Anthony's Film Review - Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Marvel has done it again, this time with humor and good-hearted fun...

I am finally seeing how the superhero movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be appealing even if Marvel Studios seems to be just cranking out movies constantly. For years, I've always noticed these movies as being the same kind of movie. Yes, I noticed variations, but I had brushed them aside because the core formula of sci-fi action and good guys versus bad guys still took precedence. This time, however, I am noticing the value of the variations. I am now seeing that each Marvel movie can be made unique by being original with two things: the style and the sci-fi elements. To illustrate, let's talk about Ant-Man and the Wasp, the 2018 sequel to the first Ant-Man from 2015, as an example.

For its style, it's easy to sum up in one word: comedy. This superhero action movie is funny in addition to fun. It's not the first humorous Marvel movie because Guardians of the Galaxy did it before Ant-Man, but then again, Guardians of the Galaxy is also unique for its music. Ant-Man is straight-up comedy to generate laughs along with excitement, and it still makes it stand out from other Marvel series. Anyone looking for a more serious Marvel adventure will look elsewhere, but anyone wanting a lighthearted Marvel can't go wrong with Ant-Man and the Wasp.

For the sci-fi element, the unique thing here is size-changing technology. The two title characters are heroes who use devices to instantly shrink to the size of an insect and back to human size at will. Plenty of interesting things can happen in hand-to-hand combat because it's no longer limited to regular-sized fighters and weapons. Furthermore, the ability to shrink and enlarge isn't limited to fight scenes. Car chase scenes also become cool when a vehicle is shrunk or enlarged to provide a tactical advantage. Then there is the amusing use of miniaturization to shrink a building and carry it like a piece of luggage.

The plot of this movie isn't so much about stopping a villain as striving to perform a certain heroic action before the villain permanently halts that effort. As the prologue in this movie shows, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) was the first-generation Ant-Man and his wife Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) was the first-generation Wasp. The two had saved the day by stopping a missile, but at a price: to accomplish that feat, the Wasp had to shrink to molecular size, a virtually irreversible process. Just when it looks like nothing can be done, Hank develops a method to reach Janet in the quantum realm. Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), his daughter and the current Wasp, joins the effort. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), the current Ant-Man, does as well, because he receives a message from Janet in the form of a strange dream.

The main villain of this movie is definitely not your typical movie villain. Instead of an evil person who sadistically wreaks havoc and destruction, the villain is someone who is suffering and is desperate to cure it, even if it means hurting people along the way. The character is a young woman named Ava (Hannah John-Kamen), who is human except for the fact that she is not made entirely of solid matter. Due to a physics lab accident when she was young, her molecules no longer consistently hold together, rendering her a ghostly being, which is why she is also called the Ghost. She is seeking Hank's technology to cure her affliction, which would make it difficult, if not impossible, for Janet to be saved from the quantum realm.

There is another part of the plot that is less serious. There is also a secondary villain in the form of Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), who profits from selling technology on the black market. He, too, wants what Hank possesses. If that isn't enough, Scott Lang is under house arrest following events in Germany related to Captain America. He has to find ways to be away from home as Ant-Man while fooling the FBI into thinking he is still at home. There are plenty of funny moments with the FBI, who are an obstacle but are not really villains. They're just people doing their job.

The pleasure of this movie isn't really the plot, which is rather predictable. Rather, it's the lighthearted fun in the comedy and action. Plenty of times, I found myself laughing briefly or at least smiling. The one scene where I laughed a lot was the one involving one of Sonny Burch's associates using truth serum. One character starts an amusing dialogue about the appropriate nomenclature of the substance, and once he is injected with it, he goes on a hilarious rant that wanders from one random topic to another. It's funny because Sonny just needs one piece of info, and he's not getting it right away.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is one of those action movies where it's definitely not to be taken seriously. It's funny and enjoyable while still being a superhero movie that is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Speaking of which, be sure to stay an extra minute or two once the credits start. You will see another scene that is interesting to watch, because of how it hints about what the next Ant-Man/Wasp adventure might entail and how it connects with Avengers: Infinity War. But even if Ant-Man and the Wasp is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe you ever watch, you can still enjoy it just as a stand-alone action comedy adventure. (Apparently, the writers of the Marvel movies know how to please both fans who have seen every Marvel movie and first-timers who never saw one before.)

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Ant-Man and the Wasp, visit the Internet Movie Database.