10 Jul NERDY FOR THIRTY #22: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

dir. Peyton Reed, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Walton Goggins, Michael Douglas

BLUF: Real truth: Ant-Man is one of the best, most underappreciated characters in the MCU. This movie knows what it is, and totally exceeds on every level.

The next time I rank the MCU in order of best-to-worst, or favorite-to-least, I am 100% confident that Ant-Man and the Wasp will be higher than ever on the list. It has so much going for it, and it basically delivers on almost everything. First and most important, Ant-Man 2 knows its place. Phase 3 breaks down like this:

Three epic team-ups (Cap 3, Avengers 3 & 4)
Four origin stories/character intros:
One creative but dumb (Doctor Strange)
One mediocre and pretentious (Captain Marvel)
One legit masterpiece (Black Panther)
One pretty, pretty darn good (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Four character sequels:
One depressing, emotional trainwreck (Guardians 2)
One of the greatest MCU films (Thor: Ragnarok)
One solid but mildly forgettable follow-up that serves as a denouement to the Infinity Saga (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
One terrific, funny, entertaining comedy (Ant-Man 2)

Looking over the list, Phase 3, as the culmination of the entire Infinity Saga, has a fair share of legitimately epic movies; among the best of all comic book movies. But some of the movies take themselves more seriously than is warranted, like Captain Marvel. But between Thor: Ragnarok and Ant-Man and the Wasp, Phase 3 has two movies that are just delightfully near-perfect.

The Ant-Man movies are very strategically placed in the MCU. The first film was right after Avengers: Age of Ultron and closed out Phase 2. After the pyrrhic victory of AoU, Ant-Man provided an entertaining action-comedy that was the low-stakes fun that reminded everyone that we were watching comic book movies and they are, by nature, entertainment.

Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place concurrently with Infinity War but is devoid of the universal stakes of the war with Thanos. It also manages to build on everything that was successful about the first movie:
Paul Rudd is perfect casting: he’s funny, and brings everything necessary to the role of a hero that can’t quite ever win until the last minute
Evangeline Lilly is a perfect foil to Rudd; Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer are also classically terrific; Walton Goggins is consistently excellent in everything he does, including comedic roles like the villain; and, of course, Michael Pena as Louis—he is arguably the GOAT of the films. Awesome performances are the bedrock of the film
Instead of world-level stakes, the Ant-Man movies focus on much smaller, more personal issues. And they take advantage of this dynamic by keeping focus on Scott Lang’s relationship with his daughter, which pays off in Infinity War, but forms the emotional backbone of this movie.

Lastly, the complicated legacy of Hank Pym is an important factor in the semi-villains of Ant-Man 2: Dr. Foster and Ava. Hank is older and more mellow, but used to be, just, awful to everyone. And in this movie, that past comes back to (justifiably) cause him problems. It’s a solid b-story and introduces a character with interesting potential in Ava/Ghost.

With all of this going for it, I don’t know why I forget that this movie is so great.
That said, it does have one minor shortcoming. While Walton Goggins is great in his role, and brings his considerable talents to bear, there is no denying that it is underwritten, as he plays the pawn of someone else that never appears and leaves his character feeling superfluous other than an overly simple plot-forwarding device.
That’s it, though. And in a lower stakes flick like this, that is hardly a strong criticism. This is just a great movie all around, and I have no problem arguing that it is the kind of movie that knows exactly what it needs to do, and excels in all respects.

Pros:
Anchored by perfect casting, great performances, and a perfect comedic tone
The Ant-Man/Wasp effects and quantum realm stuff are simply fun and look great
Lots of fun supporting characters
Louis

Cons:
Some characters, particularly the main villain, are underdeveloped
Not enough Louis

Rating: 4/5
In a run of big, intense MCU films, this one is the kind of pressure release that, upon further analysis, satisfies more and more.

Review by Jim Washburn