Review of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) by Thomas D — 15 Jul 2018

Marvel is coming off quite possibly their best streak of 3 films including Thor Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Infinity War; Ant-Man & the Wasp found itself in a unique situation. Some people thought all it had to do was be fun and present a different tone than what Infinity War did a few months back, others thought it had even more pressure to continue the streak of greatness. For me, I just wanted a good movie that would make me laugh. Because for the most part, that's what the first Ant-Man did.

Sadly, the sequel barely does anything to separate itself from other superhero films or really make a mark in a crowded field of movies. Let's begin with the humor (which is getting a lot of credit for some reason). There are a few characters in this film that are anything but actual humans. They are caricatures that are only there to spout jokes for ever second they are on screen. Randall Park and Michael Pena no longer feel like real people. Walton Goggins (albeit not there for humor) is a completely useless character that is solely there so that the secondary characters can have a brief action "chase" sequence. You never get a true sense of his purpose or motivations. He's just there.

The villain, Ghost, (played by Hannah John-Kamen) looked like an interesting addition in the trailers and has the ability to phase through anything. Her goal in this movie directly relates to a spoiler-ish mission that Ant-Man & the Wasp go on, but there was never once that she had an imposing presence on screen. In fact, there isn't a single character that even feels like an antagonist or a conflict, which is a good reason for why this movie fails.

Evangeline Lilly is incredible in this movie and is a complete 180 from her role in the first film. She actually gets a chance to do something and every second she's on screen is electric. Unfortunately, a lot of that comes at the expense of Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. He's no longer a nifty bada**, but rather a clumsy guy in a suit that's good for a few punches and one too many jokes.

As a whole, the film is easily the worst and most pointless entry into the MCU. There's no reason this film should get more praise simply because its a lighter movie that comes right after Infinity War. Years from now I think people are going to realize that there is just a lack of substance here.

4.0/10.