Before the release of
Avengers: Endgame, Marvel released it's much anticipated sequel to
Ant-Man titled
Ant-Man And The Wasp. The film not only served as being fun popcorn entertainment, but carried with it the task of making audiences laugh again after recovering from
Infinity Wars shell-shocking climax. The film essentially provided audiences with the sweetest dessert after their first full-blown experience with the
Infinity War saga. For Marvel fans as well as the studio itself, 2018 proved to be both a groundbreaking and defining year for the MCU as the universe had reached its first full ten years of functioning. With
Black Panther starting out that year on a tremendous note both critically and financially,
Infinity War followed suit not just being the most successful
Avengers
film to date prior to the release of
Endgame, but also marked a massive improvement over
Age Of Ultron both financially and in terms of overall quality. With the success of those films, the expectations were set for
Ant-Man And The Wasp to deliver a similar splash with audiences, while lighting the tone significantly as audiences were left devastated by
Infinity War's finish along with waiting anxiously to see how
Endgame concluded. Thankfully
Ant-Man And The Wasp lives up to those expectations while essentially giving both Marvel fans, as well as audiences a detour from the intensity of the
Infinity War saga.
The plot for
Ant-Man And The Wasp picks up after the events of the first film as well as Marvel's
Civil War with character of Scott Lang (Played by Paul Rudd) finding himself balancing out his two different lives with him acting both as a member of the Avengers team with the other being a father figure. Scott however, soon finds himself being presented with an urgent mission by Hope Van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym (Both played by Evangeline Lily and Michael Douglas), that places the Ant-Man teaming up with the Wasp to help uncover secrets from their past. Much like the first
Ant-Man which was enjoyable though not thought-provoking or deep in regards to carrying social themes, the sequel retains the same kind of lightheartedness the previous film had while taking the story in a more emotional direction, which largely revolves around the theme of family. At a time where Marvel was heading in its most serious and mature direction with the latter
Avengers films and
Black Panther,
Ant-Man And The Wasp proves to not only be a joy to watch but also a reminder that not everything needs to be taken seriously. What makes the film so work so well is the strong screenwriting which included Paul Rudd's input, as well as the easygoing chemistry that the main cast shares. As a sequel to the first
Ant-Man, The Wasp is a solid sequel that builds upon the story and characters established by the previous film. It feels like it carries more freedom in regards to creativity, as well as confidence in its intentions to be light-hearted entertainment coming out in a year where Marvel films were aiming for large doses of maturity or darkness that gave audiences flashbacks to
The Empire Strikes Back, Ant-Man And The Wasp serves as being the one entry in the Marvel universe in 2018 that dared to take things down several notches in regards to being less serious and dramatic, but make things fun and colorful again, even if its for a brief period as Endgame came right after it.
One of the films key elements that makes it work is the strong performances from its main cast, all of whom possess great chemistry as a whole. Paul Rudd once again proves to be the perfect choice as Scott Lang with his performance blending both comedy and heart, along with possessing great comedic timing. Evangeline Lily does a solid job once again playing Scott's love interest and sidekick Hope Van Dyne, with Michael Douglas delivering a strong performance as her father Hank. Michael Pena once again steals the show as Luis, Lang's former cellmate and member of his X-Con Security crew. Other returning faces from the previous
Ant-Man film are Judy Greer reprising her role as Scott's ex-wife Maggie along with Bobby Cannavale as Cassie's stepfather Jim, T.I and David Dastmalchian as Scott's friends and other members of his X-Con Security Crew Dave and Kurt, with Abby Ryder Fortson in an impressive role as Scott's young daughter Cassie. As for the films new casting additions, Michelle Pfeiffer proves to be a welcomed addition as Hopes long lost mother as well as Hank's long lost wife. Randall Park adds to the fun with a notable performance as the FBI detective Jimmy trying to catch Scott's character in the act. Laurence Fishburne and Hannah John Kamen both give likable performances as Hank's former colleague Bill Foster and Ghost, one of the films main antagonists who possesses molecular instability allowing her to phase through objects. What makes the cast work so well in this film is the fact that they all share fantastic charisma together. Rudd and Lily make a perfect superhero duo and love interests with Hannah John-Kamen shining in her supporting role along with Walton Goggins as one of the films main antagonists. It also helps that the films source material allows for the actors and actresses to have fun playing their parts as the audience can clearly witness, as well as feel the energy being poured onto the screen from the performances.
