Ant-Man and the Wasp Review

I hope you guys are having a fabulous summer! It's dreadfully hot over here in LA County. There's going to be a lot of summer movies on my viewing list. Ant-Man and the Wasp is getting major hype. Does this film stand up to other blockbusters like Infinity War and Black Panther? I'll tell you all about it. 

It's always a good idea to start with a plot synopsis. Many years ago, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne were the original Ant-Man and Wasp. They went on an important mission to stop a nuclear missile and their only option was to enter the microscopic quantum realm. Janet turned microscopic to disarm the missile and never returned to the normal world. Today, Hank still believes Janet is alive and there might be a way to save her. Their daughter, Hope van Dyne, feels optimistic about the rescue mission and takes on the Wasp mantel. They team up with Scott Lang, the current Ant-Man. Scott is still under house arrest from the disaster in Captain America: Civil War and he needs to make sure the FBI doesn't find out about their mission. They encounter a couple of villains along the way, including a racketeer named Sonny Burch and a strange entity called Ghost. Hopefully, the trio can rescue Janet, stay away from the FBI, and avoid getting killed by other enemies. 

I'm not a fan of this movie, but it has some decent elements. Some of the characters are pretty good. I really enjoy Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp. She's a great action heroine and quite feisty. Hope van Dyne is a nice contrast to the silly nature of Ant-Man. Her abilities are a little more diverse than Ant-Man's tech. She can shrink, fly, and use blasters for the Wasp sting. I think she has really good chemistry with the other characters too. Michael Douglas plays her father, Hank Pym. I like his character a lot too. He's a little bit amusing, nerdy, and bossy. The story gives him some decent character development. Michelle Preiffer's character is Janet van Dyne and she's not in many scenes, but I still like her quite a bit. The entire Pym family makes a great trio. They seem like a legitimate family who brings an emotional component to the film. Hannah John-Kamen plays Ghost and she's an interesting villain. Ghost has a fascinating backstory and her character spirals out of control as the movie progresses. Her powers are really cool too. She has the ability to phase through matter. Basically, she's literally like a ghost or specter. She can walk through walls and bullets will fly right through her. Ghost is also a mean fighter who brings some good elements to the actions scenes. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp has pretty good visual effects. I think the VFX team did a really nice job with the shrinking and enlarging effects. Ghost looks great and the quantum realm is quite interesting. Some of the characters have de-aging effects in flashbacks and they look terrific. It used to be weird when VFX teams made actors look much younger, but the technology seems to be a lot better nowadays. 

Stay for the post-credit scenes! They tie into the other Marvel films. The MCU is infamous for their post-credit scenes and some of more relevant than others. If you don't want to stick around until the end, stay for the mid-credits scene. That one is very important. 

I'm not impressed with anything else. Ant-Man just isn't one of my favorite superheroes. I thought this film might give him some improvements. Unfortunately, Lang is still the same Ant-Man with the problems and limitations from his first movie. However, some people will enjoy that part. If you're a huge Ant-Man fan, this film will probably make you feel happy. Frankly, I think he makes a lot of bad decisions in this movie. I'm not sure if Ant-Man is capable of learning from his mistakes. Some of the other characters aren't great either. Michael Pena is Luis, one of Ant-Man's friends. I find him annoying and not particularly funny. Luis is supposed to be comedic relief, but his dialogue is super awkward. Walter Goggins plays Sonny Burch, the other main villain. He's generic and bland. I don't even know why Burch is in this movie because he doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose. 

What about the action scenes? Most of them are in the theatrical trailers. It deadens the excitement because the viewer pr0bably saw the best parts already. This movie needs a lot more action. It would help the pacing and add more entertainment value. Action is part of the superhero element too. I'm not sure if Ant-Man and the Wasp seems enough like a superhero flick. 

The screenplay is surprisingly weak for a Marvel film. I don't mind the directing, but the writing is disappointing. The script had multiple writers and that might have been part of the problem. Everything could have been more impressive with a stronger plot, more character development, and better humor. The scientific elements are incredibly confusing. In fact, this is one of the most confusing movies in the MCU. I don't understand the quantum realm very well. They tried to expand on its mythos, but everything seems like junk science without a real outline. It simply goes far beyond my suspension of belief and that says a lot because I'll go pretty far with sci-fi movies.

What about the humor? Some people will enjoy that part, but I didn't feel particularly amused. It has a few witty moments, but they're in the trailers too. This film is surprisingly tame and sparse with the humor. Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians of the Galaxy films went much further with the comedy. I thought this movie would be really wacky and over the top, but it just doesn't go far enough. A lot of the jokes are lame and mundane as well.  

Sorry for disappointing you guys. I want to give Ant-Man and the Wasp a ringing endorsement, but it doesn't appeal enough to me. However, I don't think everyone will agree with my opinion. Ant-Man fans will like this film quite a bit. Fans of modern comedies might like this movie too. I don't believe this film will satisfy the action crowd. You probably don't need to see this film on the big screen. Just wait for Blu-Ray or streaming. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for premium screens like IMAX. 

That's my complete review of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Did anyone see it yet? I'm wondering if some of you liked it better than I did. Tell me about it in the comment section. Don't forget to hit the like button if you enjoy my blog. Have fun with the rest of your summer and watch out for next week's post.