Review of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) by Kevin P — 12 Jul 2018

Strengths: The original Ant-Man film was a lighthearted entry into the MCU and one that was better than it had any right to be. Ant-Man partially stole the show during the big fight scene in Captain America: Civil War. Paul Rudd (Scott Lang) returns here and was top notch once again. He seems like he was born to play Lang. His ability to bring his unique brand of charm to the role is what makes him so great. While he's once again a star, Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp) is even better. She really delivers in the biggest movie role of her career. It's not just the two stars who standout, either. Michael Pena (Luis) again shines as Lang's fast talking buddy, while Abby Ryder Fortson (Cassie) nearly steals every scene she's in. That's just the tip of the iceberg, as Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost) makes a tremendous impact as an antagonist, but one who you can completely sympathize with. Yes, she's making life hard for the heroes, but you understand where she's coming from because of what happened in her life. There's also the always delightful Walton Goggins (Sonny Burch), who looks like he's having the time of his life in the role. Peyton Reed does even better work as the direction this time around. Everything looks marvelous and he does a great job with things like the shots of Ant-Man at 60+ feet. The filmmakers continue to find cool ways to make sure Ant-Man's powers come to life in the best possible way. The script also happens to be loaded with fun, quirky moments.

Weaknesses: As great as Lilly was as the Wasp, she does seem to not get as much to do as you'd expect. There's a lot going on and with everyone, include TI (Dave) and David Dastmalchian (Kurt), getting a moment to shine, something had to be sacrificed. It's not egregious, but I wanted her to do more. Speaking of a lot going on, since so much happened, characters like Ghost weren't allowed to flesh out as much as they could have. Her story was heartbreaking and deserved a bit more screen time. Lastly, they do go a bit overboard in throwing out the scientific terms. And having Lang make sarcastic references to how he understands this jargon isn't enough to make up for it.

Overall: Isn't it wild to think that this was the worst MCU film in 2018? They just set such a high bar with Black Panther and Infinity War. Ant-Man and the Wasp works as a great successor to the first film. There are so many standout performances and the blend of comedy, action, and special effects make this one hell of a fun summer blockbuster. Throw in the very intriguing tie-in to Infinity War and it's a recipe for success.