Director Peyton Reed’s 2015 hit Marvel film Ant-Man was praised as a gleeful romp that lacked the massive ambition and scale of the Captain America and Avengers series, with that being part of its appeal. Likewise, this follow-up has been acclaimed as a palette cleanser from the grand designs and powerful themes of Black Panther and the sobering landscape shift of Avengers: Infinity War, and after seeing it, I can say that’s an accurate assessment.
Witty banter and joking has long been a trademark of the MCU, and Ant-Man and The Wasp is more than happy to serve as what’s pretty much a breezy romantic comedy with some cool superhero fights- for the most part, as its story does take itself seriously enough to hold the attention of the audience, and the solid performances do result in some scenes that were unexpectedly moving.
Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne have great chemistry as crime-fighters who can shrink to insect-size at will (or turn into 50-foot titans in Scott’s case, or fly as Hope does). They frequently make puppy eyes towards one another in brief moments when the danger level dies down much to the annoyance of Hope’s grumpy scientist father Hank (Michael Douglas).
Maybe we have Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, or Rudd himself contributing as a co-writer to thank, but the staff was wise enough to keep this movie from being neither too serious nor a total farce.
Against all odds, Hope’s mother Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) just may be still alive, trapped within the Quantum Realm after she went “sub-atomic” in order to defuse a bomb, and the two believe there’s a possibility she could be brought back to the normal-sized world. Sadly, Scott’s unable to immediately help, serving a house arrest sentence after his Sokovia Accords violation where he aided Captain America in Civil War’s famous airport battle.
Assigned to keep an eye on Scott’s activities, FBI agent Jimmy Woo’s (Randall Park) explanation of these details to Scott’s daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Forsten) does little to ease her confusion, and Forsten gets a ton of laughs with just a simple expression in this scene.
It’s not too long before Hank and Hope recruit a reluctant Scott on their mission after he receives a strange vision that they believe is an S.O.S message from Janet inside the Realm, and he suits up once again as Ant-Man while she dons her own size-altering suit complete with wasp wings. They team up to obtain a missing part held by the sleazy arms dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins, mixing good-old-boy charm with a total lack of morality).
But a new supervillain (Hannah John-Kamen), named “Ghost” for her ability to shift her unstable molecules and phase through matter, has her own plans for the Pym technology, and Hank’s old scientist friend Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) further complicates the chase.
One thing that really makes Ant-Man work as a character is the amount of attention it gives to Lang outside of the suit. There’s plenty of screen time with him as the title hero, but Rudd’s interactions with his family (Judy Greer and Bobby Cannavale as his ex-wife and her husband) and friends (Michael Pena returns as Scott’s former partner-in-crime Luis, with Tip “T.I.” Harris as Dave and David Dasmalchian’s Kurt alongside him as a newly formed security company) add further dimensions to him.
While he’s not a saint by any stretch, Rudd’s warmth and modesty in these moments are a delight, especially when he’s playing with his daughter inside their makeshift obstacle course or playing the drums like no one’s watching (Hank can’t help for egg on him for it, though). Somehow, even though Mr. Rudd is almost 50, he can’t help but come off like an oversized kid in some of these scenes.
Scott does get some sweet character development with Cassie, but it’s essentially Hope’s journey that the movie focuses on. Lilly’s performance is engagingly self-assured, and Wasp instantly feels like she’ll be an incredible Avenger in future MCU films. While she’ll lightly tease Ant-Man when his suit malfunctions (causing him to shift sizes and become stuck in a “toddler” form as they look for a key item in an elementary school), the tone of the humor never deteriorates into making Scott look too bad. He might bumble here and there, but he manages to pull off some impressive as well as comedic feats of his own, especially during the thrilling climax.
As far as the supporting cast is concerned, they’ve got plenty of laughs and tears to spare for the audience. John-Kamen’s performance as Ghost presents her as both a sympathetic figure and a deadly threat, with a strong emotional dynamic with Fishburne’s Dr. Foster.
Likewise, Douglas’s Hank has some nice moments as him, Hope and Scott get closer to Janet’s whereabouts, and Pena’s Luis is as affable and motor-mouthed as ever. Goggins’ Burch is easily most out-and-out villainous character of the bunch, and if you’ve seen some of his performances in films like Lincoln or his work with Quentin Tarantino, you know to expect a Southern dandy you’ll love to hate.
Be warned, this isn’t a comic book movie that’s attempting to change the world or defy the expectations of the genre. Ant-Man & The Wasp knows exactly what it wants to do with its story and cast- and doesn’t stray too far outside of just wanting to show moviegoers a pleasantly good time. Lucky for us, it’s smart, tense and sharp enough to avoid coming off as excessively corny, so I’ll gladly recommend it. If you had the chance to go small or go home, let us know what you thought of the movie at @Official_FAN on Twitter!