A
breezy, enjoyable caper film that
cleanses the palette after Avengers: Infinity
War, Ant-Man and the Wasp is director Peyton Reed’s sequel to Ant-Man that maintains and expands the
fun and heroics.
Decades
earlier, as the original Ant-Man and Wasp, a young Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) loses
his wife, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), in the quantum realm where time
and space are skewed. Fast forward to events post Captain America: Civil War as Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is under house
arrest and trying to maintain a meaningful relationship with his daughter. But Lang
has a strange dream that suggests Janet
may still be alive, and Pym and his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), try to
build a portal to reach the quantum realm. Meanwhile Lang and Hope run into
a mysterious, ghost-like figure and black market thieves who are both after the
quantum technology. Add the FBI monitoring Lang, and you have essentially one long chase that culminates in a race against
the clock to save Hope’s mom.
In
addition to nice action scenes, there is a playful, almost comedic quality to
this adventure without becoming silly. (It
is the most kid friendly Marvel film yet.)
Michael Peña and the rest of Ant-Man’s
wonderful supporting cast returns (though there is not really a supreme supervillain).
Rudd,
always a joy, shares equal billing with Lilly who shines as a Marvel hero.
While
it could have benefitted from a bit more emotional bonding among the Pym family
at the climax, this film serves as a nice
setup for next year’s Captain Marvel
and the concluding Avengers film. There is a significant mid credit scene
and, yes, a Stan Lee cameo.
***
of **** stars (add ½ * for Marvel Fans)
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