The films directing by Peyton Reed proves to be a solid effort as Reed gives the movie a more fun-spirited atmosphere by allowing it to further embrace its comic book origins, while delivering moments full of seriousness, goofiness, and sentimentality. Peyton finds the right balance with the film in terms of making it fun for the audience, while connecting them with the characters in terms of feeling their emotions (Particularly Hope and Hank when they're temporarily reunited with their mother/wife through her using Scott's body as a form of communication. It's a scene that both hilarious and touching with a clever mixture of the two emotions). Compared to the first
Ant-Man, Reed directs the sequel with more confidence in what he wants to show that's largely thanks to having a bigger budget. He keeps the films atmosphere light-headed and full of laughs, while directing the films action sequences with a steady hand. As far as the films technical aspects go, the movie is well shot with its impressive cinematography that gives the film a comic book style edge to it when the story has Scott shifting into Ant- Man mode. The films editing allows the story to keep moving at a fairly quick pace, while allowing both the plot and characters to develop thoroughly. The film never moves too fast nor moves too slow either with it being shorter than the average Marvel film nowadays, which run on average from two and a half to
Endgame clocking in at a full three hours. The films score by Christophe Beck does an effective job of adding to the fun and excitement of the story, with the music projecting the right emotions for the story when cued. The films visual and sound effects are once again top notch and impressive with the CGI emphasizing the strength of Scott's suit, which allows him to both shrink as well as double in size. The makeup effects are often quite impressive particularly when Michael Douglas character is shown to look much younger during key flashback sequences. The films visuals once again dazzle, which has come to be the expected norm when dealing with an MCU film as the cinematography gives it the look of a comic book movie brought to life. In terms of the films overall directing, Peyton Reed does an admirable job of creating an atmosphere that has the appropriate balance of excitement, comedy, and heart in regards to storytelling with the films technical aspects complimenting those strengths of the film.
The films screenplay written by Chris McKenna, Erick Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari does a notable job of taking the characters from the first movie and further elaborating on them, as well as expanding the Ant-Man universe in a way that's both effective while maintaining the audiences interest. The scriptwriting works effectively in regards to the films main plot being both fun-spirited as well as humerous and never taking itself too seriously. This time audiences get to see the aftermath of the events of the first
Ant- Man with Scott attempting to balance out his two lives while being there for his daughter Cassie. His relationship with his ex-wife and her new husband, is also shown to have improved after the end of the previous film despite the desire of the authorities to catch Scott in the act of breaking his parole requirements to be Ant- Man again given the events of
Civil War. The film also offers more development aimed towards Hope and Hanks family tree, which makes the audience care about their characters even further along with giving a plausible reason for their partnering with Scott again. Walter Goggins character is effective as being the sleazy low-level criminal, who wants Pym's technology to sell on the black market. His character arc is about as as generic as one would expect from this type of character in a Marvel movie, but the writing as well as Goggins performance still makes it work. The audience even manages to care about the character of Ava Start/Ghost with the script portraying her character as being a bit mysterious while adding to the fathers-and-daughters theme, that mirrors the other arcs in the film. Even Laurence Fishburne's character despite looking like an antagonist, is presented as being complexed like Ava, though ultimately likable and sympathetic as both men show Hanks success as well as his shortcomings with his work. The rivalry between Hank and Bill is well-established with both men shown to be highly intelligent individuals, who think they know better than the other. The film does a strong job of driving home the stories themes regarding superheroes, family, friendship, parenting, trust, regrets, and forgiveness with the films ultimate message being that working together towards a common goal can benefit many others. Given the emotional investment that audiences had with
Black Panther as well as
Avengers: Infinity War, it's refreshing that in between the large scale spectacles is a film that possesses all heart with the intention of being just playful fun for the fans. It maintains themes that can be considered mature or serious, but presents them in a fashion that feels down to earth and excellently weaved in with the films action and laughs.
Perhaps the fact that both this film and
Ant-Man are too lighthearted for the MCU given how their recent movies have delved into deeper themes, is ultimately a factor that works against them as these films while being extremely entertaining and harmless, don't have the same kind of impact the recent Marvel films have on audiences. Despite that shortcoming, the first
Ant-Man as well as
Ant-Man And The Wasp work great together as their own story within the MCU. Perhaps a little detour for the fans was needed after being taken on an emotional journey with
Infinity War, which stayed with the audience long after its gut-wrenching finale. It was the palate cleanser the MCU needed in order to make it's fans laugh and be hopeful again after what they experienced prior. With the scope of the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point,
Ant-Man And The Wasp being just a simple superhero movie with funny laughs and solid action sequences may seem like a step back given how much more mature and serious the universe has come with incorporating serious elements into it's stories. However, given the wild ride that Marvel has put it's fanbase through as well as the general movie going audience, one can't help but feel
Ant-Man And The Wasp was necessary in order to change up the current flavor. As a sequel to the original, it's solid and manages to surpass the previous film in terms of both storytelling and quality. However much like that film, it doesn't go beyond both movies amounting to just being fun experiences with the occasional nod to the rest of the MCU. Considering how devastating and impactful the current ending of the MCU turned out to be, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Final Verdict: For fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Paul Rudd in general,
Ant-Man And The Wasp is absolutely worth watching even if it doesn't stack as high as the recent additions to the MCU.
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