As Scott Lang balances being both a Super Hero and a father, Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym present an urgent new mission that finds the Ant-Man fighting alongside The Wasp to uncover secrets from their past.
After the darkness and potentially world ending consequences of ‘Infinity War’, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ feels like a palette cleanser for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with barely even a nod to the events of the former. Like the first ‘Ant-Man’ film, this sequel is light and breezy and operates on a smaller scale with (relatively) smaller stakes and that’s not just a reference to the shrinking abilities of our protagonist. I was a big fan of the first film and I really enjoyed this sequel which essentially offers more of the same whilst building on the easy chemistry of its cast with a fun story. The effects are cool and the novelty of objects shrinking and expanding in size hasn’t worn off, and I thought ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ was solidly entertaining throughout.
Paul Rudd is a charismatic lead and he definitely felt more at home here than when he was crammed into a supporting role in ‘Civil War’ and when we first join him he’s stuck at home under house arrest following the events of the first film. It doesn’t take long for the gang to get back together so to speak and the plot centres on Scott Lang (Rudd) helping Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly, now referenced in the film’s title) to retrieve their wife and mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the quantum realm. Preventing this from going smoothly are a few antagonists including the FBI (led by Randall Paul), some nefarious criminals (led by Walton Goggins) and a women known as ‘Ghost’ (Hannah John-Kamen) who is seeking a cure to a condition brought on by the tech Hank and his contemporaries worked on in the past. The film does pack in too many subplots but it is good fun and all of the supporting characters get a chance to shine at different points.
The ‘Ant-Man’ films may be smaller in many ways than their contemporaries in the MCU but it uses these lower stakes to its advantage and I thought ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ was a worthy sequel and I really enjoyed it.
Rating: 4/5
Directed By: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Walton Goggins, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hannah John-Kamen, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Paul, Laurence Fishburne and Michael Douglas
'Somebody once wrote, "Hell is the impossibility of reason". That's what this place feels like. Hell.’ Platoon (1986) 