I don’t need to tell you about Marvel, I don’t need to explain their success or their complex ever expanding universe that brings in millions of fans and casual viewers alike. When you go see a Marvel movie you expect action, quips, interesting characters, fighting, maybe some explosions, and you get what you sign up for. Ant-Man and the Wasp sticks to the tried and true formula continuing the story of Scott Lang as he balances being a superhero, a father, and staying one step ahead of the police.
As stated above, the movie is a good time. Paul Rudd does a great job bringing Scott Lang to life as a witty, if times clueless hero. He’s the lovable underdog and the interactions with his daughter bring some really touching moments. Interactions with other characters, like Michael Pena’s Luis add humor, but don’t always land the way they should have (there were a few eye rolling moments). The villains too bring an interesting and at times humorous angle to the story (Walton Goggins is getting really good at playing the eccentric, goofy bad guy). That’s one thing Marvel seems to do well (somewhat) consistently; giving us interesting and unique villains we want to see more of. The problem is we never see enough of them, or their presence in the film doesn’t express to the viewer there unique perspective. I never really felt much for the main antagonist this time around, and I think if they had payed more attention to what makes Ghost feel the need to do what she does, I could have better sympathized. Weak villains aside, there are fantastic car chases and choreographed fight sequences that balance out the plot so the viewer never gets too bored during down time. Overall a good dose of action accompanied by science technobabble that pushes the plot to its conclusion, which is fine, but a repeated ploy the Marvel Cinematic Universe has used before to pump out their movies.
The point is, it’s all very cut and dry Marvel, and for hardcore fans, a pretty good addition to the MCU. However I can’t help but get the feeling that as every hero gets his or her own movie, the cinematic universe grows evermore convoluted, and confusing for casual fans. The movies are easy enough to digest, but at a point they may feel samey to those looking for something just a little less formulaic. Casual fans have seen most of this before; the heroes have something the villain needs, the villain steals it, the heroes fight to get it back, and without the understanding of the lore or nuanced importance behind specific plot points it may be confusing for many. This isn’t to bash Marvel for having a complex story, they’ve done an amazing job building an incredibly deep and interesting world for the viewer. However we only get to see or understand a fraction of it within these movies. Case In point for Ant-Man, we know very little about the quantum realm and thismovie missed a great opportunity to to a better job explaining it to the viewer.
That’s not to drag the movie, it knowswhat it is, and if I hadn’t seen the same thing before in other Marvel films no less, I probably would have enjoyed it more. The action is well done, the special effects are, as always, amazing (especially in the quantum realm) and the plot is intriguing enough, with enough points of interest to keep the viewer involved with what is happening to the characters. Perhaps cutting some subplots to let others shine would have done some good, but overall a great time for fans, and for casual viewers. It doesn’t do anything particularly new, but what you get is a good time regardless.
- Paul Rudd does a great job
- Funny where it counts
- Great action
- Bonus features are also an added treat.
