Ant-Man and the WaspPart of discovering the responsibilities of being a hero means understanding the consequences of that heroism, and who it affects. Ant-Man and the Wasp is a superhero movie about the eponymous size-shifting duo, namely Ant-Man--a.k.a. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd)--and "The Wasp"--a.k.a. Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Scott has been under house arrest in his home in San Francisco, derailing his superheroic exploits while simultaneously turning Hope and her father--the gifted (if ornery) genius, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas)--into fugitives. After Scott has a vision of Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer)--previously presumed lost in the mysterious "quantum realm"--he reunites with Hope and Hank, aiding their efforts to reconstitute their family.
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Ant-Man and the Wasp--like its predecessor, Ant-Man--occupies a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that is different than the high-stakes, universe-threatening conflicts found in the Avengers films, although that is not to say that the events in this movie are not important. This gives Ant-Man a more "grounded" feel--ironic considering how many of Scott's allies are crawling ants. Scott's primary concern is avoiding violating the rules of his sentence, one overseen by FBI agent, Jimmy Woo (Randall Park); failing this means a twenty year minimum sentence of hard time. Though Scott's no stranger to prison--owing to his history as a thief--he is driven to comply to ensure that he maintains a presence in the life of his daughter, Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), who he has reconnected with after getting his life back on track, despite being confined to his home. His former cellmate, Luis (Michael Peña), has started a security company--whimsically named "X-Con"--with Scott as his consultant, and the former thief has even fostered a healthy friendship between himself and his ex-wife, Maggie (Judy Greer), and her new husband, Jim Paxton (Bobby Cannavale). Despite Scott's previous transgressions with the law, his life appears to be on the upswing; but Scott feels the call of his erstwhile life as a superhero. There are brief moments where he recalls with glee how he was singled out by "Cap" (i.e. Captain America) to join in his crusade against the invasive Sokovia Accords--introduced in Civil War, they force superheroes to register with the government or be treated as criminals. For Scott, his enthusiasm doesn't come from breaking the law, but because he was recognized for his skills and appreciated for what he could contribute to a team. Even from the first film, Scott's core motivation is feeling valued--to his daughter as much as to his friends and colleagues. Scott feels the sting of failing to foresee the cost of violating the accords and how it brought to light Hank Pym's technology, turning him and Hope into accessories to Scott's crime--fracturing their friendship and Scott's burgeoning romance with Hope. This regret prompts Scott to reach out to Hank after his dream, which in turn leads to Hope's abduction of Scott, who may be the only key to bringing back Janet. The tense reunion that follows makes it clear to Scott what his irresponsibility has wrought.
What further differentiates Ant-Man and the Wasp from other Marvel movies is that it avoids focusing the spotlight on an obvious "super-villain". The antagonist in the film is introduced as a mysterious specter dubbed "Ghost", shortly thereafter revealed to be Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), a young woman whose exposure to quantum energy has made her cellular structure unstable. This has the side effect of letting "phase" through solid matter, hence her alias; but Ava is also haunted by memories of what brought about her unfortunate transformation, to which she blames Hank Pym. Her childhood memories include an incident where her father--having been fired and discredited by Hank--sought to navigate the quantum realm. His failure left Ava an orphan, who in turn was quickly snatched up by S.H.I.E.L.D. to be used as a powered operative and assassin. Ava discovers that Janet can be recovered from the quantum realm, and seeks to leverage her presumed quantum energy--stockpiled after thirty years of exposure--to purge her of her affliction...despite the likelihood that it will irrevocably harm or kill Janet. There are moments when Ava is presented with options to dragoon Hank into yielding his quantum tunnel to her--including potentially kidnapping Scott's daughter--but relents after being talked down. The only character in Ant-Man and the Wasp presented as a traditional "bad guy" is the bumbling black market electronics dealer named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), who tries to exploit Hank and Hope's access to quantum energy for his secret "buyers". When Scott and Hank are reunited, the animosity is palpable. Hank feels betrayed by his erstwhile protege, yet it becomes clear that "parting on bad terms" is a trend with the genius inventor. In the trio's efforts to recover their secret lab--an office building capable of shrinking to the size of carry-on luggage--Hank reluctantly turns to a former colleague named Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne). Similar to Ava's father, Bill left Hank's employment on "Project Goliath" due to "creative differences", though he also accuses Hank of letting his ego destroy their camaraderie. Although presented as subtext to Scott's own journey of understanding and responsibility, Hank is forced to address his own transgressions and the aftermath of his burned bridges--specters of his past returning to haunt him at this crucial moment.
