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MCU Revisit: Antman and the Wasp
Review written by Christian Garcia
Introduction:
Today I am reviewing the post-Infinity War palette cleanser film that is Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Releasing after the emotional roller coaster that was Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel decided to give its fans an emotional break with a film that focuses less on drama and just returns to fun action that reminds fans why they enjoy Marvel films, to begin with.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is a film that is more likely skipped in most Marvel watch-throughs and is a film that my girlfriend and I chose to skip because she was too excited to get to Endgame. I only saw the film once when it originally came out in theatres and thought it was a fun film and nothing more. After the emotionally charged ending of Infinity War, it was nice to get a Marvel film that went back to the simple and fun comic book action that we all know and love.
Years later, how does this film stand on its own? Let’s take a look at the sometimes-forgotten Ant-Man sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
The Hero’s Journey:
Given that the title of the film is Ant-Man AND the Wasp, I figured I would focus on the journeys of both heroes. The Wasp is not thrown to the background and shares equal screen time and at times even steals the show.
Ant-Man’s Journey:
Taking place after Captain America: Civil War and before Infinity War, Scott Lang is under house arrest as a result of his involvement in the events of Civil War. Watching this film after the Covid-19 Pandemic, it was surreal watching Scott Lang experience what we all experienced during lockdown two years before it would happen in real life. Lang is strained from Hank Pym and Hope because of his choice to go and aid Captain America without letting them know. Scott’s sentence is two days from being completed and all he wants is to wait it out so he can spend time with his daughter Cassie, outside of his house.
However, a mysterious dream he has gets him tangled back up with Hope and Pym. After Scott successfully returned from the Quantum Realm in the first film, Hank and Hope were given hope of finding Hank’s long-lost wife and Hope’s mother, Janet. After having a dream about Janet and calling Hank about it, Scott finds himself kidnapped by Hope and Hank who wish to build a Quantum tunnel so they can journey to the Quantum Realm and find Janet. They leave a giant ant decoy at Scott’s house to not jeopardize his house arrest and they set out to get the final piece that will get their tunnel up and running.
Scott just wants to get back home so he can get free of his house arrest sentence and return to his life. Throughout the film, Scott is mostly concerned about himself and getting home before the feds catch him breaking his house arrest. It’s like the story of a kid who sneaks out and wants to get home before his parents catch him but then things escalate beyond their control as seen in films like License to Drive. Sadly, for Scott, things don’t go as smoothly as he’d like as they get chased by Ava Starr aka Ghost as well as Sonny Burch and his gang of criminals. As things get more out of control, Scott becomes more anxious to want to go home and call it a day. His loyalty to Hank and feelings for Hope keep him by their side and as the film progresses, Scott and Hope begin to rekindle their relationship.
After they retrieve the Lab and get the Tunnel up and running, Hank and Hope contact Janet who communicates with them through Scott in one of the film’s funniest and heartfelt moments. The moment is cut short after Scott finds out that both the Feds and Ghost are heading toward them. With the Feds closing in, Scott leaves Hope and Hank to rush home in a moment that seems to break them apart again. Scott chooses himself again and it results in Hope and Hank getting captured by the Feds while Ghost steals the Lab.
Scott makes it home just in time, but his guilt gets the better of him. He and Cassie have a talk where she says he needs a partner to watch his back. At first, Cassie suggests herself but Scott tells her he would never want her mixed up in his life as Ant-Man. She then tells him that he needs Hope and that she would be a good fit. This is an important moment for Scott as he has been torn between his two lives because he enjoys his work with Hank and Hope, but he also wants to be a good father and be there for Cassie. Everything he does, he does for Cassie and this moment was her giving him the okay to pursue his other life as Ant-Man.
He uses trained ants to break Hope and Hank out of prison and they reunite to retrieve the Lab. After a fun and action-packed climax, Hope and Hank are reunited with Janet and Hope and Scott rekindles their romance. Scott’s house arrest sentence ends, and he gets what he wants, to return to his life, but this time he now has two lives with Cassie and with Hope. The last scene shows Scott, Hope, and Cassie spending time together at a movie, getting what he wanted and they all live happily ever…..oh if only it were that simple…
SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!
In the mid-credit scene, Scott is with Hank, Hope, and Janet in a newly built portable Quantum tunnel. They are there to extract energy from the Quantum Realm to help cure Ava’s condition. Scott enters the Quantum Realm again and successfully collects the energy needed. Hope counts him down but suddenly their connection is lost. Scott thinks they’re messing with him but then it is revealed that Hank, Janet, and Hope were all erased by Thanos’ snap leaving Scott stranded in the Quantum Realm.
The Wasp’s Journey
After Scott returned from the Quantum Realm in the first film, Hope and Hank are given newfound faith that her mother, Janet is still alive and could be found. Her goal throughout the film is to see her mother again and for her family to be complete. In the first film, her arc was centered on repairing the strained relationship between her and her father.
