‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ needed after ‘Infinity War’
We probably needed this. A little more than two months after the release of “Avengers: Infinity War” — the first part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s epic, potentially paradigm-shifting battle between good and evil that boasted almost every hero in the arsenal trying to stop the nearly all-powerful Thanos from eliminating half the beings in the universe — we still haven’t quite recovered.
At the risk of spoiling things a bit, that conflict did not end well.
Thus, the largely easybreezy “Ant-Man and the Wasp” feels like something the doctor ordered, something akin to a little vacation. The latest entry in Disney-owned Marvel Studio’s MCU is light — certainly when compared with “Infinity War” — and full of comedic moments. Like its predecessor, 2015’s “AntMan,” it’s story has stakes, just not galaxy-shaking stakes.
And like that film, which also starred Paul Rudd and was directed by Peyton Reed, it shows relatively big entertainment can come from a hero who often is quite small.
If you need a refresher, “Ant-Man” introduced us to a man who once wore the suit of the titular shrinkable — and enlargeable — hero, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). The technologically gifted inventor and his daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) fell in with a good-hearted excon, Scott Lang (Rudd), who became a new version of the Ant-Man, under Hank’s guidance.
The new adventure is set between the events of “Infinity War” and those of 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” which saw Scott travel to Germany to fight with those heroes who had aligned with Cap against Tony Stark’s Iron Man and those loyal to him.
Well, that decision has had lasting ramifications for Scott, including a falling out with Hank and Hope — and he had been growing closer romantically with Hope — as well as trouble with the government. His heroic act was a violation of the world’s Sokovia Accords, and Scott since has been serving an extended period of house arrest.
When the story picks up, he must go three more days without leaving his home. If he does venture out, it would trigger an ankle bracelet, and he’d be looking at 20 years in a federal prison. So he makes due entertaining himself with karaoke, drum practice and other activities, and he builds elaborate forts with his daughter, Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), so the two can have make-believe adventures.
Unfortunately for Scott, he has become somehow linked with Hank’s longmissing wife, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), from the time he ventured into the subatomic realm. (“AntMan and the Wasp” begins decades earlier, with Hank and Michelle — as the titular heroes — on a mission to defuse a missile that results in her being relegated to the subatomic world.)
This all brings Scott, Hope and Hank back together to try to recover Janet at long last, while also attempting to keep Scott out of trouble with the feds.
Matters are complicated by a couple of adversaries: the costumed villain Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen, “Ready Player One”), who can phase in and out of spaces and whose interests are at odds with theirs; and Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins, “Tomb Raider”), a criminal who has been supplying Hank and Hope with the black-market tech they need but whose greed becomes a problem for them.
With the help of Scott’s pal and business partner Luis (Michael Pena), AntMan and the Wasp — Hope now wearing the winged costume and quite adept at using it — race against the clock to save Janet.
Reed (“Bring It On,” “The Break-Up”) again has the right touch for this lighter side of the MCU, Working from a script credited to five writers, including the duo of Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna (“Spider-Man: Homecoming”) and Rudd, Reed generally keeps things moving and entertaining. You may wish things were just a little less jokey at times, but “And-Man and the Wasp” boasts plenty of action and innovative visuals, too. A shrunken Wasp running along the blade of a knife that’s been hurled through the air is cool stuff.
And while not quite Alist stars, Rudd (“Knocked Up,” “Role Models”) and Lilly (“Lost,” “The Hobbit” movies) are more than adequate in their respective roles — Rudd carries most of the comic load, doing so quite well — and the pair again show a nice chemistry. And, just as it was the first time around, it’s a delight to see veteran actor Douglas (“Wall Street,” “Basic Instinct”) enjoying himself as this creative genius and protective father.
More laughs are scooped up from Pena (“The Martian,” “Fury”), especially when Luis is given a truth serum by some nefarious types wanting to know Scott’s whereabouts.
And it’s always good to see Pfeiffer, who follows enjoyable turns in 2017 films “Mother!” and “Murder on the Orient Express” with this appearance.
Other familiar faces who add a little something to “Ant-Man in the Wasp” include Laurence Fishburne (“John Wick: Chapter 2,” “The Matrix”), Tip “T.I.” Harris (“Sleepless,” “Get Hard”), Bobby Cannavale (“Vinyl,” “Chef”) and Judy Greer (“War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Wilson”).
Right through the film’s climactic and inventive action sequence, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” delivers enough of the goods to earn a recommendation. No, you may not understand much of the science being discussed by Hank and Hope — Scott correctly asks if they’re simply putting the word “quantum” in front of a bunch of other words — but it doesn’t matter. They’re also still fun to be around.
So does this movie connect to the events of “Infinity War”? Well, you should, of course, stay for at least the first of two post-credit screens.
All vacations come to an end.