OPINION: “Ant-Man & The Wasp” entertainingly soars into the MCU
Marvel has continued their seemingly unending box office dominance with yet another perfectly placed film into their cinematic universe with their latest blockbuster entry “Ant-Man & The Wasp.”
Following the events of 2015’s “Ant-Man” and Captain America’s showdown against Iron Man at a German airport during “ Captain America: Civil War,” Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) finds himself under house arrest by the FBI for three years, with the movie picking up as he finds himself inching closer to freedom.
Meanwhile, Hank (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope/Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) are as close as they’ve ever been to saving Hope’s long lost mother Janet (Michelle Pffeifer) from the ever highly energetic Quantum Realm.
Notably, the film’s well-placed humor is gut-bustingly funny, with gobs of welcome comedic relief. This lighter Marvel tone is refreshing after the grim, high stakes ending to the May’s colossal “Avengers: Infinity War.”
Additionally it gives the audience villains to understand and almost root for in Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Bill Foster, (Laurence Fishburne), seek to cure her constant molecular phasing before her body deteriorates completely.
The interwoven storylines of Ava, Hank, Hope and Scott looking for their quantum access coupled with a fumbling FBI agent make for a solid film that perfectly balances action and an emotional pull.
With strong performances all around, particularly those given by Rudd, Lilly, Douglas, and a breakout performance by John-Kamen, these characters are ones that certainly you pull for.
Featuring an after-credits scene that you will never believe because it is so unexpectedly insane, the Marvel Cinematic Universe train keeps rolling, and Captain Marvel and the untitled fourth Avengers film cannot arrive soon enough.
The Quantum Realm is tricky, and one must surely be careful whenever dealing in it; this film teaches that misdirection can be a path that pays off and that the right thing to do is not always as clear as it may seem or should be.
Alex Novak is an entertainment reviewer. Contact him at [email protected].