Ant-Man and the Wasp is the twentieth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the sequel to Ant-Man. The movie takes place after Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War and concurrently with Avengers: Infinity War. The Ant-Man aspect of the franchise has always served as a comedic palette cleanser to the broader story and more personal, regional and intimate like the Netflix Marvel television series, but without the brooding, haunted hero as opposed to other Marvel movies which always deal with epic apocalyptic threats. This installment addresses the personal repercussions of heroic shenanigans on the various characters’ personal life as they use their powers to make their lives whole.
In the middle of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scott says to his daughter, Cassie, “If I’d let you [partner with me], I’d be a terrible dad,” which really resonated with me because isn’t that what Hank did to his daughter, Hope, who is now a titular character in this film? If The Punisher is the worst case scenario of the life of a family who tries to serve and fails, then the Ant-Man franchise appears at the other end of the spectrum, but the lesson of the TV series and these movies seems to be the same: if you have to choose between your family and a broader mission, choose family because there is no point in saving the world if you can’t live in it. Side note: this lesson may explain why Hawkeye is always missing in action.
Ant-Man and the Wasp throws a lot of balls in the air that initially seem to be conflicting, but provides a cautionary addendum to the overarching goal of personal preservation. Choose family, but not if it means harming another person’s family. Even when characters are opposed to each other, the humor of the movie lies in the understanding that everyone discards the usual action hero movie tropes to respond to a kid’s needs. While the threats are real, there is a desire to protect the innocent that unifies all the characters similar to Spider-Man: Homecoming.
There is no way to know other movie theater viewing experiences, but for me, the transition from previews and commercials to the feature was abrupt that it almost felt as if Ant-Man and the Wasp was already unfolding, and I arrived mid-scene. I believe that it was a cold opening, and that commencement kept me off-balance in a good way throughout the rest of the film so when I finally got to breathe at the end, I felt like the denouement was earned. I loved the addition of two more characters to the story: Ghost and Dr. Bill Foster. I love Laurence Fishburne. He can do any genre well, and I’m psyched that he is on Marvel’s payroll. Can Ghost get her own movie? She represents the dubious legacy of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America: Winter Soldier, and she was a riveting, sympathetic antagonist. I adore Michelle Pfeiffer so I’m delighted that we get a dash of her presence in this film, but was retroactively creeped out when I discovered that she played a love interest of Paul Rudd in another movie. How is her character not at least a little insane after roughly three decades in isolation? I was extremely excited that Michael Pena played a more pivotal role to the overall narrative. Randall Park is always terrific.
While Evangeline Lily kicked ass credibly, I don’t completely buy that she would be into Scott, who is hot and nice, but not an intellectual equal, or what kind of person she will be like on her off hours once she achieves her goal. The reason that Pena’s character’s description of her character is so funny is because it is dead on—she is all business and serious. I would have loved completely cutting out Walter Goggins’ Ant-Man and the Wasp’s story line. After watching Tomb Raider and Mojave, he withdrew all the good will that he accumulated during The Hateful Eight. He feels one note to me, and he just seemed like an obligatory, complicating obstacle, not a three dimensional character. Who is the buyer changing the existing dynamic? It feels as if that unseen buyer should play a larger role in the overarching story so I may reverse my judgment if subsequent movies in the MCU retroactively reveal the importance of this thread, but right now, it felt unsatisfying and extraneous.
The biggest flaw of Ant-Man and the Wasp was that the ants were treated as real characters as in the first movie, but butts of jokes even as they died. Ant-Man got me to care about them as individuals, and I viscerally hate insects so to treat them as expendable extras in this installment felt like a real letdown and setback in terms of empathy. After Hereditary, ants needed an easy victory this summer, and this movie let them down.
Even though I expected the outcome of the second to last scene in Ant-Man and the Wasp, I still gasped and clutched my pearls when it happened and cannot wait to discover how that will be resolved in the next film. While the overall movie may not have the same impact as the other standalone movies in the MCU, there is value to just having an entertaining, light summer movie. While it is not a must see movie unless you’re committed to the MCU, it is funny and a good excuse to eat popcorn in an air conditioned theater.