Ant-Man and the Wasp Review

        It always seems that Ant-Man must follow up after a massive team up film. Like, it must be a near daunting challenge to be as good as the decimation we just saw in the prior film. Much less following up with one of the most heartbreaking and emotionally driven movies within the comic book sphere. Ant-Man and the Wasp is much like it’s first entry but keeps it low where it’s at least therapeutic, I mean it’s needed after what came before. 

1. House Arrest

        Continuing the thread from the first film, we see that both Hank and Hope are attempting to find their mother who is stuck in the quantum realm. The realm where Scott went subatomic in his debut film. Speaking of him, we see that he’s been under house arrest after the events of Civil War. And typical of Lang, he mostly goofs off with his daughter and tries to kill time before being free.

        Just seeing Paul Rudd acting goofy practically adds some level of levity that’s needed for the whole cinematic universe. For one thing, I’m glad that the film doesn’t retread with the whole heist angle that the first one did. Specifically, there’s not really any villain that wants to unleash an evil weapon or suit across the world. That’s where we are introduced to the main antagonist, but not entirely. Like, the film is more lighthearted than anything. Whether it was by choice or just something where it was needed after the events of Infinity War. 

        While the film adds a bit of levity tone wise, the action is still part of the main highlight. It’s more creative this time around since Scott isn’t alone. Most of the action sequences featuring the Wasp is great since she has more abilities such as being able to fly and shoot stingers. The shrinking aspect is even amped up since it’s not just the heroes who can do it but also the cars that they used. It’s ingenious to store them in a Hot Wheels bag and have a chase sequence where the car racing looks like a toy car.

        Just before I delve into the sort of villain, everything is not the same between Scott and the father/daughter duo. We see that there’s animosity between the father and daughter and Lang from the start. It keeps it fresh in the context where Scott took the suit without their permission and basically handicapping himself when he’s needed. Just the banter Hank, Hope and Scott is great. Especially, when Scott and Hope try to retrieve an equipment for the machine to bring back her mother.

        This is probably the most interesting film among the entire entries in the MCU where the villain isn’t inherently evil. I feel like we have a bunch of lower tier antagonists ranging from Ghost, Walton Goggins’ character and FBI Agent Jimmy Woo. I’ll talk about Ghost since she is heavily marketed during the film’s promotion. She’s technically not a villain since she was caught during an experiment which left her intangible. Specifically, having the ability to phase through anything and was used for SHIELD’s dirty work. 

        One thing that I must comment that this is the first time in the MCU where a heroin gets second billing alongside the title character. Before 2017’s Wonder Woman, female comic book films generally didn’t do well reception and box office wise. With Wonder Woman breaking that trend, it made sense for Marvel to finally have a heroine be part of the marquee title. And it would continue that trend in the ensuing sequel of this particular series, Marvel took a while to finally have a female-centric superhero film with the next one coming up. 

        So yeah, even though the film isn’t a heist film in the least bit. It’s more along the line of a runaway film since we see that the team that we see is constantly on the run. To the point where their research lab is literally a building where it can shrink like a rolling bag. We see that it leans to the family movie angle. Since the whole point of the movie is for the team to bring back Hank’s wife. I think it’s also practically the whole entire theme for the movie. 

2. Parenthood

        Right where we begin the film, we see a flashback of Pym’s family before their fateful mission to stop a Soviet missile. Even though the moments between Janet and Hope are brief, we see just the dynamics that is being played here between the mom and daughter. We even see once more just how Janet seemingly died during that mission and how Hank practically lived with that guilt. Aside from the play full banter among the characters, I feel that the movie is more akin to a family movie. More so, mothers and fathers are in the forefront in the whole film. 

        For instance, this idea of parenthood is practically what makes the Ant-Man films different since it’s mostly about rehabilitation. Scott is still trying to have a normal relationship with his own daughter all the while being under house arrest and suiting up as the hero. When we first see him, Lang and his daughter Cassie are having fun albeit in an ant-centric way. To the point that Cassie wants to join Scott in his adventures.

        That whole opening, I think in some way showed that Scott wasn’t in control but that he was possessed by Janet. It’s established within the film that Scott and Janet were entangled when he went subatomic. So much so that his own vision kicked off the events in the movie. I say this because while it’s played for laughs when we see Scott be motherly to Hope, in one way it helps Lang be more active with Cassie.

        With the rehab angle it’s used when we see Ghost being helped by a former associate of Hank Pym. We see that Dr. Ben Foster has been helping Ghost regain her tangibility, and even goes along with her when she captures the trio. Obviously, what makes them different is that the bond was him seeing her as a child and spending his whole life trying to fix. I mentioned earlier that while they are seemingly antagonists, I mostly place them as soft villains. Meaning that they aren’t wanting to cause harm but just fix what’s plaguing the villain.

3. Overall

        Ant-Man and the Wasp is part of the one better sequel category in the MCU. It’s especially a lighthearted one that’s needed from the prior film but manages to keep the stakes high for the next one.