On Friday, Marvel fans will crowd into movie theaters to usher in the fifth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the release of “Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania,” and comic book fans have never seen a superhero movie quite like this one.
This flick takes audiences to a world beyond our comprehension, the quantum realm, as Scott Lang and his family fight their way home. The quantum realm is gorgeously depicted, looking at times like a high school biology textbook made huge, bustling with creatures reminiscent of inner-cell organisms and high tech cities ripped straight out of classic sci-fi realms.
This is a movie that relies heavily on special effects and CGI but pulls it off masterfully, never leaving me sitting in the theater wondering what it must’ve been like to film, high octane, emotionally charged scenes in a sea of green screens.
The acting in this movie is stellar, but I thought Kathryn Newton’s performance as Cassie Lang, the daughter of the titular Ant-Man, was particularly impressive in the way in which it made me feel as if she had always been a dynamic member of the Ant-Man family, participating in the action and holding her own.
Her witty banter was only matched by her father, played by Paul Rudd, who brings the signature brand of Ant-Man humor to what potentially could have been a very serious feeling action film.
To me, that’s what makes an Ant-Man movie an Ant-Man movie, the way they effortlessly blend high stakes action with gut busting humor in a way that always feels natural, never forced.
Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is off to an auspicious start.
I’ll see you at the movies.
