What better way to spend the most excruciatingly hot days of the summer than in the sweet, sweet embrace of an A/C-rich movie theater, ready to take in a good movie. ANT-MAN AND THE WASP is an ideal popcorn flick that is perfect escapism for these ultra-hot days. Taking place about two years after the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, this film is delightfully heartfelt, hilarious, action-packed and also the first Marvel film to have a female superhero in its title! Of course, I could have used a slightly better villain and more Walton Goggins, who was unfortunately wasted in his part. But all-in-all ANT-MAN AND THE WASP is a refreshing, localized respite to the galaxy-spanning action of INFINITY WAR. Below are some of my favorite parts of the film… and believe me, it took everything I had to not make them all about Michelle Pfeiffer.
Comparatively Low Stakes: One of the best parts of the ANT-MAN AND THE WASP is that the storyline is meant to be fun and entertaining. It’s inconsequential and low stakes in comparison to the rest of the Marvel superhero anthology, and pretty much localized to San Francisco. Instead of having to worry about cramming a bunch of superheroes into one movie and ensuring everyone gets a good amount of screen time, the film is instead able to focus on just our two main title characters. Every super hero movie doesn’t have to deal with the world ending, and when you have such a serious baddie as Thanos in INFINITY WARS, which requires the whole galaxy to come together, it’s nice to just have a hometown story. And you better believe I loved the fight scenes with The Wasp; she was given a lot more to do in this movie and I am here for it.
Humor: Some of the most hilarious parts of the movie involved creative uses of enlarging and shrinking objects… including Hello Kitty Pez dispensers, cars in a Hot Wheels case, and a mobile skyscraper. The use of ants this time was teetering on overkill, but I will always laugh at a good ant pun.
Heart: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP had the perfect mixture of action and heart, focusing on the relationships between father and daughter, mother and daughter, and wife and husband. The film opens with an adorable scene between Scott Lang and his daughter, where he makes an ant-inspired adventure in his house as entertainment while he’s under house arrest (apparently Ant-Man’s participation in the events of CIVIL WAR was illegal under the Sokovia Accords). And the heartwarming scenes don’t stop there. Instead of worrying about saving the world, this film is able to focus on the relationships between characters… whether it be Hope and Hank working to reunite with Janet, or Scott realizing that his daughter sees him as a hero.
The Wasp’s Suit: I LOVED The Wasp’s suit so much. It is feminine and, you know, would believably PROTECT the wearer instead of being titillating and impractical. And let’s not forget Evangeline Lilly’s incredibly prescient statement on how wearing the costume is even more comfortable than what women wear most days.
Evangeline Lilly’s Hair: Is there anything better than Evangeline Lilly’s hair as The Wasp? Answer: No. I’m here for all of her lewks, primarily flashbacks of this.
And this is cool too!
HRH Michelle Pfeiffer: Yes, I wish ANT-MAN AND THE WASP had more Michelle Pfeiffer… but can we all agree how hilarious it is that the movie had to AGE Michelle because she looks too young for her character? I imagine the filmmakers panicked when they saw Pfeiffer don’t fade, and quickly had her fitted for a white wig and some makeup. Regardless, Michelle may have not been in the movie for long, but her presence was felt throughout and I was continuously praying things would turn out okay.
End Credit Scene: There are two end credit scenes. I won’t give anything away, but let’s just say the first one is going to bring back some pretty unsettling feelings you had earlier this year. The last one is just a silly callback joke.
My Review: A-
