Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp continues the story of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang after the events of Captain America: Civil War, but a few weeks before Avengers: Infiniti War. It has the same director as its previous film, but with the writers that did Spiderman: Homecoming, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and The LEGO Batman Movie. These new writers might not be as well known as Edgar Wright, but they must have connected well with the actors and director because this film is far better than Edgar Wright’s script for Ant-Man.

After seeing several of the Marvel films in a short time, I have noticed the importance of the opening sequences before the infamous Marvel logo and the scene immediately afterwards. In the first Ant-Man, these scenes were flat, over-dramatic, and prevented me from truly embracing its story. Its sequel excels in its opening scenes; not only does it erase any reason to watch the first one, but it reveals more emotion and character than the entire previous film. Paul Rudd’s chemistry with the child actress Judy Greer (Maggie) was brilliant; their relationship is shown in the second opening scene, and the joy gained from their interactions carried me until the end credits.

The writers for Marvel have found their niche for humor and solid incorporation from the original comics. Every joke is given a serious build up, and once it is revealed as humor, it lands through the actors’ performance and its hilarious repetition afterwards. The updated shrinking technology from the previous film gives more creativity to the action and revelations in this story, as well as the introduction to the Wasp as she does the hero-job better than Scott Lang ever could. The tension between these two characters seemed a little forced at the beginning, but when the real conflict presented itself, the film executed both tension and action perfectly.

The third act especially raises the stakes, not to a “world-ending” event, but instead into a growing, complex obstacle preventing the characters from finding emotional peace with their mistakes. It is a simple idea that is fleshed out to its fullest potential, and when Scott Lang’s possibility for a better life conflicts with the closing window to his friends’ goal, there are several narrative beats that further the characters’ growth in very profound ways. It is not an Oscar-worthy drama, but for a Marvel film it proves itself worthy to be remembered.

The antagonists in this film were perfect for the tone and message the story was providing. Not only was the main villain understandable and sympathetic, but the other subplot villains had their own scenes in the spotlight with their own reasons to be in the action. All three of them are present in the final chase scene, and how the conflict switches between them is very well done. I also enjoyed how only the subplot villains were the ones with the jokes and awkward scenes; the main antagonist had a very dark and serious tone towards her pain. I never empathized with her struggle, but I understood why she was so desperate to reach her goal.

Overall, this film does a fantastic job at making sure the audience knows where they are in the timeline of the MCU, and in general there is no need to see the first one to understand what is happening. The jokes are great— the subplots especially are full with them, but do not detract from the story— and Paul Rudd’s chemistry with Judy Greer carries this film to a noteworthy state of true family emotion.

P.S. there are two after-credits scenes, but only the first one is important. The second one is humorous but too short to be worth the wait of the entire end-credits.

Story Rating: 8/10

Character Rating: 8/10