At the end of that film, Hope and Hank reconciled. Now with the chance of finding her mother, Hope is determined to bring her family back together no matter what.
Hope and Scott have not spoken since he chose to join Captain America in the events of Civil War and left abruptly which exposed the Pym technology to the world and forced her and her father into hiding. Now wanted by the FBI, Hope and Hank are fugitives. While in hiding, they have been working out of a shrinkable lab and building a Quantum Tunnel that will allow them to enter the Quantum Realm to retrieve Janet. They have been assembling the pieces while in hiding and are close to completing their project.
After receiving a call from Scott about a vision he had of Janet, Hope breaks into his house, knocks him out, and kidnaps him to bring him back to the lab. When Scott wakes up their reunion is anything but warming. She still harbors anger towards him for his actions and how they impacted her and her father and bluntly tells him that she does not want an apology, just what is in his head. When Scott tells the details of his vision of finding a little girl in a wardrobe, Hope immediately knows what he’s talking about and is given great joy knowing that her mother is still alive. Determined to get the tunnel up and running, Hope and Hank bring Scott on one last trip to get the piece that they need. The dealing with Sonny Burch doesn’t go smoothly as Sonny tries to strong-arm her into letting him on the Quantum Technology. Hope uses her Wasp suit to make quick work of Burch’s henchmen and has the piece in hand before being attacked by Ava Starr. The encounter leads to her stealing the portable lab and brings Hope, Scott, and Hank on a chase to retrieve their lab in time.
Throughout the film, Hope and Scott slowly rebuild their relationship with quick jabs at each other. When Scott’s suit starts malfunctioning and shrinks him to the size of a child, Hope can’t help but make fun of him. While preparing to steal the lab back from Starr, Hope and Scott have a talk where they reflect on their relationship and what went wrong. Hope brings up Germany and hints that she wishes he would have asked her to go with him. He asks if she would have gone if he asked and she’s saying they’ll never know but also adds that if she had he would have never been caught. This scene shows that there is still chemistry between them and that they still have feelings for each other.
After successfully retrieving the lab, Hope and Hank make contact with Janet, who communicates with them through Scott. In a funny and touching moment, Janet as Scott comforts Hope. They track down her location but right before they can power on the tunnel, Scott tells them that the Feds are on the way and he once again leaves Hope and Hank abruptly. When Scott chooses to leave, Hope once again gets angry with him and is ready to write him off. Hope and Hank get captured by the FBI and Ghost steals the lab again. However, they are not captured for long as Scott helps break them out and when they reunite in the van, Hope shoots Scott a smile that shows she was impressed by his rescue plan and happy to see him.
In a wild climactic chase involving Hope, Ghost, Sonny Burch and his crew, and a Giant Ant-Man, they retrieve the lab while Hank dives into the Quantum Realm to find Janet. During the climax, Scott passes out in the water because of growing large, and Hope dives in to save him. After Scott wakes up, Hope is so overjoyed that he is okay that she kisses him, rekindling their relationship. After working with Scott to defeat Ghost, Hope finally reunites with her mother in the emotional highlight of the film. She embraces both her parents with her family finally being brought back together. The film ends with Scott, Hope, and Cassie watching a movie together. In the end, Hope not only got her original family of her and her parents back but also a new family with Scott and Cassie. Hope gets everything she wanted and more.
The Villain:
Ava Starr, also known as Ghost, is a young woman who can render herself intangible and create extreme amounts of power. She gained these abilities after an accident that killed her parents. She was taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. who weaponized her abilities and used her as a stealth operative for many missions. S.H.I.E.L.D. promised to find a cure for her condition but she soon realized they were never going to cure her as her abilities were too great an asset to them.
Her powers make her a tough opponent to Ant-Man and Wasp as she is not only someone who they cannot always see but also cannot touch. It makes her a formidable opponent and a threat that they have not encountered before. Throughout the film, she usually bests Ant-Man and Wasp in combat, proving to be a threat and one to take seriously. While her abilities were incredibly useful, her condition is slowly killing and causing her a great deal of pain daily.
After S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, she enlisted the help of Bill Foster to find a cure for her condition upon learning that she was slowly dying due to a lack of Quantum energy. When she learned that Hank Pym and Hope were building a Quantum Tunnel, Ava tracked them down with the intent to steal their technology and extract the Quantum energy from Janet to help cure Ava. Hank protested the idea as the extraction would tear Janet apart.
