Ant-Man and the Wasp

What would the summer season be without another Marvel film looming in our midst? The 'comic book' film comes from a genre that's practically its own genre considering the plethora of 'comic book' films out there. Three years ago we experienced "Ant-Man" introducing us to, yet another, comic book character that's intertwined with many other Marvel characters. Now we have "Ant-Man and the Wasp" to continue this franchise.

 

In the aftermath of "Captain America: Civil War", Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) grapples with the consequences of his choices as both Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to re-balance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he's confronted by Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team, including Luis (Michael Pena) and Dr. Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), works together to uncover secrets from their past.

 

Others to round out the cast are Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch, Bobby Cannavale as Paxton, Judy Greer as Maggie, Tip 'T.I.' Harris as Dave, David Dastmalchian as Kurt, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava/Ghost, Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, Michelle Pfeiffer as Jane Van Dyne/Wasp and Divian Ladwa as Uzman.

 

This was just as adventurously and humorously directed as well as :"Ant-Man" by Peyton Reed ("Bring It On" 2000, "Down with Love" '03, "The Break-Up" '06, "Yes Man" '08, "Gregory Brothers" (TV movie) '11, "To My Future Assistant" (TV movie) '13, "Ant-Man" '15) plus TV, a short and a video. Considering this filmmaker directed  the first installment, it's certainly no surprise of the consistency. His ability to bring these characters to life by extracting the emotions of his actors seemed effortless. It was creatively written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari based on the Marvel comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby. Just as the original film, "Ant-Man", this next installment was just as crisp, concise and cohesive. Other than a couple of very small areas dealing with issues of continuity, this film absolutely soared. It had more humor than the other film which, I believe, enhanced it. Both McKenna and Sommers are involved in writing the next "Ant-Man 3". Yes, there is a next installment. Hey, they make money and they keep audiences coming back for more. The visual effects created predominantly by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic), Rodeo FX, Double Negative and Digital Domain were seamless and stunning and actually enhanced the storyline.

 

Truly if you are a comic book fan, you'll be right at home with this one. I'm not a huge fan of the comic book type film, but with the creative and humorous writing and a great ensemble cast, this is definitely worthy of the price of admission. You can also enjoy this gem in an IMAX and 3D format as well.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: PG-13                                   118mins.