After delivering a compelling social drama on black identity, followed up by an epic spectacle of a crossover, it feels like somewhat of a letdown for the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp, the sequel to the hit 2015 film Ant-Man to be, for lack of a better word, small-scale. And while the film’s low stakes do hinder the plot, there’s still much to like about the film, with some enjoyable setpieces, and a slew of likable side characters.
What made the first Ant-Man entertaining came down to its memorable cast of characters and creativity when it comes to shrinking its hero, Scott Lang, down to the size of an insect, and it very much applies to the sequel. Characters like Luis, played by Michael Pena, returns and is even funnier than he was in the first Ant-Man, Scott’s daughter Cassie, played by Abby Ryder Fortson, has some sweet and tender moments with her father, Judy Greer as Scott’s ex-wife Maggie and her new husband Jim, played by Bobby Cannavale, get stronger bits than the previous film, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym is great as always. When it comes to the leads, Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as Scott and Hope van Dyne have great chemistry, delivering humorous and likable character moments that allow the both of them to utilize their comedic chops and offer some fun and exciting sequences.
The film also features a lot of clever and fun action and chase sequences utilizing objects growing and shrinking to its fullest advantage. While there was a taste
Admittedly, some of the new characters introduced into the film don’t really have the same charm. Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, a CIA agent who keeps trying to catch Scott for circumventing his house arrest, is funny, but when it comes to the antagonistic characters, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. In fact, it’s a bit of a stretch to really say any of the characters really are antagonists, as Ava Starr, going under the name Ghost and performed well by Hannah John-Kamen’s entire plot line makes her extremely sympathetic. Her entire motivation is wanting to cure herself of her molecular instability which causes her to phase through objects, and while it is somewhat refreshing to see a Marvel film that doesn’t focus on some sort of world takeover, when it comes to the actual plot, it doesn’t offer much stakes, and doesn’t seem to make much sense.
Starr keeps trying to get Hank’s lab, humorously shrunken down to the size of a luggage with just one button, so that she can use his technology to reverse her quantum issues and make herself cured, while Scott and Hope are trying to keep the lab safe so Hank can rescue his wife Janet, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who has been stuck in the mystical Quantum Realm for decades. The problem is that because there’s little villainous intent from Starr, the conflict is rather uninteresting, especially since her dilemma isn’t on the same time crunch as Hank’s dilemma. Walton Goggins also appears as a greedy businessman who doesn’t have much to do, only appearing in the inciting incident, and at the climax, making his presence feel somewhat pointless, in spite of how enjoyable Goggins is in the film, as per usual.
That isn’t to say that Ant-Man and the Wasp is uninteresting. There’s still plenty of laughs, fun action, likable characters, creative ideas, and plenty more for Marvel fans and general moviegoers to enjoy. And of course, it’s important to recognize this was never going to attain the emotional and racially powerful impact of Black Panther, nor the massive scope of Avengers: Infinity War. But on its own, the film is a perfectly fine diversion, but still doesn’t match the first film, nor any of the MCU’s highs.