Ant-Man and the Wasp (Movie Review)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Directed by Peyton Reed
Screenplay by Chris McKenna, Paul Rudd, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari

It's been a while since I've seen the original Ant-Man or Civil War, so I was at a bit of a loss at the beginning of this movie when it started. Apparently, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) broke the law when he joined forces with Captain America and his pals to fight against the Avengers and was sentenced to two years of house arrest. If he can just manage to stay out of trouble for three more days, his sentence will be over and he will be a free man. But we all know THAT'S not going to happen!

Decades ago the ORIGINAL Ant-Man and Wasp (played by Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer) had to disarm a missile that was threatening innocent lives and the only way to stop it was for the Wasp to shrink all the way down to the subatomic quantum realm. Problem is that when you shrink that small, there's only a very small chance of ever coming out alive. Dr. Henry Pym and his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly) just assumed she died there. But then Scott Lang has a dream about Janet, the original Wasp, which leads Pym and Hope to believe that she might still be alive somewhere in the subatomic realm.

The basic plot of the movie is all the heroes banding together to find Janet Van Dyne. The problem besides finding a method to locate her is that the tech they need is in the hands of an unsavory black market dealer named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) who wants a slice of  Pym's tech as well. And he's willing to kill to get it. Complicating things further is a mysterious entity named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) who wants the tech as well...and her ability to phase-shift at will and fighting skills makes her a formidable adversary.

There are a LOT of things to like about this movie. The cast is top of the line and did a great job. I haven't seen a lot of Evangeline Lilly's work except for the Hobbit movies and the previous Ant-Man but she's always interesting to watch. She had to show a lot of range in this film and she pulled it off brilliantly, from hard ass attitude to vulnerable and fragile hope (sorry about the pun). All the action scenes in the movie are done with a lot of imagination and energy but I especially enjoyed a solo fight the Wasp has towards the beginning of the film.

Of course, the old vets Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Laurence Fishburne are consummate pros and probably needed very little direction. It was really cool to see that trio together because I don't think they've ever been in one movie as a trio. So to see them work together is a treat.

Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost does a good job and continues the trend of Marvel villains not being clones of Dr. Evil, but have their own motivations and tragedies that have brought them to the point of doing evil things. Sonny Burch on the other hand, is just there to chew up the scenery, much as Klaw did in The Black Panther. Andy Serkis had some very sharp teeth for that job, Goggins is also more than up to the challenge and seems to be enjoying himself.

The action sequences were really fresh because Ant-Man, Wasp, and Dr. Pym have shrinking and enlarging abilities which they activate seamlessly but they can also do the same to objects as well. I loved that Dr. Pym carried a whole collection of vehicles in a old Hot Wheels case identical to one I had as a kid. Or for example, when some bad guys are trying to make a quick exit from a room, they are blocked by a enlarged salt shaker! The special effects were on point, mixing spectacle and retro fun in just the right amounts.

The only thing I didn't like about the movie was the "Marvel Witty Patter". At certain points, and you see them coming a mile away, Paul Rudd and/or Michael Pena just go off on annoying tangents. They play word games or endless variations of  "Who's on Second?" and at some point it just wasn't funny to me. Same thing happened with Thor Ragnarok. It's so awkward and jarring...the movie is flowing along fine and then all of the sudden, it's like someone hits "Comedy Button" and it's completely out of context of the movie....and then after a few minutes, someone says "Cut, Back to Main Movie". I guess it's a minor complaint, but most of the comedy scenes/arguments/dialogue did not work for me at all.

I have to say, when the first Ant-Man movie was announced I thought it was the dumbest idea I had ever heard. But I was pleasantly surprised with the movie and its success. Without the addition of the Wasp in this second installment I don't think Paul Rudd would have been interesting enough to keep my attention. It was only a one time deal. But Evangeline, just like in the movie, makes Ant-Man MORE. I look forward to the next film in this series.

My Grade: B+