The well-prepared superheroes scan the room to determine who cut the cheese.
(2018) Superhero (Disney/Marvel) Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peňa, Michael Douglas, Laurence Fishburne, Hannah John-Kamen, Bobby Cannavale, Walton Goggins, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tim Heidecker, Divian Ladwa, Goran Kostic, Rob Archer, Sean Thompson Kleier, Riann Steele. Directed by Peyton Reed
Following up Avengers: Infinity War as a Marvel superhero is like being the guy who bats after Babe Ruth; anything you do is going to be anti-climactic.
Scott Lang (Rudd) has hung up his Ant-Man mantle and placed under house arrest following the events of Captain America: Civil War and is just days away from getting his freedom back. He’s far more interested in being a better dad to his daughter Cassie (Fortson) and starting up a corporate security firm with his buddies Luis (Peňa), Dave (Harris) and Kurt (Dastmalchian) than resuming his superhero career with the tech he was awarded by crusty Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas).
But Pym and his daughter Hope (Lilly) believe they are on the verge of being able to rescue Hank’s wife and Hope’s mom Janet van Dyne (Pfeiffer) – who is also the original Wasp – from the Quantum Realm where she has been trapped for decades. Lang’s successful escape from the Realm makes him Hank’s best friend from a scientific standpoint. However, Hank’s tech is in high demand and after it are corporate espionage maven Sonny Burch (Goggins) and the insubstantial super-villain Ghost (John-Kamen). With a friendly but suspicious federal agent (Park) watching Scott’s every move and with his freedom on the line, can Scott rescue Janet and stay ahead of both the feds and the bad guys?
This, like the first Ant-Man film the tone is light and irreverent – not to the same degree as Thor: Ragnarok but more like a 90s sitcom; not a bad thing at all There are some genuinely funny lines and bits and if you don’t think about the physics of the Pym particles too much the plot moves along at a nice clip. The stakes here aren’t very high, compared to other recent Marvel films, but who says every superhero movie has to be about The End of the World As We Know It?
Rudd continues to be intensely likable and thankfully they integrate Lilly into the action much more; I wouldn’t mind seeing a Wasp solo movie down the line someday (from my pen to Kevin Feige’s ears). The effects are solid and the cast is awfully strong This isn’t the kind of grand-slam that Marvel has been hitting regularly lately but it certainly is a solid base hit that most Marvel fans should enjoy.
REASONS TO SEE: Lilly as the Wasp is integrated better into the story.
REASONS TO AVOID: A little bit watered down from the first film.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some comic book violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The younger version of Bill Foster in the flashback sequences is played by Langston Fishburne, son of Laurence who plays the older Bill Foster.
BEYOND THE THEATER: Amazon, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Movies Anywhere, Netflix, Redbox, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 9/19/19: Rotten Tomatoes: 88% positive reviews: Metacritic: 70/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Fantastic Voyage
FINAL RATING: 6.5/10
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