The charm of Ant-Man and the Wasp--again, like its predecessor--comes from putting its focus on humor and wit, without sacrificing the spirit of adventure in keeping with the genre. After the prologue--a flashback including a de-aged Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer before Janet was lost on her last mission--the movie cuts to Scott exploring a set of cardboard tunnels in his house designed to look like ant tunnels, going on a mock adventure with Cassie. The scene has all of the charm of a father playing make believe with his young daughter, and establishes that the film is willing to be silly as well as exciting. When Scott recalls his dream--in which he was Janet, playing hide-and-seek with a young Hope--she knows it to be true because she always hid inside a wardrobe; Scott quips that she must not have gotten "the gist of the game". Because Scott claims that he destroyed his purloined Ant-Man suit, he is forced to don a glitchy prototype to help Hope when he reunites with Hank. This leads to a scene where he gets stuck at "toddler size" when he and Hope infiltrate Cassie's elementary school--trying to reclaim the original suit that wasn't destroyed--and he has to try to blend in by wearing an oversized (for him) blue hoodie while flailing around through the halls. The humor isn't meant to imply that Ant-Man and the Wasp doesn't take its superhero action seriously, though it make use of a wide array of sight gags, including oversized, everyday objects--from salt shakers to Pez dispensers--used as weapons. Hope is the martial arts savant of the superhero duo, altering her size to evade blows from Burch's thugs or Ghost's punches and kicks, while firing energy blasts from her wrists. Scott, on the other hand, plays a support role in combat, usually growing to large proportions (in spite of his moniker) to chase down the bad guys--including one comical scene where he uses a flatbed truck like a toy wagon to speed his way through the hilly San Francisco streets. (Even Luis gets in on a heated car chase set piece involving growing and shrinking Hyundais, that are totally not product placement.) Ant-Man and the Wasp also revisits the quantum realm teased in the first film when Hank makes the journey into the subatomic universe to save his love. As he observes, the imagery in this tinier-than-microscopic place is "beautiful", filled with lush colors and even psychedelic vistas. Like Scott before him, he begins to understand the latent power that exists deep within everything, implying a burgeoning sense of humility in the face of the mysteries and beauty that lurks within the most minute of details.
Recommended for: Fans of a comparatively light-hearted superhero adventure movie, emphasizing humor and empathy over apocalyptic peril. Ant-Man and the Wasp features plenty of nods to the source material and its cinematic continuity. The audience that will feel more invested in the story is the one that has at least seen the first movie, but even neophyte audiences will no doubt enjoy the comedy and charm of its successor.