Ava is not an evil person trying to do bad things. She is a person who is in pain and suffering and trying to rid herself of it for good. However, the mistreatment from S.H.I.E.L.D., the loss of her parents, and the constant pain she feels have turned her into a hardened and vicious individual. She even considered harming Scott’s daughter Cassie to get what she wanted but Bill Foster’s protest of the idea saved Cassie. She wants to stop feeling the pain that her powers cause her and will go to any length to rid herself of it, showing how pain can drive someone to great extremes beyond morality.
In the film’s climax, she attempts to extract the energy from Janet but is thwarted by Scott and Hope. After Janet gently touches her face and uses the Quantum energy, she possesses to heal Ava and make her feel whole again. It’s a touching moment that shows how Ava is not a bad person, just someone who is in pain and to see her finally be relieved of her pain warms the heart.
Thankfully, she doesn’t get the regular villain treatment of being killed off or thrown in jail and after seeing what she can do against Ant-Man and Wasp, I am excited to see her appear again as an ally as it does not seem that she is completely rid of her powers.
The Film’s Pros:
The Wasp
After being teased in the first film, it was great to see Hope spring into action as The Wasp. Evangeline Lilly puts in a great performance playing Hope as a no-nonsense badass who isn’t afraid to throw a punch when she needs to. She doesn’t take a backseat to Ant-Man this time around and steals the show in a lot of instances. Her chemistry with Paul Rudd is undeniable as their banter makes for many funny moments like when Hope mocks Scott for referring to Captain America as Cap.
While not the first female MCU hero, The Wasp is the first instance of a female Marvel hero getting the title of her own film as this did release before Captain Marvel, so Wasp also did make a piece of Marvel history. Thankfully the Wasp’s inclusion in the film’s title is not just a namesake as she gets an equal amount of screen time compared to her male counterpart and is an essential part of the story. While watching the film, my girlfriend was cheering her on and loved watching her kick ass. Wasp is an empowering hero for girls and women alike and the film is as much hers if not even more.
One aspect I also want to praise the film for is the fact that they were able to show us a strong female lead without having to tell us so. One issue that I have seen in other films, including Marvel’s own Captain Marvel (more on that when I get to that review), is that they tend to focus more on letting the audience know that they are watching a female empowering character rather than creating a character that is interesting and empowers through her actions and personality organically.
Hope is a great example of the writing philosophy of show don’t tell where the audience is able to experience the story through the actions, words, thoughts, and feelings of the characters rather than telling it through exposition. Hope is an interesting character because her personality is not defined as just being a strong and independent woman. She is determined and focused but also can be snarky, quirky, and at times even cynical like her father. Her complexities make her interesting and relatable which makes her a good role model for young girls and women. Like with Black Widow, Marvel made an empowering female figure by just letting her be herself and not focusing on trying to make her an empowering figure. Sadly, this lesson was not learned in Captain Marvel but again I’ll go more into that when I review that film.
As is, Hope is one of Marvel’s strongest female leads and I look forward to seeing her in more Ant-Man films in the future. I love how Marvel has already included the Wasp’s name in the title of the next sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania showing how she is just as important to the franchise as Ant-Man.
An emotional palette cleanser after Infinity War
This film came out the summer after Avengers: Infinity War, a film filled with so much drama and emotion that it left Marvel fans emotionally drained. Ant-Man and the Wasp was the perfect palette cleanser for Marvel fans giving them a film that was just fun. This film packs the action and humor that Marvel fans expect in their film and brought them back to the simple times when Marvel films could just be fun action films. The film cleverly takes place before the events of Infinity War and serves more to clue fans in on what Ant-Man had been up to since his last appearance in Captain America: Civil War. The film packs the humor, the action, and the emotion (not as heavy as Infinity War) that Marvel fans love and enjoy.
I remember when I saw it in theatres, I had a fun time watching the film and it was a nice distraction from the heavy implications of Infinity War. That is until the mid-credits scene. Marvel gives you a fun time with a simple more comedic film and is like “okay you’ve had your fun, now let’s remind you that Infinity War happened!” It was like going on a nice lunch break during work and then when it's over being reminded that you have an important meeting next. It’s like a return from the fun downtime to harsh reality. The mid-credit scene did a great job of teasing Endgame and brings you back to the reality that Thanos won and it's affecting everyone including Ant-Man.
However, the film we get before that is a fun distraction that will have you laughing and enjoying yourself from beginning to end. It’s the perfect film to watch if you’re in the mood for something with fun great action, humor, and Paul Rudd.
Fun Climax
Like the first Ant-Man, the climax of this film takes full advantage of the idea of making little things big and vice versa. The final chase between Ant-Man, Wasp, Ghost, and Sonny Burch’s crew has a good combination of action, spectacle, and humor. We see Giant Ant-Man, car chases, and even a giant Hello Kitty Pez dispenser. The scene itself is a classic car chase scene that many movies have done before but with the added elements of the Pym Technology, the filmmakers were able to get creative and add elements to make this chase scene stand out. As I mentioned, we see a Hello Kitty Pez dispenser get grown and used to take out a vehicle. We get to see a giant Ant-Man use a pickup truck like a scooter which is both awesome and hilarious to see. The chase scene makes for a fun and funny climax that’ll have you laughing and is visually interesting enough to keep you invested.
