatures, including sentient houses, anthropomorphic broccoli and a variety of other generic aliens.

Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) rules over the Quantum Realm and has allied himself with Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), the villain from the first Ant-Man movie. Darren has been revived as the cyborg M.O.D.O.K. Kang has used his technology to build a brutal empire and is eager to escape the Quantum Realm. He sees Ant-Man as his only hope to repair his damaged spaceship and escape.

The constant mentions of Quantum Realms, multiverses and parallel dimensions can be overwhelming, even for Marvel fans. The movie’s exposition-laden dialogue may cause headaches for some viewers. The film’s heavy reliance on special effects also contributes to this sense of fatigue, as nearly every character and location is a product of CGI.

As if the cluttered mess of tone change-ups throughout the movie wasn’t enough, the film also suffers with the development of its main characters. Throughout the duration of the film, no characters are faced with any significant conflict. The only major conflict that any character faces is Scott’s choice to help Kang in order to save his daughter, the consequences of which are completely negated by the end of the film.

Director Peyton Reed’s strength lies in his comedy, which is most evident in the movie’s first twenty minutes set in San Francisco. The humor then fizzles out as the movie transitions to the Quantum Realm, which appears more like an abstract art piece than a wondrous new world.

Kang’s character is a significant weakness in the film. While Jonathan Majors does his best to make the Conqueror compelling, his self-serious and dull personality falls flat. His monologues on time travel are dreary, and his obsession with conquest comes across as one-dimensional. Even the talented Majors can’t save this character from being uninteresting.

It’s as though the sole purpose of the movie was to introduce the next big bad of the MCU, rather than really contribute anything to the characters present within the film. It provides backstory to Kang and sets the stage for his appearance in the overarching universe.

The two end credit sequences of the film are the most notable parts of the film, linking Kang the conqueror to his appearance in the “Loki” television series and showcasing the multiversal variants of Kang that will be present in future films.

Marvel’s poor recent decisions in their films are commonly defended by fans. Some say that the insignificance of the events is not that bad when one considers how it supports the Marvel Universe as a whole, this argument falls flat with the realization that the films are becoming over convoluted and difficult for both new and old audiences to be engaged in.

Despite the issues, Paul Rudd, Corey Stoll and the rest of the cast inject some fun into the movie. However, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” fails to justify itself beyond setting up future Avengers movies. It feels like a movie designed solely to advertise Kang’s arrival in the MCU.