'Ant-Man and the Wasp' review/analysis

The year of Marvel rolls on.

Although it may be overshadowed by its predecessors, 'Black Panther' and 'Avengers: Infinity War', 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' is another great addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In the second Ant-Man film, which takes place slightly before the events of Infinity War, Scott Lang is under house arrest after the events of 'Captain America: Civil War'. Just before his sentence is set to end, he's called upon by Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne in an attempt to rescue Pym's wife, Janet, from the quantum realm.

Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, and Michael Douglas all reprise their roles as Lang, van Dyne, Luis and Pym, respectively, from the first movie. Joining them are newcomers Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost, Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne.

The film seems perfectly cast like all Marvel movies before it. Lilly, though, stands out in her second outing as Hope and her first as the Wasp. Taking up the mantle from her missing mother, Hope has to be one of the stronger females in the MCU, and Lilly's take on the character is why. The Wasp is a perfect partner for Lang, just like in the comics, and her relationship with Pym finally seems to be mended.

Of all the new characters, Ghost stands out because of her tragic backstory and the reasons behind her actions in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'. She's also one of the coolest villains in the MCU in terms of seeing her on-screen. The effects team at Marvel pulled another rabbit out of the hat, making the visuals of Ghost's suit and combat seem believable.

Michael Douglas also shines again as Hank Pym. It's no surprise, though. Douglas is a Hollywood legend, and his performance as Pym in this movie probably outdoes the one he put forth in the first film.

Fishburne and Pfeiffer are nice pickups as well. You really do get the feeling that Bill Foster hates Pym, while also believing that he'd never do anything to harm him. Pfeiffer, with limited screen time, does a great job of making us feel sorry for Janet and her entrapment in the quantum realm.

All in all, 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' gets a B+ from me. It had a great story, a complex villain, and solid performances all around, but there were some elements of it that I felt didn't need to be there.

I'm going to start the analysis side of this post, so if you haven't seen the movie yet, stop reading now.

Analysis

First off, I don't understand the character of Sonny Burch. Yes, it seems like there's always some sort of arms dealer, but I never got the feeling that Burch was as threatening as they tried to make him seem. Honestly, he was kind of annoying.

The scenes with Scott during his house arrest are great. He's just trying to pass some time since he only has 3 days left on his sentence.

My favorite scene of this movie has to be when Hank is traveling through the quantum realm trying to find Janet. The visuals in that sequence are just fantastic, and when he finally finds his wife, it might be the most satisfying scene in the whole film.

All of the scenes with Scott's parole officer are just gold. They have the trademark Marvel humor, and Jimmy actually ends up playing a pretty big role in the movie.

But let's get down to business here. The post-credits scene. All the questions from 'where's Ant-Man during Infinity War?' and 'did he disintegrate after Thanos's snap?' are answered. Going into the movie, I had heard that the ending was pretty shocking and I thought it might have something to do with Infinity War. As it turns out, it had everything to do with it.

Once Scott enters the realm with the help of Hope, Hank, and Janet, there was an uneasiness that fell over the audience in the theater. When Scott starts asking into his mic for a way out of the realm, the camera shifts to the three of them disintegrating. Unbelievable.

So the question becomes this: how will Lang get himself out of the quantum realm? Nobody knows he's there. For a minute, I thought that Bill Foster might be able to, but who's to say that he didn't fall victim to Thanos? And, he's unaware of Scott's whereabouts, anyway.

Although it doesn't compare to 'Black Panther' and 'Avengers: Infinity War' in terms of box office performance, 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' more than holds its own.

It goes without saying that it'll be interesting to see what becomes of Scott Lang in Avengers 4. I can't wait.

Image credits: North Texas Daily, CBR