Confronted with the emotional impact of a changed MCU, Ant-Man and The Wasp wisely moves forward and delivers the thrills and laughs of it’s predecessor, improving upon several elements that make this a worthwhile sequel. Don’t worry, no spoilers up ahead!!
Let’s face it, many of us were wondering how in the world this film would work after the events of Infinity War. I won’t dive into those now (For thoughts on that, check it out here), but they did a great job separating that out of the narrative to let this one stand on it’s own.
In all honesty, Infinity War makes you quickly forget how the other Avengers still have to deal with the aftermath of Cap and Iron Man’s decisions in Civil War, to which Ant-Man was also a part of. While that film ends with Steve Rogers coming to liberate Falcon, it’s clear not everyone took him up on that offer, mainly Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).
It’s the lingering consequences from that decision, not Thanos’ pursuit of the Infinity Stones, that Scott has to deal with. It serves as a solid point to remind us of Scott’s attempts in the previous film to clean up his act and how risking that for Cap has almost put him back to square one. Scott is under house arrest, but is nearing the end of that term in only 3 days time. It’s only natural that his world gets turned upside down again and he quickly has to balance helping Hank (Michael Douglas) and Hope Pym (Evangeline Lily) rescue the original Wasp (Janet van Dyne/Michelle Pfeiffer’s character who has been stuck in the quantum realm for decades), fighting off new threats Ghost/Ava (Hannah John-Kamen) and black market dealer Sonny Burch (Walter Goggins), while evading suspicion from the FBI, led hilariously by Randall Park of Fresh Off The Boat fame.
I was impressed how director Payton Reed found a good groove and was able to maintain a chase feel the entire time. Once Scott is pulled from the house, the ball really gets moving in a solid way and the jokes keep rolling along the way. There’s a few moments were some jokes don’t necessarily land, but it doesn’t distract or take away from the overall impact of a given scene. Somewhat wisely or out of necessity, they have improved and innovated with the use of large and small scales when they shrink or enlarge to great effect. It made the previous film stand out and made obviously comparisons to Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. You won’t stop comparing it with the sequel, but you won’t care either because of how well done and effortlessly they achieve it.
This film works well because of the ensemble. With everyone firing on all cylinders, the laughs keep rolling and rolling particular whenever Lang’s friends from the previous film return in various moments. Michael Peña is a jewel and his presence a welcome return, especially with his narration flashback this time around. It may honestly beat the two he did in the previous film. Evangeline Lily kicking ass as the Wasp is worth the price of admission. As Lang says, “She seems more…intense”; her fighting style plays well on it’s own and off Lang’s. Plus, it gives us a different glimpse into the ways shrinking during a fight can be utilized in effective ways.
There were only a few off-kilter moments and they could simply be due to a balancing issue. As much as I love Walter Goggins as an actor, his character and crew’s involvement later on felt overplayed in some moments or didn’t feel integral. And while the final chase sequence is fantastic, juggling the Ant-Man crew and the various players trying to grab their piece of the pie didn’t always fit well together. I’m also not in love with the de-aging CGI used on Douglas and Pfeiffer as it’s still jarring (Tarkin, Leia in Rogue One anybody?), but maybe with enough time they will get it figured out.
Overall, Ant-Man and The Wasp achieves the thrills and fun ride we’ve come to expect out of our Marvel films. It does so well and in great doses especially considering what has happened in the MCU outside of this film. As a heads up, if you are still salty with the MCU and the ending of Infinity War, you may not want to watch either end credits. You have been warned
Ant-Man and The Wasp: 8 out of 10
Kenneth “Commander” Shipp has had opinions on movies since he was a kid…even if that meant talking to himself. He loves tackling the issues involved with our modern blockbusters while still enjoying the deep dives into the films you may have glossed over. You may still see him comment on his other loves (video games and television) whenever he has time. You can catch all his movie reviews here and listen to him on our weekly podcasts when they start back in August!!
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