The suspense is heightened with Hank’s journey into the Quantum Realm to find Janet. Hank slowly loses his mind as the weight of the Quantum Realm gets to him and keeps us on the edge of our seats as we want him to succeed therefore, we feel great joy when he finally finds Janet and we see the couple reunite. The scenes with Hank, Hope, and Janet are the emotional highlights of the film and give the payoff to the long-awaited family reunion.
With the elements of action and humor combined with the emotional investment of the Pym family reuniting, the film’s climax is one of the more entertaining climaxes of any Marvel film. While it is not as memorable or iconic as say the climax of Infinity War or Endgame, it does just enough right to top off what is already a fun comic book film.
The Film’s Cons:
Too Many Subplots
While the film is a lot of fun and packs the humor, one element that does hold it back from being one of the great Marvel films is too many subplots slightly bog that down that either don’t really go anywhere or just aren’t necessary.
The subplot that easily could have been cut is the Sonny Burch subplot. The character himself is not very memorable and felt like an unnecessary addition. While I do understand his purpose of being a straightforward villain, he could have easily been written out and it would have barely affected the plot. The one plot point he serves is that he is the one that tips off the FBI and gets Hope and Hank captured, but that easily could have been changed to Ava being the one to tip them off so she could steal the lab herself. And while I did find the truth serum bits to be funny, they could have found another way around it to include it or they could have even had it that Sonny and his gang don’t show up until the final climax and serve as an added obstacle.
Another subplot that felt unnecessary was the one involving Scott’s friends and their company X-Con Security Consultants and their need to close on a deal that would keep them in business. I understand its purpose as giving Scott’s friends something to do and to show Scott trying to go legit, but it is not focused on nearly enough to warrant its existence in the film and could have been scrapped or saved for another film where it could have been given more purpose in the story. Thankfully it is not focused on too much to be a distraction or annoying detour but again it is also not focused on enough to exist.
Despite those subplot issues, the film still holds together solidly and while the subplots are unnecessary, they do not distract or detract from the main plot to hurt the film on a level like Iron Man 2. They don’t do enough to hurt the film but also don’t do enough to really justify their presence and could have easily been cut.
Easily Skippable
I mentioned earlier that my girlfriend and I chose to skip this film and Captain Marvel and go straight to Endgame. Part of that was because my girlfriend was too excited to watch Endgame and wanted to know what would happen. Another reason was that after thinking it over, in terms of the whole MCU story arc, Antman and the Wasp is not an essential film plot-wise. The events in this film have little to no effect on the outcome of the Infinity War Saga. Much like Iron Man 2, this is a film that you can skip and not miss anything major in relation to the entire MCU.
That is except for the mid-credit scene. In terms of plot purpose in the MCU, one major advantage that this film has over Iron Man 2 (besides just being a much better and more enjoyable film of course) is that the mid-credit scene does tie into Endgame and sets up a major plot point that determines the outcome of Endgame.
So, while you don’t need necessarily need to watch the whole film before Endgame, you do need to at least watch the mid-credit scene. Before I showed my girlfriend Endgame, I quickly YouTubed the mid-credit scene from this film for her as well as the post-credit scene of Captain Marvel and she was brought up to speed. And just because you can skip this film, doesn’t mean you should. It is still a fun movie and one that is worth your time. But if you had to choose between watching this or just skipping to the big epic finale that is Endgame because you’re just too excited, I would recommend the latter.
Final Thoughts:
Ant-Man and the Wasp is a fun sequel that adds to the ideas set up in the first film and makes for a Marvel film that packs the action, humor, and emotion (on a much smaller scale compared to Infinity War). After an emotionally exhausting experience that was Infinity War, Marvel fans needed a feel-good movie that gave them the action and laughs that made them fans in the first place. The performances of Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are great, and their chemistry makes them one of the more fun Marvel couples to watch. Lilly’s performance steals the show and establishes Hope van Dyne as one of Marvel’s strong female leads.
Although the film is slightly bogged down by a few too many subplots, it still does a good job of juggling said subplots and maintains its focus where it needs to be. While it is a very good film and one worth seeing, it doesn’t do enough to stand out amongst other Marvel films that have come before and after it, and as a result, it often gets lost in the shuffle and isn’t talked about in as high regard. However, its purpose was to entertain and give Marvel fans a film to lift their spirits after the ending of Infinity War left them emotional wrecks. It served that purpose very well and is a very good film that gives a fun Marvel experience that is worthy of at least one viewing.
