Written by: Kevin Berge
I get it. The Wasp is a weird standalone name for a Marvel movie, but it would have been much more appropriate for what this is all about. (Image Courtesy of: digitalspy.com)
Quick Take: Ant-Man and the Wasp improves on the formula of the first film with a stronger vision and more focused plot. The film still seems to be riding on charm rather than connecting to its own drama, not making the most of its story but still standing up as a fun action film.
***This review will not contain spoilers for anything more than the basic set-up of the film up to the grade. There will be a spoiler section with additional warnings after the main review, but those who have not seen the film can read ahead until that point without risk.***
There are not many bad films in the MCU, but there are many that just get by as okay. The original Ant-Man is about as okay as a movie can get. It's enjoyable enough with memorable set pieces but a plot that drags and one of the MCU's most generic villains.
Part of the reason the movie struggled to be more than that was its director switch with Peyton Reed (Bring It On) taking over for Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). Neither man's vision was fully realized in the final film, leading to an awkward watered down product.
Ant-Man and the Wasp had the benefit of giving Reed complete control of the film. He could make the movie he wanted with a big budget. That freedom is felt in a more consistent tone throughout this film while the story seems focused on correcting the mistakes of the first particularly with its main threats.
In this sequel, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest after the events of Captain America: Civil War while Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father Hank (Michael Douglas) try to come up with a solution to bring Hope's mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) out of the quantum realm.
However, as the father and daughter get close to their solution, others get in the way. Scott must return to his role as Ant-Man while avoiding the FBI. A mysterious quantum-phasing villain named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) tries to steal their tech, and a black market criminal Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) tries to get in on the business.
All the strong characters of the first film are back though in much smaller roles including Luis (Michael Peña), Dave (T.I.), and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) with some new interesting characters including an old colleague of Hank, Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne).
There are not many bad films in the MCU, but there are many that just get by as okay. The original Ant-Man is about as okay as a movie can get. It's enjoyable enough with memorable set pieces but a plot that drags and one of the MCU's most generic villains.
Part of the reason the movie struggled to be more than that was its director switch with Peyton Reed (Bring It On) taking over for Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). Neither man's vision was fully realized in the final film, leading to an awkward watered down product.
Ant-Man and the Wasp had the benefit of giving Reed complete control of the film. He could make the movie he wanted with a big budget. That freedom is felt in a more consistent tone throughout this film while the story seems focused on correcting the mistakes of the first particularly with its main threats.
In this sequel, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest after the events of Captain America: Civil War while Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father Hank (Michael Douglas) try to come up with a solution to bring Hope's mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) out of the quantum realm.
However, as the father and daughter get close to their solution, others get in the way. Scott must return to his role as Ant-Man while avoiding the FBI. A mysterious quantum-phasing villain named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) tries to steal their tech, and a black market criminal Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) tries to get in on the business.
All the strong characters of the first film are back though in much smaller roles including Luis (Michael Peña), Dave (T.I.), and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) with some new interesting characters including an old colleague of Hank, Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne).
This might be my favorite suit in the MCU. I'd definitely wear that if I ever went to a convention. (Image Courtesy of: bustle.com)
The big difference between this film and the first is that this really isn't Scott's story. It's Hope's. As the co-lead actor of the film, Hope finally takes center stage, basically playing the more active and capable hero as one would expect of her, based on her role in the first.
Lilly (Lost) more or less steals the show in the film with Rudd (I Love You, Man) also good throughout especially when working off Abby Ryder Forston (Transparent), playing his daughter Cassie. The two leads bring a strong humanity to their roles because their focus is entirely on family plus they have great chemistry still.
The dynamics in this film are noticeably feminine particularly in the impact of Hope, Janet, and Cassie on the plot. It is a welcome change in a franchise that has largely failed to take on a primarily female perspective in the past. This is a story of daughters and mother with even Scott's role for Cassie labelled as "World's Greatest Grandma".
Even the villain is female, only the second woman to play an MCU lead antagonist. Ghost is a fascinating character that is one of the MCU's deepest characters, but the movie doesn't do the best job exploring that depth. Her development especially defines the movie's failings.
This film has a really strong story behind it, filled with strong familial emotion, but the screenplay often lets it down. Even if this all Reed's directorial effort, the screenplay likely went through too many hands along the way leading to some flat execution of well-constructed ideas.
While the movie is charming and engaging, I rarely found it that funny. Luis is the most consistently funny character, but he takes less of a role in this film. Ant-Man and the Wasp plays with scale often, but it only has a few tricks that are repeatedly used. These tricks often amount to sight gags or action set pieces.
Ultimately, Ant-Man and the Wasp is fun enough, but it does come off as one the Marvel films that will be forgotten over time. It's a shame because it has some really cool ideas and characters, but there's still not enough here for the movie to shine with more than a few writing shortcuts along the way.
