Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Review

118min

Genre:     Comic-book, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-fi

Director:  Peyton Reed

Cast:       Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas…and more

Writers:   Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd…and more

-Synopsis-

With his superhero career on ice and daddy duty taking precedence, ‘Scott Lang’ is called upon to once again accept responsibility and save the day—teaming up with fugitives ‘Dr. Hank Pym’ and ‘Hope Van Dyne’ to stop a dangerous new foe and correct the devastating mistakes of the past.

Three months after dominating global airwaves with their all-consuming box-office goliath ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, Marvel returns to captivate UK audiences with a more intimate family affair, reducing the scale and going subatomic as director Peyton Reed returns to reunite with star and co-writer Paul Rudd for this light-hearted, side-splitting ensemble follow-up to the unexpected 2015 hit.

Rudd returns as reformed thief-turned-superhero Lang, now under house arrest after his exploits with the ‘Avengers’ in their family squabble and trying to keep on the straight-and-narrow, only to be brought back to the fold to help with subatomic ‘Quantum Realm’ entanglements by a resentful Dr. Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope (Evangeline Lilly) —themselves on the run from the feds. But when a mysterious ghostly figure (Hannah John-Kamen) reveals dark secrets from the past and threatens their future, ‘Ant-Man’ and ‘The Wasp’ must become a team to save the day . . . and track down the last crucial piece of the Pym/Van Dyne family puzzle.

When Marvel’s smallest superhero first hit the big screen in 2015, after major production issues which included the departure of original writer/director Edgar Wright, expectations were low and the result delightfully exceeded them. Now with the novelty of mystery gone and the pressure of anticipation becoming real, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige & co. stick to a successful formula and keep things in an appropriately tight little package, treating the audience to everything they’ve come to expect from Ant-Man . . . and his cohorts.

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’  is as light-hearted and entertaining as you might expect or want, featuring plenty of fun and creative action-set pieces, particularly the chases through the streets of San Francisco—which must have conjured up fond memories for Michael Douglas—with slick CGI making it all stick together, not to mention taking de-aging effects to another level, raising hopes of an extended career for actors of a certain age across Hollywood.

Once again the writers (with star Paul Rudd among them) take full advantage of the comedic and entertainment potential of turning people and things really small and really big, sticking to the brand of silly and grounded humour which flows from its star and made the first film so successful, while separating this series from much of the comic-book film milieu and indeed the rest of the MCU—and which laid the groundwork for Taika Waititi’s glorious revamp of the ‘Thor’ series.

But once again it’s Michael Peña who truly gives the film its comedy chops, stealing every one of his scenes as Scott Lang’s loveably inept and overly honest buddy ‘Luis’, flanked by his partners ‘Kurt’ (David Dastmalchian) and ‘Dave’ (T.I.) to create a ‘Three Stooges’-like trifecta of laughs.

In terms of the story, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ is suitably silly and stretches the imagination, combining science and fantasy to weave a tale surrounding the mythical subatomic Quantum Realm—glossing over a few major plot holes along the way—but it hardly seems to matter as sophisticated plot is not what this show is about. Whereas 2015’s ‘Ant-Man’ was all about setting tone and introducing the characters and the world in which they operate, the sequel is all about deepening relationships while upping the stakes and pumping up the spectacle. Ultimately ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ is a dysfunctional superhero family tale about mothers, fathers and daughters . . . but fear not as the occasional questionable attempt at sentimentality is more than balanced by the humour.

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ also has the distinction of being refreshingly rather independent of the MCU, working almost as a standalone picture which isn’t completely defined by the events of the cinematic universe around it, and which doesn’t bend over backwards to feed into it—that is apart from the whole Quantum Realm thing, which is sure to add yet another dimension to the upcoming and as yet untitled conclusion to ‘Avengers: Infinity War’.

Whilst it won’t set the superhero universe alight and doesn’t really add much to the MCU, this worthy sequel never really tries to either. Peyton Reed and the writers know which side of their bread is buttered, giving us what we want without rocking the boat, keeping the laughs coming and the spectacle growing (and shrinking) for an entertaining couple of hours of escapism . . . free from the shackles of a certain ongoing saga.

The Bottom Line…

A worthy follow-up to the unexpectedly entertaining debut of an unlikely hero—‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ sticks to a tried-and-tested formula while going bigger (and smaller) with majorly enjoyable results, all while avoiding larger MCU entanglements and keeping things intimate . . . apart from introducing a whole new dimension with the potential to thwart Thanos that is.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Ant-Man (2015)

A convicted cat-burglar is given a chance at redemption in the eyes of his estranged daughter when he’s recruited by hero scientist ‘Hank Pym’ to wear a suit that shrinks him in size, while blessing him with dynamic abilities and the help of an ant army—together they must pull off a caper to save the world from Pym’s megalomaniacal former protégé.

Directed by Peyton Reed and starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly among others.

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