Ant-Man and the Wasp Review

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown to be a galaxy-spanning entity where billions of lives are at stake. The Ant-Man series acts as a counterbalance, offering smaller adventures within the universe.

Following the events of the first Ant-Man film Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) are given hope that they can save the original Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the Quantum Realm. They need the assistance of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) but their relationship has been strained because Scott fought with Captain America two years ago and he has been placed under house arrest ever since. The trio also face a new threat in the form of Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a woman with the ability to phase through walls and has a vendetta against Hank.

The previous Marvel film, Avengers: Infinity War was a darker story that involved galactic level genocide Ant-Man and the Wasp is a lighter-hearted story and looks at the ground level of the MCU. The first Ant-Man was a heist movie and the sequel was a personal story because of the Pym’s mission to save their family member and they only have a small window to do it.

The previous film in the Ant-Man film series was developed by Edgar Wright and he pulled out of directing at the last minute. Wright fingerprints were all over the film so the worry for Ant-Man and the Wasp would not match the quality of the film without his input, especially since Peyton Reed’s record as a director outside of the Ant-Man films is lackluster. Fortunately, Ant-Man and the Wasp matches the quality of the first film.

Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers contributed to the screenplay and they have become the goto guys to pen family-friendly fare – they wrote The LEGO Batman Movie, Spider-man: Homecoming and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Paul Rudd also has a writing credit. They were able to make Ant-Man and the Wasp a satisfying continuation of the first Ant-Man film and Captain America: Civil War in terms of story and character development.

The Ant-Man series is even more overtly comedic than other films in the MCU, which is quite an achievement considering the tone of most MCU films. There were plenty of witty lines and dialogue exchanges – the relationship between Scott and Hank is tenser and Michael Peña continues to have fast line deliveries. There is also a lot of physical and visual humor due to the size changing abilities. The film even turned expository dialogue and product placement into clever jokes.

The biggest improvement Ant-Man and the Wasp has over the first film is the villain. Ghost is a tragic figure because she is unable to control her powers, has been used as a weapon by S.H.I.E.L.D. and is constant pain. She is dying, so obviously desperate, her reasons are justifiable and like the heroes she is against a ticking clock. Ghost is the latest example of Marvel Studios improving their movie villains, like Vulture and Kilmorger. John-Kamen is an actress with a growing reputation, appearing in Tomb Raider and Ready Player One earlier this year and appeared in shows like Game of Thrones and Black Mirror. She was able to make the character tragic, determined and threatening and John-Kamen is clearly an actress with potential as she plays a serious character in a comedic world.

Walton Goggins played the secondary villain, a black market dealer. He could have been a generic gangster and he wasn’t a physical threat but Goggins was able to have fun with the role, making him a flamboyant man with a thick Southern accent.

The action is what audiences would expect from a Marvel film. The big set piece being the third act chase on the streets of San Francisco – it was grander than the finale in the previous film and still felt justified. It was not a case of being bigger for the sake of it. Evangeline Lilly gets to flex her action muscles as the Wasp, having a fun introduction when she’s in her full suit.

However, Bobby Cannavale and Judy Greer were just a third wheel to the plot considering there was no conflict with Scott and they had limited screen time. It’s nice for the actors to have a paycheque from Marvel but their roles could have been voice roles.

Ant-Man and Wasp is an entertaining little entry in Marvel Cinematic Universe – being a funny slice of this franchise – and dare I say I thought it was a better film than Black Panther was.