Story by Makayla Sulcer
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” released this week, and I wanted to be among the first to see it. I reserved my tickets for the all-new Dolby Cinema that opened this week at AMC Stones River 9.
The Dolby Cinema has been remodeled within the last 3 months, taking the place of auditorium 6. The theater is equipped with all new equipment; including two projectors, new black leather seats, speakers along the walls and ceiling and a sleek black and blue color scheme throughout. This is definitely the place to see this colorful, beautifully scored movie.
There was a grand total of ten trailers played before the film, including “Fast X”, “Creed III, and “The Flash”. After I waited half an hour, it was finally time to enjoy the movie.
Let’s start with the Marvel Studios introduction sequence. Last time we saw this sequence was for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” back in November. I was very excited to see who was added into the more traditional, classic Marvel Studios sequence. We saw Moon Knight make his return to the sequence along with the additions of Shuri and Ms. Marvel.
The first thing I noticed was the chemistry between the cast. I will continue to say that there is no one that could have been cast more perfectly to play Scott Lang than Paul Rudd. He has so much personality and really puts his all into playing Scott.
Many people were upset with the recasting of Cassie Lang, but I wanted to give Kathryn Newton a chance before I formed an opinion and she did not disappoint! The chemistry between Newton and Rudd was incredible; It really completed the scenes.
Michelle Pfieffer gave an incredible performance as always, stealing the show in many scenes, while Jonathan Majors delivered a convincing, menacing performance as Kang the Conqueror. Without giving too much away, all I can say is the range of Majors’ skillset is definitely shown in this film, and it has exponentially raised my expectations and excitement for “Kang Dynasty”.
With a budget of $200 million, I had incredibly high expectations for the CGI of this film since a good majority of the setting is the quantum realm. As with any movie, there were some bumpy segments, with some below-mediocre editing. Overall, though, I felt satisfied with the visual effects. They hit the nail on the head with the majority of them.
We are introduced to many new characters, creatures and settings. If you have seen the trailer, you know M.O.D.O.K. makes his debut in this film. Known for his goofy and unnatural character design, they could not have portrayed him more perfectly in this film. Every time he was shown on-screen, I couldn’t help but giggle. I can see the complaints from people about this, but I feel like he fit in perfectly into giving the feeling “Ant-Man” movies are known for.
I have a few complaints I feel like you should know about the movie. The first one is Kang’s screen time, or, the lack thereof. I went into this movie thinking a majority of it would be Kang backstory, Kang fights and Kang conversation; However we really only see this in the 3rd arc of the film. While I can complain about this, I do understand that this really just makes me more excited for the “Kang Dynasty” film. I know what you’re doing, Kevin Fiege.
Without going into much detail to keep this spoiler free, I felt like the ending was rushed and sudden. It wasn’t sudden in a cliff hanger sense, just overall quite sudden.
All in all, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” was an enjoyable watch. It had all the laughs we expect from the character, but with an added seriousness since this is the beginning of the new phase with the new “Avengers level threat” Kang.
This movie had some highs and a few lows, so I feel like it would sit comfortably around 75% on my rating scale. This film does an amazing job of setting up Phase 5, makes us laugh and overall creates an enjoyable theater experience.
Makayla Sulcer is a Lifestyles Reporter for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on Twitter at @Sidelines_News.
