Review of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) by Dan L — 05 Jul 2018

No Thor: Ragnarok-esque genre change here. Ant-Man and the Wasp is very much in the same vein as its predecessor, and I don't have any problem with that. I know some people didn't enjoy Ant-Man, but oh well . . . I loved it anyway.

So. The plot. Scott Lang is under house arrest after the incident in Germany, and he's approached by Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym because of a vision he had. Turns out that Janet van Dyne had connected with Scott during his foray into the quantum realm, and Hope and Pym are bent on finding her again. But a movie can't go on without a good villain, and Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost is there to fulfill revenge - and ensure her own survival.

Once again, if you've loved the family comedy vibe of the first movie, you'll love this one as well. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly continue to provide immense charm as their fictional counterparts, and Evangeline in particular gets to shine as the Wasp. Great action sequences are there as well, with the heroes(and the phasing villain) utilizing their abilities in creative ways.

I also just love how, in the Ant-Man movies, the other characters are just as fleshed out as the leads. Luis, Dave and Kurt in particular are stars, bringing both humor and heart into the story. Ghost is also a good character, although I felt like she wasn't as strongly written as she could have been. Needless to say, Hannah John-Kamen brought the best of her character's traits and made her such a compelling villain. And of course, Laurence Fishburne is consistently great - and proves that actors can appear in both Marvel and DC movies.

And Michelle Pfeiffer . . . wow. I just love her so much, it's insane. It's also insane how good the de-aging in Ant-Man movies are. I swear, young Janet looked exactly like Michelle in Batman Returns! How did they manage to do that? I was just shocked at that - and at the first post-credit scene too. How does Scott escape the quantum realm, now that Hope, Janet and Hank are turned into ash due to Thanos's snap? We'll have to wait till next year. In any case, Ant-Man and the Wasp is another steadily great addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I love my unproblematic cast.

(P.S. Why was Scott so clumsy in this movie? It's just a passing thought.).