Ant-Man & the Wasp (2018) Movie Review

THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS

Thanks to the wonderful new AMC Stubs A-List program ( I promise I'm not a sponsor), I watched Ant-Man & the Wasp three times in a row between the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of its debut week. Two of those times were in Dolby Cinema, which is a fantastic way to watch a film if your ears aren't too sensitive, particularly a blockbuster film like this.

Ant-Man & the Wasp is the 20th Marvel Cinematic Universe ("MCU" for short) film, coming hot off the heels of the massive Avengers: Infinity War. While the smaller scale may result in less interest for some moviegoers, for many (myself among them), this smaller, more self-contained superhero film is a breath of fresh air. In fact, as fun and as self-contained as Ant-Man (2015) was, I would make the argument that Ant-Man & the Wasp is even more self-contained. By the way, that definitely is no slight on the fantastic Infinity War (more on that in another review).

So, what are my overall thoughts on this movie? It has been over a week, and my thoughts have mostly stayed the same, although I have listened to varying thoughts which I feel have further shaped my perspective. The takeaway here is that I had a blast watching this movie all three times, and may see it one more time during its theatrical run! I don't have any strong problems with the movie, but I do think certain criticisms are valid. The flaws are just inoffensive to me as a viewer because both this and the first Ant-Man are fun, inoffensive movies in that regard. That said, I will still address the flaws in order to be fair. I will start with Walter Goggins' villain (whose name I don't even remember). While he makes for some humorous moments (and an incredible action sequence I will get to momentarily), his character is somewhat of a distraction any time he pops up. There is also Randall Parks' FBI agent character. While hilarious, he's pretty unbelievable as a top FBI agent and is essentially a doofus. Obviously that was the point, but I think a slightly more grounded approach could have worked better and added more emotional stakes for Scott Lang, who is almost done with two years of house arrest after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016). Furthermore, the story of this movie, while nice and streamlined, is mainly focused around retrieving Janet Pym from the Quantum Realm, and probably could have been a 15 minute short movie, and everything else in the movie just seems like obstacles created to get in the way of that one thing. And while I thought Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost was an interesting character, the way her backstory is presented to the audience is an expedition dump that, while it is supposed to make us care about her character, doesn't really do so in my opinion. Lastly, Peyton Reed's direction, as with the first film, while adequate, is quite bland and really does make me wonder how Edgar Wright (who directed 2017's excellent Baby Driver among other cult favorites) would have done with the direction.

That makes it sound like I dislike the film, right? Well, I certainly don't! While I acknowledge these things to be legitimate flaws, I still love Ant-Man & the Wasp much I like love the first Ant-Man. In fact, I think I love the sequel slightly more, although further viewings will tell. The main ingredient to me loving this film is Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/the Wasp. Hope was one of the best aspects of the original. With her sleek bob cut, fighting prowess, intellect, and cool, confident demeanor, Hope was overqualified for having a superhero suit of her own, even moreso that skilled master thief and ex-con Scott Lang. The only reason she did not get one in that film was because her father, scientist and original Ant-Man Hank Pym (played in both films by Michael Douglas) wanted to protect his daughter. Let's just say that Hope's "It's about damn time" at the end of the first film is fully realized in the sequel. She. Is. Awesome. In her first action and most notable sequence, she takes down Walter Goggins and his thugs in brutal, creative ways, using a combo of her suit and her own martial arts prowess. The choreography is excellent her, some of the best of any MCU film. The suit itself is a departure from the comics, but I love it. I'm sure the classic black-and-yellow bodysuit would have been great as well, but I love everything about this suit and how confidently Evangeline wears it. I almost think this film should have been called The Wasp & Ant-Man instead just because she really is the star here.

That is no slight on the great Paul Rudd, who once again brings his genuine goofy likability back to his role as Scott Lang/Ant-Man. He is just as terrific here, and thankfully Scott Lang is not downplayed to make Hope seem cooler or smarter. Scott continues to brings his own set of skills to his role as Ant-Man, and I think his best moments are those tender moments with his daughter Cassie, played by the talented and adorable Abby Ryder Forston. Also, while I mentioned aspects of Ghost being flaws of the film, I did like the character and Hannah John-Kamen's performance. And Laurence Fishburne's character Dr. Bill Foster helps me care more for Ghost than I otherwise would, since he provides yet another father-daughter relationship (in this case, being a surrogate father to Ghost).

Michael Douglas is once again great as Hank Pym, bringing wacky intelligence, humanity and hilarity to his performance. Michelle Pfeiffer doesn't have much to do here, but she definitely does well as Janet van Dyne. Michael Pena, David Dastmalchian, and T.I. are all once again hilarious as Scott's ex-con buddies. The visuals are consistently great, and the Quantum Realm is certainly interesting to look at. Christophe Beck's musical score is once again fun, particularly his main Ant-Man and Wasp themes. And the mid-credits scene is perhaps the best of any film in the MCU thus far (hint: Infinity War tie-in).

Does Ant-Man & the Wasp suffer from certain flaws? Sure, it does. I still thoroughly enjoy this latest entry into the MCU, and I give it an 8.5/10 or B+,  although I think the 3rd film in the Ant-Man series should hire a different director for a fresher take on it. How about you?