Movie Review: “Ant Man and the Wasp”

Hi everyone!

I posted an article with video of the Ant-Man and the Wasp press conference yesterday, and today I’m posting my movie review. This was the Marvel film I have been looking forward to most this year, and it is a fun and also a lighter outing than most of the other recent MCU films. Ant-Man and the Wasp is a movie about family first and foremost, with Scott Lang (Rudd) under house arrest. About this, producer Kevin Feige had said,’What’s exciting about ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’…is it’s really a sequel to two movies. It’s a follow-up  to  ‘Ant-Man,’ while also showing the aftermath of ‘Captain America: Civil War’.”

The opening to Ant Man and the Wasp includes the theme song from The Partridge Family, and ends that way as well – and that really does help set the tone for the movie. Lang has spent a couple of years in his home, we see him bonding with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). This relationship is a strong one in the film, as is Scott’s relationship by the end with Hope.

Honestly, the plot itself is a little convuluted for me – when Scott says “Do you guys just put the word ‘quantum’ in front of everything” during the movie, it doesn’t feel like he’s the only one wondering. You will hear the word quantum a lot – including the plot point of Hope’s mom (and Hank’s wife), played by Michelle Pfeiffer as she disappeared several decades earlier and they – Scott, Hope and Hank – need to rescue her from the quantum realm. What does that mean? Who knows? But it’s more the journey than the destination for me here, with the affable and sometimes hilarious Rudd carrying much of the film though Michael Peña (Luis) steals the show almost anytime he is on screen just as he did the first film. Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo is fun too. I laughed out loud a lot.

Some of the humor hinges on whatever size Ant-Man is at the time, from tiny to giant or child size. Even the car chases here are different than you’ll ever have seen before. Hope (Evangeline Lilly) is more the straight shooter in this film, balancing out Scott nicely. She will also be a great superhero role model for girls.

There are a couple of villains here, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava/Ghost is one but I am not sure villain is completely the right term here (you have to see the film to understand). Moreso is Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), someone who comes across as the caricature of a used car salesman but is a criminal who eventually comes face to face with the giant version of Ant-Man.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is overall a family friendly movie, there is not much violence though there is action with weapons at times and the amount of swearing is on the light side for a Marvel film. In my opinion, it barely earns its PG-13 rating when considering other films with the same rating.

Mousesteps grade for Ant-Man and the Wasp: B

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” is directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale,  Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John Kamen, Abby Ryder-Fortson, Randall Park, with Michelle Pfeiffer, with Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas. Kevin Feige is producing with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, Charles Newirth, and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari wrote the screenplay. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” hits U.S. theaters on July 6, 2018.