Lilly (Lost) more or less steals the show in the film with Rudd (I Love You, Man) also good throughout especially when working off Abby Ryder Forston (Transparent), playing his daughter Cassie. The two leads bring a strong humanity to their roles because their focus is entirely on family plus they have great chemistry still.
The dynamics in this film are noticeably feminine particularly in the impact of Hope, Janet, and Cassie on the plot. It is a welcome change in a franchise that has largely failed to take on a primarily female perspective in the past. This is a story of daughters and mother with even Scott's role for Cassie labelled as "World's Greatest Grandma".
Even the villain is female, only the second woman to play an MCU lead antagonist. Ghost is a fascinating character that is one of the MCU's deepest characters, but the movie doesn't do the best job exploring that depth. Her development especially defines the movie's failings.
This film has a really strong story behind it, filled with strong familial emotion, but the screenplay often lets it down. Even if this all Reed's directorial effort, the screenplay likely went through too many hands along the way leading to some flat execution of well-constructed ideas.
While the movie is charming and engaging, I rarely found it that funny. Luis is the most consistently funny character, but he takes less of a role in this film. Ant-Man and the Wasp plays with scale often, but it only has a few tricks that are repeatedly used. These tricks often amount to sight gags or action set pieces.
Ultimately, Ant-Man and the Wasp is fun enough, but it does come off as one the Marvel films that will be forgotten over time. It's a shame because it has some really cool ideas and characters, but there's still not enough here for the movie to shine with more than a few writing shortcuts along the way.
Grade: B-
***From this point on, the reader is expected to have seen the film. If you plan to do so and have not yet, do not go past this point.***
If small Ant-Man keeps the same strength as normal Ant-Man, why is giant Ant-Man so much stronger? Asking the tough questions. (Image Courtesy of: cnet.com)
The primary threat in this film is the alliance of Ghost/Ava Starr and Bill Foster who have a fantastic dynamic as Bill tries to play father and protector to a woman who is constantly in pain and haunted by past events that have left her questioning her own morality often.
This is the type of villain dynamic that most of the MCU films of early years would have loved to have, but here it often feels wasted. Too much time is spent on the secondary threats of the FBI and especially the entirely unnecessary criminal threat of Sonny and his gang.
Stronger writing would have really allowed these main two to shine with Bill often coming off as far less intelligent than he should be. This culminates in the climax of the story where the screenplay takes a lazy shortcut when it matters most to solve everything.
The crux of the film is that both sides want to get to Janet in the quantum realm. Ghost is trapped in a state of molecular instability and needs to use Janet's power to stabilize which could kill Hope's mother. It's a moral dilemma that the heroes solve by simply saving Janet.
Janet has gained so much power in the quantum realm that she just has to touch Ava to stabilize her permanently. Nothing is learned. No stakes are paid off. The heroes win. The threat is avoided, and Scott even avoids getting caught by the FBI entirely. It's all too convenient.
This may be the fun, charming palate cleanser after Avengers Infinity War, but it tries to be more than that at times. If this was a fun story that fully embraces its silliness, there would be more action (like Hope's insanely cool first scene as The Wasp) and creativity and less time spent on establishing these moral dilemmas and stakes.
There's a great movie here, and this is still better than the first. It's just that so much of that potential is left unfulfilled. As we are likely to get more films with Ant-Man and/or The Wasp in the lead role, I do wonder if a change in director might do the series some good.
This is the type of villain dynamic that most of the MCU films of early years would have loved to have, but here it often feels wasted. Too much time is spent on the secondary threats of the FBI and especially the entirely unnecessary criminal threat of Sonny and his gang.
Stronger writing would have really allowed these main two to shine with Bill often coming off as far less intelligent than he should be. This culminates in the climax of the story where the screenplay takes a lazy shortcut when it matters most to solve everything.
The crux of the film is that both sides want to get to Janet in the quantum realm. Ghost is trapped in a state of molecular instability and needs to use Janet's power to stabilize which could kill Hope's mother. It's a moral dilemma that the heroes solve by simply saving Janet.
Janet has gained so much power in the quantum realm that she just has to touch Ava to stabilize her permanently. Nothing is learned. No stakes are paid off. The heroes win. The threat is avoided, and Scott even avoids getting caught by the FBI entirely. It's all too convenient.
This may be the fun, charming palate cleanser after Avengers Infinity War, but it tries to be more than that at times. If this was a fun story that fully embraces its silliness, there would be more action (like Hope's insanely cool first scene as The Wasp) and creativity and less time spent on establishing these moral dilemmas and stakes.
There's a great movie here, and this is still better than the first. It's just that so much of that potential is left unfulfilled. As we are likely to get more films with Ant-Man and/or The Wasp in the lead role, I do wonder if a change in director might do the series some good.