Ant-Man and the Wasp

A mild improvement over its lackluster predecessor, Ant-Man and the Wasp follows Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang as he agrees to help Michael Douglas’ Hank and Evangeline Lilly’s Hope rescue Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet from the Quantum Dimension – with the trio’s efforts consistently stymied by a new villain named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). There’s little doubt that Ant-Man and the Wasp improves considerably as it progresses, as the movie suffers from an opening stretch that almost feels like a total reboot – with filmmaker Peyton Reed’s decision to emphasize needless conflict between the three leads certainly perpetuating this vibe. It’s a bizarre choice that doesn’t really work and ultimately pads out the running time, with the viewer’s efforts at connecting to the material subsequently falling flat on a fairly consistent basis – although, by that same token, it’s clear that the inclusion of several overtly engaging sequences buoys one’s interest even through the picture’s less-than-successful stretches. (There is, for example, a tremendously entertaining interlude in which Michael Peña’s Luis is interrogated with truth serum.) There’s little doubt, then, that Ant-Man and the Wasp benefits considerably from an increasingly propulsive midsection, and it’s clear, too, that the movie receives plenty of mileage from the almost impossibly charming work of its star (with Rudd’s magnetic turn certainly matched by Douglas, Lilly, and especially Peña). And although, in typical Marvel-movie fashion, the film’s climax runs far longer than necessary, Ant-Man and the Wasp boasts a fairly strong third act that contains a number of genuinely thrilling sequences (eg an exciting car chase through the streets of San Francisco) – which ultimately ensures that the movie ends on a relatively positive note and cements its place as a better-than-expected comic-book sequel.

**1/2 out of ****