Ant Man and the Wasp is one of the better summer action flicks this season. It runs 118 minutes, and there is really little or nothing in it that is not family friendly. No bad language, actually not much violence, nobody dies….. and if you like the characters, it’s a lot of fun. I am rather partial to this Marvel story line, and yes I enjoyed the Stan Lee obligatory cameo where he laments being so old, after so enjoying the 60s. There are some new character this time around, including Lawrence Fishburne playing another scientist/teacher, and Michelle Pfeiffer (where have you been for the last decade and more) plays the wife of Professor Pym. There is a lot of mother daughter and father daughter plot lines intertwined with the action in this film, and Paul Rudd is his usual goofy goof up self– quite endearing. We saw the film in XD 3D, and it was actually worth it this time around. They are getting better at that. There is a bit less humor in this one than the first one, and more depth to the characterization and plotting, which is welcome. Here is the official RT summary of the plot….
“From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink: “Ant-Man and The Wasp.” In the aftermath of “Captain America: Civil War,” Scott Lang (Rudd) grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne (Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas) with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from their past.”
In some ways this film feels like a further origins story, and of course there is a trailer that tips us off there will be another sequel. This movie is just plain fun, especially the gags caused by the shrinking and growing of Ant Man and the Wasp, and it gets an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie deliberately plays things lightly, and tongue in cheek (especially Michael Pena’s role as Luis which is hilarious) after the gravitas of Black Panther and the thundering violence of Infinity War. I much prefer this sort of comic book fun! Enjoy the popcorn!
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