Large Popcorn Review

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Family Friendly?: Yes

When it was announced that Marvel Studios would be continuing the Ant-Man franchise with a sequel to the 2015 film, I was very excited. When I first was researching the Avengers as a kid, the two that stuck out to me the most was Ant-Man and his partner Wasp. Their relationship as crime-fighting heroes and as a couple was very interesting to me, and something that I hoped would be adapted onto the big screen one day. It was released a few months after Infinity War (A film in which I didn’t like at all) and part of me feared that the film would have to shoehorn in the plot of this movie. I walked into the theatre opening weekend, and watched the spectacle of Ant-Man and The Wasp…

PLOT:
The movie follows Scott Lang/ Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) under house arrest after his actions in Captain America: Civil War (2015). Due to him taking the Ant-Man suit without letting Hank Pym (Michael Douglass) and his daughter Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) know his plans, they cut off all contact with him and despise him. While he is under house arrest, Scott’s gets visions of a woman claiming to be Hank Pym’s missing wife, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Phipher). Scott is thrown back into the world of shrinking with help from Hope now calling herself the Wasp. Will Ant-Man and the Wasp be able to find Janet Van Dyne in the Quantum Realm, or will Scott be caught by the FBI for breaking his house arrest?

WHAT DID IT DO?:
One thing that Marvel keeps doing with their movies is that they keep improving their visual effects. Though Infinity War came out earlier this year, Ant-Man and The Wasp is the Marvel movie that has the best visual effects. This is so because the film goes further into the world of the Quantum Realm with the two shrinking heroes, and boy, this is crazy. On top of shrinking to the size of an ant, Scott Lang is now able to grow to the size of a skyscraper, shrink to any level, and even to the Quantum Realm. (However, all of this is determined by his messed up regulator, which sometimes does the opposite size then what he wants.) The Quantum Realm is explored more in this film, and its visualizations of a world smaller than atoms and molecules are breathtaking.

Paul Rudd once again shines as Ant-Man in the film, but this time he shares the spotlight with Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp. I was relieved that they showed the partnership of the inexperienced (Ant-Man)and experienced (Wasp) heroes as they work together to save the day. Lilly not only established more of her character from the first film, but she could basically have her own movie without Ant-Man in the title from her performance. She portrayed a hero who was focused on saving her mother from being missing for about 30 years. Audiences can see the emotion of Lilly’s portrayal of Wasp as she does whatever she can do in order to get her goals. Though Captain Marvel will be the first woman hero in the MCU to have her own movie, The Wasp stung her way to being one of the strongest women in the MCU.

One of the best parts of the film is how Scott Lang is still learning how to balance being a superhero and being a father. This is so because he has only been a superhero roughly about 1-2 years in the movie universe, so it was a relief to see that even though he has some experience, he is still learning how to be a better one. Not only that, but his own loved ones are there to support him, despite his many mess ups in life. Whether he needs back up from his crew of the three misfits (Luis, Kurt, and Dave), or even a hug from his family from time to time, Scott Lang may be a screw-up, but everyone can at least relate to messing up in life. Paul Rudd not only portrays Scott Lang, but he also embraces the character by using his charm and comedic chops in order to convince audiences that this guy has the worst luck, and despite it, he still will do anything to help others out. Instead of being a huge overpowering hero like the big leagues in the Avengers movies, Ant-Man is someone who has more humanity because he goes through struggles we all can relate to.

Overall, Ant-Man and The Wasp is a film about family. Not only does this film prove to be an amazing superhero film, but it also shows us more humanity to these characters. With plots such as Hank and Hope looking for their missing loved one, and Scott trying to be better at balancing his personal and superhero life, the film shows us that “little” things that people have going on can be bigger than what we think. Also, the fluid shrinking scenes were absolutely on point, and even better than the first film. There is a nod to Infinity War in the post-credit scene, but I loved that the film didn’t shoehorn events from that movie into this amazing flick. Looking back to reading the old comics of Ant-Man and The Wasp, I can be relieved that Marvel treated these characters with justice on the big screen.

5/5 POPCORN KERNELS

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