Review written by Christian Garcia
Introduction:
Today I am reviewing the post-Infinity War palette cleanser film that is Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Releasing after the emotional roller coaster that was Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel decided to give its fans an emotional break with a film that focuses less on drama and just returns to fun action that reminds fans why they enjoy Marvel films, to begin with.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is a film that is more likely skipped in most Marvel watch-throughs and is a film that my girlfriend and I chose to skip because she was too excited to get to Endgame. I only saw the film once when it originally came out in theatres and thought it was a fun film and nothing more. After the emotionally charged ending of Infinity War, it was nice to get a Marvel film that went back to the simple and fun comic book action that we all know and love.
Years later, how does this film stand on its own? Let’s take a look at the sometimes-forgotten Ant-Man sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
The Hero’s Journey:
Given that the title of the film is Ant-Man AND the Wasp, I figured I would focus on the journeys of both heroes. The Wasp is not thrown to the background and shares equal screen time and at times even steals the show.
Ant-Man’s Journey:
Taking place after Captain America: Civil War and before Infinity War, Scott Lang is under house arrest as a result of his involvement in the events of Civil War. Watching this film after the Covid-19 Pandemic, it was surreal watching Scott Lang experience what we all experienced during lockdown two years before it would happen in real life. Lang is strained from Hank Pym and Hope because of his choice to go and aid Captain America without letting them know. Scott’s sentence is two days from being completed and all he wants is to wait it out so he can spend time with his daughter Cassie, outside of his house.
However, a mysterious dream he has gets him tangled back up with Hope and Pym. After Scott successfully returned from the Quantum Realm in the first film, Hank and Hope were given hope of finding Hank’s long-lost wife and Hope’s mother, Janet. After having a dream about Janet and calling Hank about it, Scott finds himself kidnapped by Hope and Hank who wish to build a Quantum tunnel so they can journey to the Quantum Realm and find Janet. They leave a giant ant decoy at Scott’s house to not jeopardize his house arrest and they set out to get the final piece that will get their tunnel up and running.
Scott just wants to get back home so he can get free of his house arrest sentence and return to his life. Throughout the film, Scott is mostly concerned about himself and getting home before the feds catch him breaking his house arrest. It’s like the story of a kid who sneaks out and wants to get home before his parents catch him but then things escalate beyond their control as seen in films like License to Drive. Sadly, for Scott, things don’t go as smoothly as he’d like as they get chased by Ava Starr aka Ghost as well as Sonny Burch and his gang of criminals. As things get more out of control, Scott becomes more anxious to want to go home and call it a day. His loyalty to Hank and feelings for Hope keep him by their side and as the film progresses, Scott and Hope begin to rekindle their relationship.
After they retrieve the Lab and get the Tunnel up and running, Hank and Hope contact Janet who communicates with them through Scott in one of the film’s funniest and heartfelt moments. The moment is cut short after Scott finds out that both the Feds and Ghost are heading toward them. With the Feds closing in, Scott leaves Hope and Hank to rush home in a moment that seems to break them apart again. Scott chooses himself again and it results in Hope and Hank getting captured by the Feds while Ghost steals the Lab.
Scott makes it home just in time, but his guilt gets the better of him. He and Cassie have a talk where she says he needs a partner to watch his back. At first, Cassie suggests herself but Scott tells her he would never want her mixed up in his life as Ant-Man. She then tells him that he needs Hope and that she would be a good fit. This is an important moment for Scott as he has been torn between his two lives because he enjoys his work with Hank and Hope, but he also wants to be a good father and be there for Cassie. Everything he does, he does for Cassie and this moment was her giving him the okay to pursue his other life as Ant-Man.
He uses trained ants to break Hope and Hank out of prison and they reunite to retrieve the Lab. After a fun and action-packed climax, Hope and Hank are reunited with Janet and Hope and Scott rekindles their romance. Scott’s house arrest sentence ends, and he gets what he wants, to return to his life, but this time he now has two lives with Cassie and with Hope. The last scene shows Scott, Hope, and Cassie spending time together at a movie, getting what he wanted and they all live happily ever…..oh if only it were that simple…
SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!
In the mid-credit scene, Scott is with Hank, Hope, and Janet in a newly built portable Quantum tunnel. They are there to extract energy from the Quantum Realm to help cure Ava’s condition. Scott enters the Quantum Realm again and successfully collects the energy needed. Hope counts him down but suddenly their connection is lost. Scott thinks they’re messing with him but then it is revealed that Hank, Janet, and Hope were all erased by Thanos’ snap leaving Scott stranded in the Quantum Realm.
The Wasp’s Journey
After Scott returned from the Quantum Realm in the first film, Hope and Hank are given newfound faith that her mother, Janet is still alive and could be found. Her goal throughout the film is to see her mother again and for her family to be complete. In the first film, her arc was centered on repairing the strained relationship between her and her father.
