Ant-man and The Wasp: Review

Many Marvel fans may wonder how Ant-Man and The Wasp can even exist after the events of this year’s Avengers: Infinity War. Without spoiling either film, it’s safe to say that Infinity War left audiences with an abundance of questions, and thankfully Ant-man and The Wasp does clear some things up and is a desperately welcome addition to the Marvel story. It’s simply a blast.

The film follows on from the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), with Paul Rudd’s loveable ‘Scott Lang’ approaching the end of his house arrest sentence for breaching the Sokovia Accords when he fought the Avengers. Meanwhile ‘Hope Van Dyne’ (Evangeline Lily) and ‘Hank Pym’ (Michael Douglas) encounter a promising anomaly in their quest to rescue ‘Janet Van Dyne’ (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the Quantum Realm, which inevitably drags Lang into breaking the law once again.

Without understating, The Wasp is easily the best thing about this movie

Since Antman (2015) joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, audiences have been bursting to see Evangeline Lily inherit the mantle of The Wasp from her character’s mother. Without understating, The Wasp is easily the best thing about this movie, and it’s a joy to see Lily’s established, collected and badass portrayal on screen, as well as sharing the title. The Wasp’s fight sequences are awesome. It’s very clear the lengths Marvel have taken to create a unique combat style for The Wasp to adapt which feels fast, fierce and elegant. Michael Pena’s ‘Luis’ makes a spotlight stealing return, with plenty of screen-time.

The film is centred around family, and Michelle Pfeiffer does a wonderful job to introduce Janet Van Dyne to the screen, working nicely with Lily and Douglas. Lily brings a depth of emotion and seriousness to the film that harmonises well with the lighter Scott Lang. Lang and daughter ‘Cassie’ (Abby Ryder Fortson) have an endearing dynamic, with subtle suggestions of the future of her character.

The unstoppable pace of the film maintains its excitement

The score of this film pleasantly surprised and thrilled me from start to finish. Building on the first film’s heist-like theme, composer Christopher Beck really goes to town in this sequel, breaking down his own barriers and structures. It feels like a completely different composer; utterly refreshing, whacky and creative. The unstoppable pace of the film maintains its excitement. There’s not one boring moment, and it feels so easily watchable. The only thing that suffers from the movie’s breakneck speed is perhaps the rushed origin story of the villain, ‘Ghost’.

Even so, Hannah John-Kamen’s haunting and engaging Ghost is one of the movie’s highlights. She easily joins other fan favourite villains in Marvel’s most recent ‘phase’ of their cinematic universe. Previously seeming to struggle with their villains, Marvel have changed their game, bringing us instant hits: Killmonger, Vulture and of course Thanos. Moving at 100mph, packed with action and laughs, Antman and The Wasp is the ultimate remedy for the heartache of Infinity War and leaves audiences bursting to see their return in the now even more anticipated Avengers 4 (May 2019).