[Ant-Man and the Wasp Movie Posters - Marvel Studios]
Ant-Man and the Wasp is Marvel’s latest instalment, following The Avenger’s Infinity War earlier this year. Those who saw Infinity War would know how they felt afterwards. It was gloomy and saddening to say the least.
Perhaps it was a good thing to tell the story of Marvel’s most humble and human-like super hero, divorced ex-convicted felon Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).
This instalment of Ant-Man gives an insight into the past of Dr Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. We get taken back to a time when they were both on mission, where Janet shrinks so small that she gets caught in the Quantum realm never to be seen again, leaving daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) behind.
Decades later, Dr Pym makes an important discovery which means Janet could still be alive. Ant-Man has an unusual flashback to a game of hide-and-seek, which makes it possible to rescue Janet from this dimension.
The main gist of the mission is to compile parts to put together a machine that will execute the rescue, all while Dr Pym and Hope are being hunted by the FBI and Ant-Man is elaborately working around the restrictions of home detention.
They must also thwart Ava, aka the Ghost (Hannah John-Kame), a villain motivated by hurt and anger, seeking retribution for her father over a clash with Dr Pym. Helping her accomplish her mission is Dr Bill Foster (Lawrence Fishbone), who’s also had a falling out with Dr Pym.
WHAT I LIKED
If you saw the first Ant-Man movie, you would have noticed the poor quality CGI, which is certainly unlike other Marvel films made around 2015. I still loved the first instalment, but I’d wished they’d put as much money into it as they had with the Marvel other films. I certainly noticed the greater investment in the latest instalment. The CGI and editing was much better this time, adding to the general quality of the production.
Unlike other Marvel films, there isn’t that much guts-and-gore with tens of thousands of casualties, however, it maintains a decent level of action.
The Ant-Man movies have a lot more humour than other movies, much to my liking. I think the humorous nature of this character balances out the darker and much more intense Marvel super heroes. The element of humour was aided by some wonderful characters.
Louis (Michael Peña), Dave (Tip ‘TI’ Harris), and Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) provided some of the funnier scenes, particularly the scene where they’re held hostage. That drew a number of laughs in the cinema I was in.
The Wasp is a boss! In many ways, the movie was about her and Ant-Man was more of a side kick. The action scenes involving her are thoroughly entertaining.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
To be quite honest, there is very little that I didn’t like. I thought it was a wonderful movie. My main criticism is that there were times where it jumped around a bit, when key parts of information were delivered in one line out of nowhere, which the audience did not see. This may have been development of a piece of technology for example, but audiences did not see the actual process. Not that it matters so much, but I think audiences would have loved to have seen the process, rather than having to imagine it. It also took some time to build up the narrative and, while it’s important to give the audience context, they have to wait 20 minutes for the first main action sequence.
SHOULD YOU SEE IT?
Ant-Man and the Wasp is an enjoyable outing for all. It’s an action-packed film which keeps the audience entertained with good humour and decent action sequences without the mass destruction or over-the-top emotional scenes of other Marvel films.
If you are a Marvel fan, you will need to see this movie! Despite each being a stand alone film, the last few Marvel films have been linked together in a narrative. The end of the movies provides clues to the audience as to what’s next. Remember, Marvel films do not end at the credits. If you saw what happened in The Avengers: Infinity War, you will definitely know what will be coming.
It certainly won’t be regarded as one of the best Marvel films ever made, but it is a great movie nonetheless. It is a nice film that tells the story of a more honest super hero.
RATING
4/5
TRAILER
