AFTER the superhero game-changer that was Avengers: Infinity War, it feels like we deserved a bit of a light-hearted breather from all the universe-balancing consequences.
And so in flies Ant-Man and the Wasp to do exactly that; one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) most inconsequential movies thus far but a good bit of multi-scale fun, still.
Timeline-wise it cleans things up pretty neatly: despite being released after Infinity War, events take place sometime before it, although most definitely after events of Captain America: Civil War wherein Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) went off to join one half of The Avengers as they fought the other.
We catch up with him near the end of his two-year house arrest for his part in the aforementioned in-fighting. But after a mysterious vision, our ant-sized hero heads off to team up with the original Ant-Man tech’s inventor, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Pym’s newly-suited-up daughter Hope AKA the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly).
Their mission is to build a device that would allow them to enter the dangerous Quantum Realm to rescue Pym’s wife, Janet Van Dyne (franchise newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer), who has been stranded there for decades. Things don’t exactly go to plan as they have to deal with nefarious black market weapons dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) who refuses to hand over an essential piece of equipment.
Meanwhile, they also have a run-in with an enigmatic, expert combatant they nickname Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) because of her incredible ability to phase through matter and who wants their equipment for her own mysterious purposes.
As with the first Ant-Man, this kind of does its own dance outside of the more worlds-affecting action of the other Avengers movies. The tone of it is much more light-hearted and breezy, with an even more self-aware and one-liner sense of humour than we usually get from the MCU. It’s as much a comedy as it is superhero movie and is armed with an extremely likeable, comically-gifted performer in Rudd, as well as Michael Peña once again providing good value as the excitable Luis.
It brings that chuckling demeanour into the action sequences; there’s something inherently entertaining about the sight of the eponymous heroes shrinking and then expanding mid-chase, causing the baddies to be caught unaware as their car suddenly flips over or runs head first into a giant salt shaker. Those wanting to see Ant-Man repeat his newfound parlour trick from Civil War of growing to a humongous size will be in for a treat, too.
The measure of a hero is often only as good as their villain, so they say, and while it has plenty going for it otherwise, this sequel does suffer a little from the antagonists not quite being memorable or intimidating enough. Goggins is somewhat wasted as the superfluous arms dealer, only being there as another pesky fly for our heroes to swat away. And while the other-worldly powers of Ghost provide some slick and unusual visuals, you never quite feel the threat she poses nor feel much of the empathy the film tries to invite.
The emotional engagement, such as it is, comes together quite nicely elsewhere in a way that particularly justifies the inclusion of the Wasp beyond merely looking cool; Lilly is great casting and brings a satisfying combination of the badass and the humanistic.
At the same time the narrative comes to terms with the idea of what it means for Lang to put on that hero’s suit and be an attentive father at the same time – it’s a staple theme of the genre kitted out in futuristic tech.
It’s something of an intentionally goofy extravaganza of neat effects and nudge-nudge, wink-wink sensibilities where anything goes and without much consequence to the MCU that exists outside its own little, self-contained world (although stick around for the obligatory end credits scenes which hint at something bigger). It’s perfectly enjoyably fare from the Marvel roster that doesn’t do a whole lot to stand out but looks good doing its own thing.
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