At the end of that film, Hope and Hank reconciled. Now with the chance of finding her mother, Hope is determined to bring her family back together no matter what.
Hope and Scott have not spoken since he chose to join Captain America in the events of Civil War and left abruptly which exposed the Pym technology to the world and forced her and her father into hiding. Now wanted by the FBI, Hope and Hank are fugitives. While in hiding, they have been working out of a shrinkable lab and building a Quantum Tunnel that will allow them to enter the Quantum Realm to retrieve Janet. They have been assembling the pieces while in hiding and are close to completing their project.
After receiving a call from Scott about a vision he had of Janet, Hope breaks into his house, knocks him out, and kidnaps him to bring him back to the lab. When Scott wakes up their reunion is anything but warming. She still harbors anger towards him for his actions and how they impacted her and her father and bluntly tells him that she does not want an apology, just what is in his head. When Scott tells the details of his vision of finding a little girl in a wardrobe, Hope immediately knows what he’s talking about and is given great joy knowing that her mother is still alive. Determined to get the tunnel up and running, Hope and Hank bring Scott on one last trip to get the piece that they need. The dealing with Sonny Burch doesn’t go smoothly as Sonny tries to strong-arm her into letting him on the Quantum Technology. Hope uses her Wasp suit to make quick work of Burch’s henchmen and has the piece in hand before being attacked by Ava Starr. The encounter leads to her stealing the portable lab and brings Hope, Scott, and Hank on a chase to retrieve their lab in time.
Throughout the film, Hope and Scott slowly rebuild their relationship with quick jabs at each other. When Scott’s suit starts malfunctioning and shrinks him to the size of a child, Hope can’t help but make fun of him. While preparing to steal the lab back from Starr, Hope and Scott have a talk where they reflect on their relationship and what went wrong. Hope brings up Germany and hints that she wishes he would have asked her to go with him. He asks if she would have gone if he asked and she’s saying they’ll never know but also adds that if she had he would have never been caught. This scene shows that there is still chemistry between them and that they still have feelings for each other.
After successfully retrieving the lab, Hope and Hank make contact with Janet, who communicates with them through Scott. In a funny and touching moment, Janet as Scott comforts Hope. They track down her location but right before they can power on the tunnel, Scott tells them that the Feds are on the way and he once again leaves Hope and Hank abruptly. When Scott chooses to leave, Hope once again gets angry with him and is ready to write him off. Hope and Hank get captured by the FBI and Ghost steals the lab again. However, they are not captured for long as Scott helps break them out and when they reunite in the van, Hope shoots Scott a smile that shows she was impressed by his rescue plan and happy to see him.
In a wild climactic chase involving Hope, Ghost, Sonny Burch and his crew, and a Giant Ant-Man, they retrieve the lab while Hank dives into the Quantum Realm to find Janet. During the climax, Scott passes out in the water because of growing large, and Hope dives in to save him. After Scott wakes up, Hope is so overjoyed that he is okay that she kisses him, rekindling their relationship. After working with Scott to defeat Ghost, Hope finally reunites with her mother in the emotional highlight of the film. She embraces both her parents with her family finally being brought back together. The film ends with Scott, Hope, and Cassie watching a movie together. In the end, Hope not only got her original family of her and her parents back but also a new family with Scott and Cassie. Hope gets everything she wanted and more.
The Villain:
Ava Starr, also known as Ghost, is a young woman who can render herself intangible and create extreme amounts of power. She gained these abilities after an accident that killed her parents. She was taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. who weaponized her abilities and used her as a stealth operative for many missions. S.H.I.E.L.D. promised to find a cure for her condition but she soon realized they were never going to cure her as her abilities were too great an asset to them.
Her powers make her a tough opponent to Ant-Man and Wasp as she is not only someone who they cannot always see but also cannot touch. It makes her a formidable opponent and a threat that they have not encountered before. Throughout the film, she usually bests Ant-Man and Wasp in combat, proving to be a threat and one to take seriously. While her abilities were incredibly useful, her condition is slowly killing and causing her a great deal of pain daily.
After S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, she enlisted the help of Bill Foster to find a cure for her condition upon learning that she was slowly dying due to a lack of Quantum energy. When she learned that Hank Pym and Hope were building a Quantum Tunnel, Ava tracked them down with the intent to steal their technology and extract the Quantum energy from Janet to help cure Ava. Hank protested the idea as the extraction would tear Janet apart.
