CinemaClown
A much welcome breather after the heavyweight that was Avengers: Infinity War, the 20th instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is another lighthearted ride unfolding on the same minuscule scale as Ant-Man, and though not as impressive as Marvel's best works, it still delivers a fine dose of fun, amusing & action-packed entertainment.Set in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, the story of Ant-Man and the Wasp finds Scott Lang under house arrest and Dr. Hank Pym & Hope van Dyne in hiding until an urgent mission brings them together once again as the trio try to unlock the secrets of quantum realm before it's too late, while being pursued by both cops & new enemies.Directed by Peyton Reed, the sequel offers him more freedom & bigger canvas to showcase his vision & creativity yet he fails to makes the most of the opportunity and delivers a story that's pretty much on same level as its predecessor. Its action scenes do get an upgrade but the plot is quite simple and is missing the character complexity that drives most sequels.On the plus side, the film retains the humour of the original while the continuous banter & brisk pacing make sure that its 118 mins runtime never become a chore. The swift, kinetic operation of camera infuses an energy to its moments of action on both macro & micro levels while the bright colour tones add a rich texture that makes its images pop out. And Christophe Beck's splendid score adds its very own flavours to the mix.Coming to the performances, Ant-Man and the Wasp benefits from Paul Rudd's natural charisma but it's Evangeline Lilly who steals the show this time in the role of Hope/Wasp. The chemistry between the two still carries a spark but purely on individual inputs, Lilly outshines Rudd by a significant margin. Both Michael Peña & Michael Douglas are more fun in their respective roles this time around but the new characters aren't any good.On an overall scale, Ant-Man and the Wasp makes for a sufficiently entertaining action-adventure and is at its best when it isn't trying too hard. A standalone entry for the most part that eventually connects with the heavy conclusion of Infinity War in a shocking mid-credits sequence, Ant-Man and the Wasp does enough to allow the viewers to settle down before things get hot & heavy once again in the grand finale that surfaces next year.
Jackson Booth-Millard
The first movie in the continuing Marvel Universe was good fun and did reasonably well at the box office, a sequel was probably expected, and I hoped that it could be even better, directed by Peyton Reed (Bring It On, Down with Love, The Break-Up, Yes Man). Basically in 1987, Janet Van Dyne aka the Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer) shrank between the molecules of a Soviet nuclear missile, it was disabled, but she became trapped in the sub-atomic quantum realm, her husband Dr. Hank Pym aka the original Ant-Man (Michael Douglas) raised their daughter Hope, believing that Janet is dead. Years later, former criminal Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has taken the mantle to become Ant-Man, but since secretly helping Captain America during the skirmish between the Avengers, he is under house arrest, while Pym and Hope (Lost's Evangeline Lilly) are in hiding and have cut ties with Scott. Two years on, Scott has a realistic dream about the quantum realm, and he sees Janet, with whom he is quantumly entangled, he gives Pym a call to tell him about it. Hope kidnaps Scott, leaving a decoy, a giant ant, to mimic Scott's movements, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the FBI and agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park). Seeing the dream as a message and a confirmation that Janet is alive, Pym and Hope work to create a tunnel stable enough to launch a vehicle into the quantum realm and rescue Janet. There is one part required to complete the tunnel, Hope arranges to meet black market dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) to buy it, but he knows the potential profit that could be earned from Pym and Hope's research. Burch double-crosses them, Hope, as the Wasp, fights him and his men off, until she is attacked by a quantumly unstable masked woman, Scott, as Ant-Man tries to help fight off this "ghost", but she escapes with Pym's portable lab. Pym reluctantly visits his estranged former partner Dr. Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) who helps them locate the lab. The ghost restrains Scott, Hope, and Pym when they arrive, she reveals herself to be Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), her father Elihas (Michael Cerveris), another former partner of Pym's, accidentally killed himself during a quantum experiment, which resulted in Ava's unstable state. Foster reveals that he has been helping Ava, they are planning to cure her, using Janet's quantum energy, Pym refuses to help them, believing that this will kill Janet, the trio manage to escape. With the needed part, the tunnel is now stable, Pym and Hope are able to contact Janet, who through Scott communicates her precise location, but warns that they only have two hours before the unstable nature of the realm separates them for a century. Burch learns their location from Scott's business partners Luis (Crash's Michael Peña), Dave (Tip "T.I." Harris), and Kurt (David Dastmalchian), and informs a contact at the FBI. Luis warns Scott, who rushes home before Woo can see him breaking his house arrest, leaving Pym and Hope to be arrested, and for their lab to be taken by Ava. Scott is soon able to help Pym and Hope escape custody, and they find the lab. Pym decides to take the risk to enter the quantum realm, Scott and Hope distract Ava while he does so, but the pair also have to fight Burch and his men. Luis, Dave, and Kurt help apprehend Burch, allowing Pym to successfully find Janet, and Scott and Hope manage to stop Ava before she can take Janet's energy. Pym and Janet safely return from the quantum realm, and Janet voluntarily gifts some of her energy to Ava to temporarily stabilise her. Scott returns home, in time for a now suspicious Woo to release him at the end of his house arrest, while Ava and Foster go into hiding. In the mid-credits sequence, Pym, Hope, and Janet send Scott into the quantum realm to harvest quantum energy to continue helping Ava, but before they can bring Scott back, Pym, Hope, and Janet all disintegrate (the ending of Avengers: Infinity War), leaving Scott drifting. Also starring Bobby Cannavale as Jim Paxton, Judy Greer as Maggie, Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie and Stan Lee as Shrunken Car Man. Rudd is much more convincing this time as the leading hero with deadpan quips, Lilly gets more time on screen as the second hero of the piece, Douglas remains good as the wise scientist, Pfeiffer is good but limited for obvious reasons, and the supporting cast are all good too. The story is more though-out, much slicker and wittier than perhaps previously, and the special effects are even better, much more shrinking and growing this time, and fantastic fast-paced chase and fight sequences, and funny stuff as well, a really fun superhero action adventure. Very good!
anandtheertha
Armed with a good script ant man and the wasp gambles with the idea of a sequel to the Ant man (2015) , with the first movie amassing positive critic reviews and box office success naturally the jinx shadows a sequel. the ant man and the wasp team seem to broken Jinx effect of sequels not standing up to the original movie. The script is very well written with a prime focus on character development and tons of humour. If you are a fan michael pena ,u will absolutely love him in this character,he is a capable actor with accolades for roles in drama and comic category. Paul rudd seems to have gotten into the roots of the character for ant man ,he is the perfect choice to play a washed up dad trying to save the world .evangeline lily brings in the charm and great acting to the movie. there are a lot of characters adding up to the humour quotient for the movie, the Movie doesn take itself too seriously and gives the audience a smart,funny and visual treat. walton,bobby cannavale,judy,T.I ,dastmalachian all do justice to their roles. although we see very less of them. douglas,fishbourne,pfeiffer they are good actors who withstand the test of time and the script. the score is fast paced and fits the pacing of the movie. peyton reed has justified the slow start if the movie with a lot of action nd humour. once again the protogonist back story and character development is underwhelming. ghost screentime is minimalist and is forgettable. this movie is meant for audience of all age groups,children will love the speciall effects and the adventure while the adults can also enjoy the hunour and great story telling. this is movie for family and fans over a long weekend. go for it.
