Ant-Man and the Wasp - Review Thread

I skipped Ant-Man and the Wasp in theaters. Not really for any grand reason, it just sort of slipped my mind. The fact that the original Ant-Man strikes me as among Marvel's most mediocre movies certainly didn't have me expecting much from its sequel, but this turned out to be surprisingly solid. Freed from the burden of an origin story, the film is able to embrace a fun little adventure which sees many different forces all fighting over a McGuffin to explore the quantum realm. It's a fun excuse to see a lot of characters clash and Marvel is also assembled a pretty strong cast here. The players from one are largely back, but we also get Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins, Michelle Pfieffer, Randall Park, and Hannah John-Kamen, all of which get some fun things to do. I also found the film pretty strong as a comedy. I can't say I was really howling with laughter, but the script does a good job setting up gags in advance and the whole thing is pretty light and charming.

I don't want to overhype this film because it's certainly not amazing. The film retains Marvel's typically bland visual aesthetic and it's also among the most disposable entries in the series, but all told, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a fun little movie. The characters are strong, the action scenes work, and the whole thing is generally a pretty breezy piece of escapism. Easily the least interesting piece of the MCU from 2018, but that in itself is probably a testament to what a role the studio is on.

B