Ava is not an evil person trying to do bad things. She is a person who is in pain and suffering and trying to rid herself of it for good. However, the mistreatment from S.H.I.E.L.D., the loss of her parents, and the constant pain she feels have turned her into a hardened and vicious individual. She even considered harming Scott’s daughter Cassie to get what she wanted but Bill Foster’s protest of the idea saved Cassie. She wants to stop feeling the pain that her powers cause her and will go to any length to rid herself of it, showing how pain can drive someone to great extremes beyond morality.
In the film’s climax, she attempts to extract the energy from Janet but is thwarted by Scott and Hope. After Janet gently touches her face and uses the Quantum energy, she possesses to heal Ava and make her feel whole again. It’s a touching moment that shows how Ava is not a bad person, just someone who is in pain and to see her finally be relieved of her pain warms the heart.
Thankfully, she doesn’t get the regular villain treatment of being killed off or thrown in jail and after seeing what she can do against Ant-Man and Wasp, I am excited to see her appear again as an ally as it does not seem that she is completely rid of her powers.
The Film’s Pros:
The Wasp
After being teased in the first film, it was great to see Hope spring into action as The Wasp. Evangeline Lilly puts in a great performance playing Hope as a no-nonsense badass who isn’t afraid to throw a punch when she needs to. She doesn’t take a backseat to Ant-Man this time around and steals the show in a lot of instances. Her chemistry with Paul Rudd is undeniable as their banter makes for many funny moments like when Hope mocks Scott for referring to Captain America as Cap.
While not the first female MCU hero, The Wasp is the first instance of a female Marvel hero getting the title of her own film as this did release before Captain Marvel, so Wasp also did make a piece of Marvel history. Thankfully the Wasp’s inclusion in the film’s title is not just a namesake as she gets an equal amount of screen time compared to her male counterpart and is an essential part of the story. While watching the film, my girlfriend was cheering her on and loved watching her kick ass. Wasp is an empowering hero for girls and women alike and the film is as much hers if not even more.
One aspect I also want to praise the film for is the fact that they were able to show us a strong female lead without having to tell us so. One issue that I have seen in other films, including Marvel’s own Captain Marvel (more on that when I get to that review), is that they tend to focus more on letting the audience know that they are watching a female empowering character rather than creating a character that is interesting and empowers through her actions and personality organically.
Hope is a great example of the writing philosophy of show don’t tell where the audience is able to experience the story through the actions, words, thoughts, and feelings of the characters rather than telling it through exposition. Hope is an interesting character because her personality is not defined as just being a strong and independent woman. She is determined and focused but also can be snarky, quirky, and at times even cynical like her father. Her complexities make her interesting and relatable which makes her a good role model for young girls and women. Like with Black Widow, Marvel made an empowering female figure by just letting her be herself and not focusing on trying to make her an empowering figure. Sadly, this lesson was not learned in Captain Marvel but again I’ll go more into that when I review that film.
As is, Hope is one of Marvel’s strongest female leads and I look forward to seeing her in more Ant-Man films in the future. I love how Marvel has already included the Wasp’s name in the title of the next sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania showing how she is just as important to the franchise as Ant-Man.
An emotional palette cleanser after Infinity War
This film came out the summer after Avengers: Infinity War, a film filled with so much drama and emotion that it left Marvel fans emotionally drained. Ant-Man and the Wasp was the perfect palette cleanser for Marvel fans giving them a film that was just fun. This film packs the action and humor that Marvel fans expect in their film and brought them back to the simple times when Marvel films could just be fun action films. The film cleverly takes place before the events of Infinity War and serves more to clue fans in on what Ant-Man had been up to since his last appearance in Captain America: Civil War. The film packs the humor, the action, and the emotion (not as heavy as Infinity War) that Marvel fans love and enjoy.
I remember when I saw it in theatres, I had a fun time watching the film and it was a nice distraction from the heavy implications of Infinity War. That is until the mid-credits scene. Marvel gives you a fun time with a simple more comedic film and is like “okay you’ve had your fun, now let’s remind you that Infinity War happened!” It was like going on a nice lunch break during work and then when it's over being reminded that you have an important meeting next. It’s like a return from the fun downtime to harsh reality. The mid-credit scene did a great job of teasing Endgame and brings you back to the reality that Thanos won and it's affecting everyone including Ant-Man.
However, the film we get before that is a fun distraction that will have you laughing and enjoying yourself from beginning to end. It’s the perfect film to watch if you’re in the mood for something with fun great action, humor, and Paul Rudd.
Fun Climax
Like the first Ant-Man, the climax of this film takes full advantage of the idea of making little things big and vice versa. The final chase between Ant-Man, Wasp, Ghost, and Sonny Burch’s crew has a good combination of action, spectacle, and humor. We see Giant Ant-Man, car chases, and even a giant Hello Kitty Pez dispenser. The scene itself is a classic car chase scene that many movies have done before but with the added elements of the Pym Technology, the filmmakers were able to get creative and add elements to make this chase scene stand out. As I mentioned, we see a Hello Kitty Pez dispenser get grown and used to take out a vehicle. We get to see a giant Ant-Man use a pickup truck like a scooter which is both awesome and hilarious to see. The chase scene makes for a fun and funny climax that’ll have you laughing and is visually interesting enough to keep you invested.
