Ant-Man and the Wasp is an entertaining diversion
2015’s Ant-Man is no one’s favorite Marvel film. Looking back, it seems likely a footnote, like a small story that doesn’t quite fit with the epic storytelling of the franchise. It’s an anomaly—fun enough, filled with charisma, but not exactly MCU material.
It almost feels like Ant-Man would fit better on the small screen, alongside Daredevil and Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. But then, as small as the hero is, his powers are grand and there is potential to be found in quantum realm adventures.
2015’s heist centered plot didn’t quite rise beyond the sum of its origin story parts. The film existed to introduce the character and the powers, which did it well enough.
Most of the film was carried on the back of Paul Rudd’s endless likability, alongside a few well-written side characters. The film was mostly successful—it’s a Marvel movie after all—and the Ant-Man cameo in Captain America: Civil War was enough to keep the character fresh in the minds of fans.
Ant-Man and the Wasp, this year’s sequel and buffer between the darker tones of Avenger’s Infinity War films, is on equal footing with the first film. It’s an entertaining distraction that doesn’t amount to much but fills in a few gaps along the way.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has been on house arrest since the events of Captain America: Civil War, where he violated the Sokovia Accords by assisting Steve Rogers after Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, was framed for bombing the UN. His associates, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), have gone underground for the same reason (why they’re guilty for Lang’s usage of stolen equipment is never sufficiently explained).
In the intervening years, Pym and his daughter have discovered evidence that the original Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer) may have survived her disappearance into the quantum realm thirty years ago and have set about creating an entire lab devoted to finding her.
Opening a gate to the quantum realm triggers a reaction in Scott Lang, the only person to visit and return, indicating that he has become entangled with Janet Van Dyne and thus is a necessary component to rescuing her. This sets off a chain of events involving a crime syndicate and a mysterious woman who is out of phase with our reality as the heroes seek to return the original Wasp to full size.
One of the bigger criticisms of 2015’s Ant-Man was the weakness of the villain. The film was very much a paint-by-numbers story the ended with an underwhelming battle with the bad guy. Ant-Man and the Wasp manages to avoid this by not settling on one specific villain.
Instead, each character is vying for control of a MacGuffin for their own purposes, none of which are overwhelming nefarious or world changing. It’s a nice step back from the universe wide consequences found in the Avengers series. What results is, again, a small story with limited range but a good amount of heart.
Performances are all adequate—Paul Rudd would be entertaining in a film where he read the phone book for ninety minutes. Humor is the key to a film like this one and Rudd is always funny and endearing.
There’s not much to say about the filmmaking. It’s fine. There’s nothing distracting. Neither is there anything especially interesting or innovating. The visuals as Pym shrinks into the quantum realm are nice set pieces, for green screen work.
Overall, the film is very average. If you’re a Marvel fan, you’ll enjoy it. Ant-Man may have more to do in later Avengers films, so if you’re a completionist, you might as well see it.
There’s the rub, really. The MCU has become a machine that spits out film after film which may contain minor details that may become major plot points. They’re written in such a way that skipping one isn’t an option, lest you become confused at some later date. I’ve seen every film, some multiple times. I still find it impressive how much I manage to retain. In this way, the MCU is more comic book than any comic book movie ever made.
It is very literally comic books come to life. It’s all soap opera coincidences and in universe references made big. Its appeal is huge and shows no sign of stopping.