What further differentiates Ant-Man and the Wasp from other Marvel movies is that it avoids focusing the spotlight on an obvious "super-villain". The antagonist in the film is introduced as a mysterious specter dubbed "Ghost", shortly thereafter revealed to be Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), a young woman whose exposure to quantum energy has made her cellular structure unstable. This has the side effect of letting "phase" through solid matter, hence her alias; but Ava is also haunted by memories of what brought about her unfortunate transformation, to which she blames Hank Pym. Her childhood memories include an incident where her father--having been fired and discredited by Hank--sought to navigate the quantum realm. His failure left Ava an orphan, who in turn was quickly snatched up by S.H.I.E.L.D. to be used as a powered operative and assassin. Ava discovers that Janet can be recovered from the quantum realm, and seeks to leverage her presumed quantum energy--stockpiled after thirty years of exposure--to purge her of her affliction...despite the likelihood that it will irrevocably harm or kill Janet. There are moments when Ava is presented with options to dragoon Hank into yielding his quantum tunnel to her--including potentially kidnapping Scott's daughter--but relents after being talked down. The only character in Ant-Man and the Wasp presented as a traditional "bad guy" is the bumbling black market electronics dealer named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), who tries to exploit Hank and Hope's access to quantum energy for his secret "buyers". When Scott and Hank are reunited, the animosity is palpable. Hank feels betrayed by his erstwhile protege, yet it becomes clear that "parting on bad terms" is a trend with the genius inventor. In the trio's efforts to recover their secret lab--an office building capable of shrinking to the size of carry-on luggage--Hank reluctantly turns to a former colleague named Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne). Similar to Ava's father, Bill left Hank's employment on "Project Goliath" due to "creative differences", though he also accuses Hank of letting his ego destroy their camaraderie. Although presented as subtext to Scott's own journey of understanding and responsibility, Hank is forced to address his own transgressions and the aftermath of his burned bridges--specters of his past returning to haunt him at this crucial moment.
The charm of Ant-Man and the Wasp--again, like its predecessor--comes from putting its focus on humor and wit, without sacrificing the spirit of adventure in keeping with the genre. After the prologue--a flashback including a de-aged Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer before Janet was lost on her last mission--the movie cuts to Scott exploring a set of cardboard tunnels in his house designed to look like ant tunnels, going on a mock adventure with Cassie. The scene has all of the charm of a father playing make believe with his young daughter, and establishes that the film is willing to be silly as well as exciting. When Scott recalls his dream--in which he was Janet, playing hide-and-seek with a young Hope--she knows it to be true because she always hid inside a wardrobe; Scott quips that she must not have gotten "the gist of the game". Because Scott claims that he destroyed his purloined Ant-Man suit, he is forced to don a glitchy prototype to help Hope when he reunites with Hank. This leads to a scene where he gets stuck at "toddler size" when he and Hope infiltrate Cassie's elementary school--trying to reclaim the original suit that wasn't destroyed--and he has to try to blend in by wearing an oversized (for him) blue hoodie while flailing around through the halls. The humor isn't meant to imply that Ant-Man and the Wasp doesn't take its superhero action seriously, though it make use of a wide array of sight gags, including oversized, everyday objects--from salt shakers to Pez dispensers--used as weapons. Hope is the martial arts savant of the superhero duo, altering her size to evade blows from Burch's thugs or Ghost's punches and kicks, while firing energy blasts from her wrists. Scott, on the other hand, plays a support role in combat, usually growing to large proportions (in spite of his moniker) to chase down the bad guys--including one comical scene where he uses a flatbed truck like a toy wagon to speed his way through the hilly San Francisco streets. (Even Luis gets in on a heated car chase set piece involving growing and shrinking Hyundais, that are totally not product placement.) Ant-Man and the Wasp also revisits the quantum realm teased in the first film when Hank makes the journey into the subatomic universe to save his love. As he observes, the imagery in this tinier-than-microscopic place is "beautiful", filled with lush colors and even psychedelic vistas. Like Scott before him, he begins to understand the latent power that exists deep within everything, implying a burgeoning sense of humility in the face of the mysteries and beauty that lurks within the most minute of details.
Recommended for: Fans of a comparatively light-hearted superhero adventure movie, emphasizing humor and empathy over apocalyptic peril. Ant-Man and the Wasp features plenty of nods to the source material and its cinematic continuity. The audience that will feel more invested in the story is the one that has at least seen the first movie, but even neophyte audiences will no doubt enjoy the comedy and charm of its successor.