The suspense is heightened with Hank’s journey into the Quantum Realm to find Janet. Hank slowly loses his mind as the weight of the Quantum Realm gets to him and keeps us on the edge of our seats as we want him to succeed therefore, we feel great joy when he finally finds Janet and we see the couple reunite. The scenes with Hank, Hope, and Janet are the emotional highlights of the film and give the payoff to the long-awaited family reunion.
With the elements of action and humor combined with the emotional investment of the Pym family reuniting, the film’s climax is one of the more entertaining climaxes of any Marvel film. While it is not as memorable or iconic as say the climax of Infinity War or Endgame, it does just enough right to top off what is already a fun comic book film.
The Film’s Cons:
Too Many Subplots
While the film is a lot of fun and packs the humor, one element that does hold it back from being one of the great Marvel films is too many subplots slightly bog that down that either don’t really go anywhere or just aren’t necessary.
The subplot that easily could have been cut is the Sonny Burch subplot. The character himself is not very memorable and felt like an unnecessary addition. While I do understand his purpose of being a straightforward villain, he could have easily been written out and it would have barely affected the plot. The one plot point he serves is that he is the one that tips off the FBI and gets Hope and Hank captured, but that easily could have been changed to Ava being the one to tip them off so she could steal the lab herself. And while I did find the truth serum bits to be funny, they could have found another way around it to include it or they could have even had it that Sonny and his gang don’t show up until the final climax and serve as an added obstacle.
Another subplot that felt unnecessary was the one involving Scott’s friends and their company X-Con Security Consultants and their need to close on a deal that would keep them in business. I understand its purpose as giving Scott’s friends something to do and to show Scott trying to go legit, but it is not focused on nearly enough to warrant its existence in the film and could have been scrapped or saved for another film where it could have been given more purpose in the story. Thankfully it is not focused on too much to be a distraction or annoying detour but again it is also not focused on enough to exist.
Despite those subplot issues, the film still holds together solidly and while the subplots are unnecessary, they do not distract or detract from the main plot to hurt the film on a level like Iron Man 2. They don’t do enough to hurt the film but also don’t do enough to really justify their presence and could have easily been cut.
Easily Skippable
I mentioned earlier that my girlfriend and I chose to skip this film and Captain Marvel and go straight to Endgame. Part of that was because my girlfriend was too excited to watch Endgame and wanted to know what would happen. Another reason was that after thinking it over, in terms of the whole MCU story arc, Antman and the Wasp is not an essential film plot-wise. The events in this film have little to no effect on the outcome of the Infinity War Saga. Much like Iron Man 2, this is a film that you can skip and not miss anything major in relation to the entire MCU.
That is except for the mid-credit scene. In terms of plot purpose in the MCU, one major advantage that this film has over Iron Man 2 (besides just being a much better and more enjoyable film of course) is that the mid-credit scene does tie into Endgame and sets up a major plot point that determines the outcome of Endgame.
So, while you don’t need necessarily need to watch the whole film before Endgame, you do need to at least watch the mid-credit scene. Before I showed my girlfriend Endgame, I quickly YouTubed the mid-credit scene from this film for her as well as the post-credit scene of Captain Marvel and she was brought up to speed. And just because you can skip this film, doesn’t mean you should. It is still a fun movie and one that is worth your time. But if you had to choose between watching this or just skipping to the big epic finale that is Endgame because you’re just too excited, I would recommend the latter.
Final Thoughts:
Ant-Man and the Wasp is a fun sequel that adds to the ideas set up in the first film and makes for a Marvel film that packs the action, humor, and emotion (on a much smaller scale compared to Infinity War). After an emotionally exhausting experience that was Infinity War, Marvel fans needed a feel-good movie that gave them the action and laughs that made them fans in the first place. The performances of Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are great, and their chemistry makes them one of the more fun Marvel couples to watch. Lilly’s performance steals the show and establishes Hope van Dyne as one of Marvel’s strong female leads.
Although the film is slightly bogged down by a few too many subplots, it still does a good job of juggling said subplots and maintains its focus where it needs to be. While it is a very good film and one worth seeing, it doesn’t do enough to stand out amongst other Marvel films that have come before and after it, and as a result, it often gets lost in the shuffle and isn’t talked about in as high regard. However, its purpose was to entertain and give Marvel fans a film to lift their spirits after the ending of Infinity War left them emotional wrecks. It served that purpose very well and is a very good film that gives a fun Marvel experience that is worthy of at least one viewing.