Ant-Man and the Wasp: Better Than the Original

By T. M. Reynolds

Image From: By Ladinog78 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)%5D, from Wikimedia Commons

Ant-Man and the Wasp delivers an entertaining film with a lot of laughs; on the other hand, it struggles to be relevant in the bigger picture.  This sequel is like the first one on a good night’s rest and a good breakfast, with a simple story line. The film remains on a small scale of urgency compared to the rest of the films in the universe. Compared to other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this series still struggles to live up to the others. The Ant-Man series is getting better after this installment, and after what we all saw in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant Man and the Wasp was a nice change of pace. You will have to go see the movie to determine the time-line of where this movie falls, considering the events in Avengers. For Ant-Man and the Wasp specifically, the movie had some weak moments in its story, yet many good aspects; including the cast and characters.

The Weak Aspects:

Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd, and Hope Van Dyne, played by Evangeline Lilly had some great scenes together as Lang and Van Dyne. That being said, the movie is called, “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” and it lacks the proper amount of time on screen to show off them working together as their alter egos. The film felt like an origin film for the both of them when this is the second film. A second addition film should show off the skill and development, not show a repeat of the struggles in the first film. The choice to show the struggles may be a result of its comedic nature, yet as a Marvel film, the characters superhero chemistry and sequences in their suits should have been better developed. This was a small weakness in the film, but there was a larger opportunity that was missed.

Another aspect of the film that struggled was its affiliation with the other films in the universe. Some viewers may need a refresher of what happened in Captain America: Civil War (2016) to understand some of the dialogue and actions in this film. Movies like Spider-Man Homecoming (2017) did a great job at reminding audiences what happened prior to the film by showing clips of the superhero civil battle at an airport. In this film, they talk about the incident but do not provide flashbacks. In addition, the first film (2015) at least had a cameo by Anthony Mackie’s Falcon which did a better job of tying the movie into the universe. Overall, if they are going to talk about the incident in Germany, they need to tie the current movie in better to the rest of the MCU. That all being said, the movie definitely had plenty of reasons for audiences to see this film.

The Reasons to See It:

Ant-Man and the Wasp is entertaining and funny. The supporting cast make this film worth watching, especially the scenes with Michael Pena’s Luis and other scenes with Scott Lang’s, daughter, Cassie, who was played by Abby Ryder Fortson. Her support for her dad, the Ant-Man, is special. These two secondary characters make the film a good film and they step up their game from the first film. Along with them, are other nice additions to the film. Dave played by T. I., and Kurt, played by David Dastmalchian returned alongside Luis, creating great comedic scenes as they run their new business called X CON.  A new addition to the movie was Michelle Pfeiffer, who is not new to the comic book movie world, for she played Selina Kyle (Cat-Woman) in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992). With new and returning characters, the supporting cast helped this film along in complexity and entertainment.

Second, another new character was the character Ghost. Is she a villain? I find myself asking this question after watching the film.  Hannah John-Kamen plays Ava, a character who, because of a scientific incident, like many other Marvel characters, is transformed into what makes her unique on a super-hero/ super-villain level. She becomes ghost-like and has the ability to “phase” through objects, making life difficult for the protagonists of the film. Her character is an interesting addition. Ant-Man’s villains thus far are well developed and are good choices for the films, and could even rival the Avengers if they ever wanted to go that route. Ava was not the only great female role, there was another.

A third reason to see Ant-Man and the Wasp is because of the Wasp. It is nice to see Evangeline Lilly on screen again. Lilly portrays the Wasp well, while bringing on the action and just the right amount of attitude to the set. Lang was lucky to have her around. Even though the time between Ant-Man and the Wasp should have lived up to its name a little better, she did great dawning the Wasp identity.

Overall, the movie is good. It is entertaining, which should be expected with an actor like Paul Rudd starring in a Marvel movie.  The supporting cast made the movie, and the Ghost was a nice touch. Visually, the movie is good; on the other hand, the story lacked in areas, such as its connection with other Marvel films, and it lacked the ability to show Ant-Man and the Wasp in sync. As a whole, the film makes a great sequel to Ant-Man (2015). Last, as always, go see the film to decide on your own what you think. Remember, it is a Marvel film, stay through the credits. It ends on a good beat.

Our Rating: 3/5 Film Frames