Ant-Man and the Wasp review

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP:

PAUL RUDD RETURNS FOR MORE PINT-SIZED FUN!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

MARVEL STUDIOS

Evangeline Lilly, Paul Rudd, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas, Michael Peña, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hannah John-Kamen, and Walton Goggins in Ant-Man and the Wasp

            Paul Rudd (Anchorman 1 and 2, Dinner for Schmucks, Sausage Party) shrinks down once again in the highly anticipated sequel to the 2015 superhero film, Ant-Man. The latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp reunites Rudd with director, Peyton Reed (Bring it On, The Break-Up, Yes Man) and Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hurt Locker, The Hobbit trilogy), Michael Douglas (Wall Street, War of the Roses, Falling Down), and Michael Peña (Shooter, End of Watch, The Martian) reprising their roles from the first film.

            2018 has been quite a year for Marvel in terms of movies with the releases of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and now this. Though I highly doubt Ant-Man and the Wasp will get the same amount of attention as their previous releases this year, still this is a very fun movie that lives up to the first one and in certain ways surpasses it.

            The movie delivers all the flashy superhero action on a small scale, humor, and heart that the first film offered along with an interesting story and a villain that makes more of an impression than Corey Stoll from the first movie. It’s a great cleanser movie after the depression of Avengers: Infinity War plus another entertaining MCU film.

            Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, former thief, Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Rudd) is placed under house arrest due to the incident in Germany with Captain America while entomologist and physicist, Hank Pym (Douglas) and his daughter, Hope (Lilly) have gone into hiding and cut ties with Lang. Scott, who was able to enter and return from the quantum realm receives an apparent message from Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother, Janet who went subatomic to stop a Soviet nuclear missile attack, and is quantumly entangled with Lang.

            Seeing Lang’s message as a confirmation that Janet is still alive in the quantum realm Hank and Hope begin to work on a stable tunnel to the quantum realm in hopes to save her and bring her back home. However, a mysterious new villain emerges known as Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen-Game of Thrones, Tomb Raider (2018), Ready Player One) who can phase through objects and is completely unstable who has plans of her own to hijack the quantum realm tunnel and use its power to cure her condition.

            Scott and Hope suit up as Ant-Man and the Wasp to stop Ghost from stealing the tunnel generator, get into the quantum realm, and find Hope’s mother before it’s too late. All while Scott tries to grapple the consequences of his actions as a superhero and as a father.

            The film also stars Peña reprising his role as Scott’s ecstatic former cellmate and friend, Luis, Walton Goggins (Justified, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight) as Sonny Burch, Bobby Cannavale (Spy, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, I, Tonya) reprising his role as officer Jim Paxton, Judy Greer (Adaptation, Planet of the Apes (2011 trilogy), Jurassic World) reprising her role as Lang’s ex-wife, Maggie, rapper, T.I. reprising his role as Dave, David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight, MacGyver, The Flash) reprising his role as Kurt, Abby Ryder Fortson reprising her role as Lang and Maggie’s daughter, Cassie, Randall Park (The Interview, The Disaster Artist, Aquaman) as FBI agent, Jimmy Woo, Michelle Pfeiffer (The Witches of Eastwick, Batman Returns, Mother!) as Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother, Janet van Dyne, and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix trilogy, DC Extended Universe, John Wick: Chapter 2) as Bill Foster.

            Overall, Ant-Man and the Wasp probably won’t get the same amount of attention as Black Panther or Avengers: Infinity War and it does fall victim to sequel repeating, but it’s a fun movie and a satisfying return to feel-good MCU movies after Infinity War depressed us. It’s far from being one of the best Marvel movies but it doesn’t need to be, let it be a light, goofy adventure with shrinking, growing, laughs, and some heartwarming moments.

            Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly continue to be likable protagonists in the Ant-Man movies and there is no denying the charm both of them have every time they’re on-screen. It was great to finally see Lilly kick some ass as the Wasp and not throw her off to the side like in the first movie, though I still enjoyed her in that, she got a lot more screen-time here which makes sense judging by the title.

            The villain in this movie is a huge improvement over Corey Stoll in the first movie, not that it was a bad performance or anything he didn’t leave much of an impression and he’s pretty forgettable, though not as forgettable as Dormammu from Doctor Strange or Aldrich Kilian from Iron Man 3. Ghost isn’t some bad guy in a suit who just wants power and money but rather a person with a tragic backstory and is trying to get rid of this horrible condition she’s in, even though she goes to extremes to achieve it, reminds me a little bit of the kid in Deadpool 2 the more I think about it.

            Ant-Man and the Wasp is the perfect treatment for the Infinity War trauma, it’s a zany, fast-paced return to the colorful and goofy side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you enjoyed the first one you’ll most likely enjoy the sequel just as much, it’s pint-sized fun that’s definitely worth shrinking for.