REVIEW: Ant-Man and the Wasp

Courtesy of Marvel

After Avengers: Infinity War left viewers reeling, sobbing, aching or some combination of all three, it’s nice to see Marvel take a step back for a minute so we can all catch our breath. Not every superhero movie has to involve widespread global destruction or the fate of the universe. In fact, I loved the first Ant-Man precisely because the stakes were so small (pun slightly intended).

In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War (but taking place before the devastating events of Infinity War), Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is in the final days of house arrest for breaking the law to help Cap. He’s looking forward to reconnecting with his daughter and living a normal life, but that’s interrupted when he’s kidnapped by Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).

They need his experience shrinking into the Quantum Realm to help them locate Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) – Hope’s mother and Pym’s wife – who has been trapped there for decades. Unfortunately, a mysterious thief known as Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) is also interested in finding Janet, but for less altruistic reasons: she wants the energy she can harvest from her.

Returning director Peyton Reed (working from a screenplay credited to five (!) writers – Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari and Rudd) seems to adhere to the philosophy of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Everything that made the original so enjoyable is amplified in Ant-Man and the Wasp: the sardonic humor, the palpable chemistry among the cast and the entertaining action sequences that utilize everyday objects and locations in immensely creative ways. I’ll never look at Pez dispensers or Hot Wheels the same way again.

Rudd, Lilly and Douglas are still a dynamic team thanks to the way their characters’ personalities compliment and conflict with one another. Douglas’ cranky scientist finds a lot of fun ways to grab attention from his costars.

But he’s not the most talented scene-stealer in the cast; that award goes, once again, to Michael Peña. An already fun movie gets even better when his face pops into frame. As Scott’s motormouth partner-in-crime, he gets almost all the best lines and injects every scene with an oddball charm. There’s a sequel of sorts to his “he told me that she said that another guy said” story from the first movie and its even more hilarious this time around.

Sadly, the film does have a couple of weak spots. After showcasing two compelling villains in a row (Killmonger in Black Panther and Thanos in Infinity War), Marvel is back to its longtime problem with lackluster antagonists. The creepy Ghost and weaselly Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) are intriguing, but they’re practically non-entities where the plot is concerned. They don’t bring anything substantial to the plot other than hurdles for the heroes to overcome on their way to the inevitable conclusion.

Also, while I appreciated a refreshing lack of stakes, other superhero fans might find that irritating or take it to mean the film is a “lesser” installment in Marvel’s overall mythology. I disagree, but to each his (or her) own.

(Note: Marvel fans already know to stay through the end credits, but it’s especially important here. There’s a killer scene that sheds light on precisely where Ant-Man and the Wasp fits in the overall chronology of the franchise.)

Ant-Man and the Wasp is rated PG-13 for some sci-fi action violence.

Grade: B+