REVIEW: Ant-man and the Wasp

The 2018 sequel of Peyton Reed’s Marvel titular superhero film strides with quick jabs and laughs as it introduced the first female lead in the history of MCU titles.

Evangeline Lily’s Hope van Dyne produced an intense gut punching performance as the new Wasp as she helps her father, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to such lengths to reunite with their long lost family, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). While Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang faces the aftermath of aiding Steve Rogers in “Captain America: Civil War”, setting a good example for his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) and making sure that he’s around to see her grow up. In which synchronizes with the themes brought by the Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Family. Whether with your blood relatives or the bonds formed with the people around yourself.

We’ve yet to see the implication in the world after Infinity War. Regardless of how it gets solved, the effect of Thanos’ finger snap in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the tone shift in Avengers 4 – These questions are irrelevant in Ant-Man and the Wasp, which quickly places itself before the events of Infinity War. That may be a knock against it for those hoping for some answers, but this movie’s tone is much lighter as a result, and perfectly in line with the original Ant-Man’s.

Ant-Man and the Wasp directly picks up their story following Scott’s involvement in Civil War: Lang’s two years of house arrest are almost up, but Hope drags him back into a life of illegal heroism in a plot to save her mother, Janet van Dyne, from the quantum realm in which she’s been stranded for 30 years.

This movie is filled with pseudo-scientific jargon about things like “entanglement” and “quantum tunnels.” It gets a little repettive, but the movie is self-aware about its own ridiculousness.

It also introduces a couple of new villains in the forms of Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, who stalks the heroes in hopes of stealing their secret lab, and Walton Goggins’ Sonny Burch, a black market merchant who decides he wants the quantum tech for himself. Goggins is his typical hilariously crooked self, while John-Kamen’s more obviously dramatic performance fits her character.

Ant-Man and the Wasp basically became the breath of fresh air of the MCU, right after Avengers: Infinity War and the much awaited Captain Marvel. It is hilariously fun, creative and silly all at the same time. Filled with extreme chase scenes and infinitesimal action sequence. It’s one of the most comical MCU films yet.

Catch Ant-Man and the Wasp in major cinemas nationwide on July 4, 2018.