Antman and the Wasp

In-between the release dates of The Avengers: Infinity War and Antman and the Wasp, Marvel was hit by a small scandal which ended up in James Gunn losing his job. Granted James Gunn has been borderline insufferable on Twitter, but we are left with no doubt that this attack (started by a right-wing scumbag named Mike Cernovich) was simply done to attack someone on the different side of the political spectrum. However, the left is just as guilty of similar. It just seems that too many people just don't like hearing things they dont like.

Despite losing Edgar Wright as director for the first film, the first film was a surprising success. It’s more of the same for the sequel as Hank (Michael Douglas), Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and Scott (Paul Rudd) try to rescue Hanks’ wife, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), from the quantum zone. Meanwhile, an unknown enemy, named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), wants to harvest power from the quantum zone, an action that will kill Janet.

The sequel to Ant Man is fun enough, even though it feels as though it’s the most standalone of the recent Marvel films. That, in a sense, means it’s nothing more than a mildness, enjoyable distraction that is powered along by engaging and committed performances. The film's formula works, even if the formula is become more and more formulic and it is because the Marvel films often feature good performances from good actors that the Marvel train is still on full stream ahead.

The film has a villain with understandable motives, but a predictable character arc. The whole thing would have been a damned sight easier if Ghost just kinda asked for help rather than fighting for it and because of that the film is longer than is required. It is the weakest written entry of the series so far, because the story simply focuses on various mishaps, missteps and misdirections around the same plot point for almost two hours. Essentially for two hours, Hank, Hope and Scott’s plans to get Julia out of the quantum zone are frequently scuppered, mostly by Ghost.

The film makes most of its best hand with clever use of its main gimmick (namely the changing size of everyday objects) is a way that constantly entertaining. It’s a fun film even though it may have worked being a subplot in the previous Avengers film (but may have lacked some emotional pull if it did).

3.5/5