{"id":28428,"date":"2018-07-09T03:38:54","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T07:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=28428"},"modified":"2018-07-09T03:41:54","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T07:41:54","slug":"ant-man-and-the-wasp-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/09\/ant-man-and-the-wasp-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Wasp is one of the oldest, most important Marvel characters of all time (she was one of the original five Avengers), and she\u2019s also someone who has been waiting in the wings for far too long. In \u201cAnt-Man and The Wasp,\u201d the heroine finally gets her due in a movie that\u2019s about her legacy as much as it is about the Avengers, and Ant-Man, overall. After the two heavy meals that were \u201cBlack Panther\u201d and \u201cInfinity War,\u201d Peyton Reed\u2019s return to \u201cAnt Man and the Wasp\u201d is like a nice light after dinner sorbet. It\u2019s a palate cleanser, it\u2019s simple, and it\u2019s quite good.<\/p>\n

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Set directly after \u201cCivil War,\u201d Scott Lang was released from jail and put under house arrest for two years for stealing Hank Pym\u2019s technology illegally. Now struggling to maintain his relationship with his daughter Cassie, he has to face regret about turning tail on Hank and Hope. Meanwhile, Hope and Hank have finally found the component to a machine that can allow them to reach the Quantum Realm, and find Hope\u2019s mother Janet. When Scott begins receiving memories that belong to Janet, they\u2019re convinced she\u2019s inserted hints about where she is in to his consciousness. Scott is recruited to help them, but things become difficult when they\u2019re confronted with a new masked villain known as \u201cGhost,\u201d a phasing and super fast being who wants the machine for her own ulterior motives.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp\u201d is so much different than its predecessor but keeps much of what made the original film so much fun. While the original was about the underdog redeeming himself, \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp\u201d unabashedly embraces the family and comedy aspect a lot more this time. The sequel is much more of an ensemble this go around, where the title inevitably ends up being a reference to Marvel\u2019s legacy characters. Through and through, Peyton Reed\u2019s sequel is about family and the types of families we can build or stumble in to throughout our lives. The entire cast does such a bang up job reprising the roles of their respective characters, including Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lily, both of whom have evolved. There\u2019s also the return of Louis, with Michael Pena never missing a beat returning to the character.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a larger emphases on the concept of the machinery that Pym has constructed, allowing Lily and Rudd to have a great time as these unusual heroes who use mass and weight as weaponry and resources quite often. It\u2019s great to see The Wasp finally get the spotlight; director Reed emphasizes her clear importance to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially with Michelle Pfeiffer\u2019s portrayal as this fierce warrior who instills a lot of her own qualities in Hope. That said, \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp\u201d suffers from a weak villain and some limp narrative points. I wasn\u2019t too certain why Hank and Hope broke Scott out when he only had two days left in his sentence. Why not just wait a little bit? \u00a0And if time can\u2019t move in the Quantum Realm how did Janet age? What did she eat or drink?<\/p>\n

As for the main villain \u201cGhost,\u201d she looks fantastic on screen, but her motivation and ultimate back story just didn\u2019t click and felt absolutely lackluster. She also tends to feel like an afterthought in a movie filled with much better developed characters. Beyond her killer costume, I doubt she\u2019ll be discussed as one of the great cinematic villains of the MCU years from now. Walton Goggins also feels added on for better effect as a secondary villain, but he\u2019s more a comic prop in the end, and doesn\u2019t add anything to the overall narrative. He was so much more sinister in this year’s \u201cTomb Raider\u201d reboot. \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp\u201d is a light, fun side adventure that has a lot more fun with the premise and universe of Ant-Man, and I hope we get a follow up with more compelling villains down the line.<\/p>\n