After the major dramatic roller coaster of emotions of Avengers Infinity War, Many people were looking toward Ant-Man and the Wasp to alleviate their emotions after witnessing some very shocking moments from the previous movie. Luckily this movie doesn't treat itself too seriously as it goes for a more screwball comedy sort of tone. I remember really enjoying the first Ant-Man movie so I was intrigued with how the sequel would fare for the MCU. While it's a bit of a step down from a storytelling perspective, there was still much to enjoy from this fun and enjoyable movie.
Taking place a few years after Captain America Civil War. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is put under house arrest after his fight at the Leipzig/Halle Airport. These actions strain the relationship between Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who have warned him not to show off his Ant-Man suit in public and its capabilities. Everything changes though when Scott gets a strange memory transmission from Hope’s mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the Quantum Realm. Thinking this may a chance to bring back Janet back, Scott is forced into a heist with Hope as the Wasp in order to get the parts they need to get to the quantum realm but it may be tricky as someone else who goes by the name of Ghost (Ava Starr) is also looking for parts to build something with the help of her father to help her be rid of an interesting condition.
The storytelling in this movie like mentioned before is all comedy based so you can expect a lot of funny dialogue and even visual humor, but it still never forgets that it is still a superhero movie so it also has fun with plenty of action set pieces and creative uses of both the ant-man and wasp suits. However one of the things that made the first movie intriguing was the goal of the main protagonist accomplishing his cliched but still well executed character arc of trying to see his one and only daughter Cassie after spending years in prison. Now the story focuses on a villain that supposedly has a tragic backstory as well as establishing what happened last time with Ant-Man in Civil War while also setting up for future movies. it isn’t done badly, but all this stuff sort of takes away from the heart and decent creativity of what made the first movie so enjoyable. Luckily there are still some moments that are just as fun as before such as trying to save Hope's mom from the Quantum Realm and of course the comedic characters we all have come to love from before.
Scott Lang’s character is still just as charming as ever, but I will admit that Hope and Hank Pym have been slightly downgraded. They seem more mean and a little flat in their delivery which in some ways is understandable seeing this takes place after Scott caused a ruckus in Civil War. I don’t mind characters who are constantly mad at each other but we still have to care about them as well. The first movie found that balance while I think this movie didn’t quite do it for me. Cassie's role is small and not as important as last time and the main antagonist is a little complicated and not as fun even when compared to Darren Cross’s cliche villain character in the first movie as I surprisingly remembered him more than this new villain they introduce.
You can definitely expect the MCU to bring their A-game when it comes to the visuals and thankfully this movie delivers. There are still some creative bits with size and scale making characters or objects bigger or smaller depending on what is needed. Some of the movie’s best highlights include the introduction of the Wasp and how she uses her powers, Hank attempting to save Hope’s mother from the Quantum Realm and the stop motion stylish look of the end credits. I’ll confess that even with a lot of things going for it I still feel like the original Ant-Man did a better job with executing its creative ideas than this movie does which isn’t saying the new effects are mediocre, but they just don’t have the same wow factor as the first movie did. Christopher Beck returns as the composer for this movie and needless to say that he has surely done it again. Though it may not be the most memorable score from the MCU, these tunes are sure to evoke a very hokey but also action-packed feel that you’d usually hear in a goofy comic book movie.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is good but I don’t think it's as good as the first movie in my opinion. I can understand while people feel the way they do with this movie because it was a huge refresher to see an easy going movie that is way more toned down than Avengers Infinity War. Judging it as a standalone movie however does make this movie feel a more lesser film when comparing it to the last movie the MCU did. Thankfully this movie’s goofball storytelling, likable characters, stellar visuals and a good music score is more than enough despite its somewhat lacking presentation. Overall I enjoyed it despite its downgrades. I won’t say it's one of the best MCU movies but it certainly is not their worst.
(Final Grade: B)