Ant-Man and the Wasp: Marvel Makes Me Happy

In a world where superhero movies are in theaters at least every other month, Marvel continues to prove that they don’t only know how to make a great superhero movie, but a a great movie in general. Ant-Man and the Wasp, direct sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man and the 20th¹ installment in the connected Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is a fantastic movie. Following the epic roller coaster of action, excitement, and doom and gloom that was Avengers: Infinity War this spring, Ant-Man and the Wasp is just the right change of pace to keep you grinning the whole time. Light hearted, incredibly funny, and a unique and fun style of action makes this movie one of the best to go see this year.

Ant-Man and the Wasp picks up roughly three years after the first Ant-Man, and about two years after Captain America: Civil War, which was the last time we saw our titular hero in Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. Lang, now under house arrest due to the events of Civil War², is learning how to adjust to non-superhero life at home with his daughter before he is ultimately thrust back into his previous life as the Ant-Man. Now back with Evangeline Lilly’s Hope, aka the Wasp, and her father, Michael Douglas’s Hank Pym, they embark on a journey to save Hope’s mother Janet³ from the Quantum Realm, a subatomic dimension where Janet has been lost for decades. From there, the story takes off.

Let’s get one thing straight. I love Paul Rudd. I love Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. I think he is awesome and hysterical in this movie. But this movie could easily have been called Wasp and the Ant-Man.⁴ Evangeline Lilly steals the show here. Her action scenes are the best in the movie, her demeanor is perfectly on point, and she has evolved from the salty businesswoman from the first Ant-Man into a highly formidable superperson. I am confident that she could take on a franchise of her own at this point, if Marvel wanted to go in that direction. She has taken the superhero mantle with ease and isn’t looking back.⁵. That being said, the team of Ant-Man and the Wasp is stellar and fun, something we haven’t really seen in many superhero movies recently, certainly not in the MCU. Neither are sidekicks, they are equal partners and kick ass equally.

Similar to the first installment and the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, this movie is pretty much a comedy? Paul Rudd is a funny guy and is a big reason why I laughed throughout the entire movie, but the supporting cast really pulled their weight here. The core group of Lang’s ex-con⁶ friends, Luis, Kurt, and Dave make their return from the first movie and provide the majority of the laughs. Luis, played by Michael Peña is the star of the group, whose constant story-telling antics and general shrieking are sure to keep you doubled over in laughter. The other supporting characters also hold their own, with Randall Park playing Jimmy Woo, the semi-dumb FBI agent fascinated by magic, and Lang’s daughter Maggie, played by Abby Forston, providing the cute childish humor. Maggie is a great character and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her get utilized more in this universe going further.

The more that I watched this movie, the more I also realized how unconventional it is for superhero movie. Throughout the movie, time is the real villain as Ant-Man and the Wasp have to race against the clock in addition to dealing with the advertised villain in Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen. Kamen was surprisingly relatable in addition to being formidable, and the action scenes comprised of the shrinking/growing of Ant-Man and the Wasp versus the phasing abilities of the Ghost were fun to watch.

Verdict: I LOVE MARVEL aka GREAT

Whether it was the action, comedy, or massive enlargement of pez-heads, this movie had me smiling the full hour and fifty minutes. This movie allows you to sit back and relax stress free, except for maybe some of the scenes diving into the Quantum Realm, but even those are fresh and fun.⁷ The Quantum realm will no doubt be utilized going forward in not only the Ant-Man series, but the whole MCU. I loved this movie, and although further viewings are needed, I put this movie solidly in the #8-#11 range of the 20 movies in this universe,⁸ definitely topping 2015’s Ant-Man. THIS MOVIE DOES NOT EVEN REMOTELY BLOW.

Holy Crap! I forgot about the after-credits scene!

1. Yes, TWENTIETH
2. You definitely don’t have to see Civil War to see this movie, but you should because Civil War is an AMAZING MOVIE.
3. Played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who I only can ever see as Catwoman in my eyes.
4. Doesn’t roll of the tongue as nicely though does it?
5. No Jack here screaming ‘HOPE! WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!’
6. Double meaning… you’ll see
7. I felt like I was watching some crazy combination of Armageddon and Osmosis Jones during these scenes.
8. Full rankings and analysis coming soon?!?! MAYBE!!