(3 / 4)
Featuring winning performances from its titular characters and inventive visual gags, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a buzzy feel-good Summer popcorn movie, even if the story’s familiarity serves as a prime example of Marvel’s worst tendencies when it comes to sequels.
In a release strategy reminiscent of 2015’s Ant-Man, we once again find a small-stakes adventure featuring the well-meaning but morally grey Scott Lang following arguably the most ambitious and grand story yet with Infinity War. Although never critical or financial failures, Marvel has had a mixed track record in terms of ingenuity when it comes to their sequels. On one hand we have films like Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: The Winter Solider which took risks in order to produce superior films to their prior films. On the other hand, however, some sequel efforts such as Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor: The Dark World are almost carbon copies of their predecessors and despite being enjoyable, they end up coming off as shallow and lazy. Unfortunately, Ant-Man and the Wasp is more Thor: The Dark World than Thor: Ragnarok as it is essentially a retread of the first film’s plot points, leading to a somewhat disappointing chapter for a largely phenomenal Phase 3 of Marvel films. Yet, the film has a lot going for it, and despite being disappointing by Marvel’s standard, Ant-Man and the Wasp is still one of the more enjoyable Summer blockbusters around.
The story finds our favorite miniature thief, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), enduring house arrest for having aided “Cap” during the events of Civil War. Scott is only days away from the end of his house arrest when seemingly in a dream he receives a message from Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Janet has long been thought to be deceased, but in reality she had inadvertently traveled to a different dimension, known as the quantum realm. Upon sharing this message with Janet’s daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Scott is whisked away from his home by Hope and is informed that after Scott’s message, she and her father Hank (Michael Douglas) have concocted a plan to travel to the quantum realm and rescue Janet.
In order to carry out the plan, Hope must retrieve a rare part from a black-market dealer, Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), however, upon realizing the part’s value Hope is quickly double crossed by Burch. Not willing to allow this duplicity to stand in her way, Hope dons her Wasp suit, a dramatically upgraded version of the Ant-Man suit, and singlehandedly dispenses with Burch’s men. In the midst of this combat, a mysteriously masked woman, referred to as Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), manifests with her own motivations for accessing the quantum realm. The story tracks the conflict as Scott, Hope, and Hank race against Ghost and Burch to rescue Janet from the quantum realm, all the while evading the FBI.
With the story involving travelling to different dimensions that can alter life, it is impressive that the film is able to still ultimately focus on the smaller stakes of whether Scott will be caught violating his house arrest and whether Hope and Hank will be apprehended by the authorities. This focus allows Ant-Man and the Wasp to avoid imitating what has been done countless times by other Superhero films, especially in the MCU. However, the fallout from Civil War essentially resetting the relationship between Scott with Hope and Hank is frustrating, as it makes much of the story feel like a retelling of the first. We have a similar trajectory for the relationship with both Hank and Hope being uneasy and distrustful towards Scott until he slowly wins back their trust just like in the first film. It would have been refreshing for their dynamic at the start of the film to have reflected some degree of trust for Scott, seeing that he came through and helped save the day in the last film.
Some of the humor also comes off as a rehash of the first, as the film leans a bit too heavily on gags related to Scott stating something foolish and either Hope or Hank then chastising him for this. In general, it felt at times as though the film was working to check off certain boxes to appease fans of the first, that by the time we get to Scott’s criminal pal, Luiz (Michael Peña) doing another rapid-fire monologue, it feels more as though it’s pandering to fans rather than a fresh joke. This was extra frustrating for me, as despite greatly enjoying the first, my chief criticism was that I wanted the film to take more risks. In that regard, the sequel did not meet my expectations.
With that criticism out of the way, the film still has plenty in its assets column, as Paul Rudd is once again the perfect actor to take on the role of Scott Lang. There is an abundance of new visual gags this time around, and Rudd is more than up for the challenge of maximizing their hilarity. Whether it be the Ant-Man suit repeatedly malfunctioning or the presence of shrinking vehicles during chase scenes, Rudd never misses a beat in his quirky reactions.
Evangeline Lilly, who shined in the first film despite not being provided as meaty of a role, is a bona fide action heroine this time around. It was gratifying to witness Hope with a more intricate role in key events, as her brief instances of defiance in the first film, such as when she instinctively pulled a gun on Darren Cross, stood out as some of the best moments. Here, she continues to play Hope with that same fiery intensity, only this time during the film’s zippy action scenes rather than on the sidelines.
In the villain department, Ghost is a marked improvement over Yellow Jacket, as the character is a far cry from the two-dimensional brand of villainy that Marvel has been notorious for using in the past. Although the character is played suitably unhinged and manic, Hannah John-Kamen injects the character with a vulnerability, making Ghost simultaneously fragile as well as a dangerous force to be reckoned with. Despite having limited screen time, Ghost’s plight for accessing the quantum realm is so sympathetic that, other than being at odds with our protagonists, you’d be forgiven for not qualifying her as evil.
I am a huge fan of what Marvel has accomplished, and Ant-Man and the Wasp is undeniably another enjoyable chapter in the saga. While following the mold from its predecessor worked for the most part this time, Marvel should not become too comfortable with this approach for sequels going forward. Unlike recent inventive successes such as Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok, Ant-Man and the Wasp is not must see entertainment, and if that becomes the norm, it could spell trouble eventually for the studio’s reign. Without new entries willing to take risks and radically change the formula, new titles could be seen as stale or even uninspired. Here’s hoping that next year’s Captain Marvel takes some fresh approaches, as I believe playing it safe could potentially lead to the Marvel brand losing its luster.
