“Nothing can prepare you for what’s coming.” ~ Ava
“Hiya, champ, how was school today?” ~ Hank Pym
“Thanks to you, we had to run. We’re still running.” ~ Hope
Van Dyne
“I do some dumb things, and the people I love the most- they
pay the price.” ~ Scott Lang
In 2015, Ant-Man gave
the Marvel cinematic universe a different perspective, bringing in characters
established in the comics and creating new ones in what was a light hearted
sort of heist film. Now director Peyton Reed returns with the lead actors and a
formidable new antagonist to another chapter in the small sized hero element of
the Marvel world in Ant-Man & The
Wasp, set in between Captain America:
Civil War and the more recent Avengers
Infinity War.
The film picks up threads from the previous film, with the
disappearance of Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) into the microscopic
quantum realm while on a mission. Former criminal Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), as
Ant-Man had entered and returned from that realm, giving hope to Janet’s
husband Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) that it
might be possible to find and save Janet. Scott’s participation in the
superhuman dust-up that was part of Civil
War leads to a parting of the ways, as Scott ends up on house arrest and
Hank and Hope go into hiding. Two years later, Scott’s nearly finished his
parole term after receiving a cryptic message from the quantum realm, and fate
draws him back into the orbit of Hank and Hope, all while other players play
into unfolding events.
With the success of the original film, of course there was
going to be a sequel. Leading man Rudd is credited as one of the writers, along
with four others, usually a sign of trouble when it’s writing by committee,
though that’s not the case here. Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer,
and Gabriel Ferrari are also credited, and the script that results builds on
what’s come before and takes things in new directions. That includes the light
hearted humour and earnest charm of Rudd, the family dynamics moving into new
directions for the Pym-Van Dyne clan (from estrangement in the first film to a
common purpose), and the fantastic elements of microscopic worlds that the
premise opens up.
Where the first film was more of a heist and caper film,
this blends in part action, part romantic comedy, and for good measure throws
in a complex villain who turns out to be a real treat in the way she’s treated.
The writing for the characters is what grounds the film, playing to the
strengths of the actors and to where they’ve already come from, giving depth
and nuance in each case. Most of those are already established characters,
while introducing new ones who are familiar to comic readers. The film's stakes aren't as big, perhaps, as that of Infinite War, with its despotic antagonist, but more personal, a rescue mission to save a life, and perhaps more than one life.
Reed’s return to the director’s chair for this second
installment brings back the same techniques of the first film. He proved in the
first case that he could balance the work of actors on the one hand and the CGI
and action on the other, and that continues here. Where the characters are the
bedrock of the film, Reed’s work continues to succeed in making use of CGI
where it’s needed, and pacing action sequences in a way you can follow.
Concepts like rapid shrinking or growth, as well as a character who phases in
and out of physical touch, are made use of in the right way.
The cast, both returning and new players, are welcome in
their roles. Michael Pena, David Dastmalchian, and Tip “T.I.” Harris return
from the first film as Luis, Kurt, and Dave, each of them Scott’s old criminal
associates who have gone legitimate, and the characters are part comic relief,
part indispensable and unlikely backup in a crunch. Pena’s Luis is a particular
motor-mouth who never seems to know when to shut up, which is part of the fun
of the character, but Luis is also a strongly loyal sort. Randall Park debuts
in the role of FBI agent Jimmy Woo, a fixture in the comics for some time now;
he’s given a different role as a fed overseeing Scott’s house arrest, and gives
the character a suspicious wariness.
Walton Goggins has made a career of playing dirtbags, most
recently in Tomb Raider, and the same
applies here as he plays Sonny Burch, also a character drawn out of the comics,
where he was a minor villain in the Iron Man books. The character certainly
fills the sleazebag role, a dirty dealing black market criminal with more
ambition than brains, sniffing around at an opportunity and not considering
that he might be in over his head. The character isn’t remotely likable or
sympathetic, but the actor certainly plays to that and seems to be having a
ball, chewing the scenery as he goes along.
Laurence Fishburne debuts in the Marvel universe (having had
played Daily Planet chief Perry White
in two of the recent Superman films for DC) as Bill Foster, another figure from
the comics. Here Foster is an old associate of Hank Pym, though the two have
had a parting of the ways some years earlier and aren’t on the best of terms. Fishburne
has the acting chops to go toe to toe with Douglas on a matter of ethical
concerns, and that comes across in the film, but he also plays Foster as a man
of great intelligence and fortitude, doing something that he feels is the right
cause.
Hannah John-Kamen plays the primary antagonist of the film,
a young woman with a distinct problem. Ava is her real name, and she has ties to
other players in the story as the Ghost. She is a mystery when we first meet
her, phasing in and out of reality, her condition unstable at the quantum
level. For her, Pym’s technology may be the key to saving her life, so her
actions are entirely understandable, and it also makes her sympathetic. Ghost
is a longstanding character in the Marvel universe, something of a mix between
villain and anti-hero, and the character has been gender-switched here from a
man into a woman, but it’s not jarring at all- if anyone could be switched like
that, it’s Ghost, whose real name in the comics has never been divulged. The
look of the character fits with the comics generally, and the presence- the
line between villain and anti-hero- the actress gives her makes her a compelling
one, and I’d like to see more of her down the line.
Michelle Pfeiffer also debuts as Janet Van Dyne, the
original Wasp from the comics, and from movie continuity, taking over the role
that was seen briefly in the first film. She’s not around for a whole lot of
the film, generally confined to the second half, but she brings the right touch
to Janet- the strong survivor who’s somehow made it through decades of being
shrunk down in the microverse (where’s the food down there?), the wife and
mother who’s missed her family, and the hero who’s willing to help someone who
might not deserve that help. Her take on the character is sympathetic and a
welcome addition to the Marvel cinematic universe.
Michael Douglas returns as Hank Pym again, the original
Ant-Man who’s spent years trying to make things right. In the first film he
reconciled his differences with his daughter, and this time out it’s about
finding a way to determine what’s become of his wife. Pym starts out in one
place- justifiably irritated with Scott because of Scott’s involvement in the
superhuman dispute that’s put his own work in jeopardy. As the film unfolds, the
character has to set aside those differences for a greater good, and Douglas
gives the character the right tone of exasperated and wary scientist on the one
hand and a paternal quality on the other. With the latter, it’s pride in his
daughter and a more reluctant pride where Scott’s concerned. Pym might be
cranky (and even a bit of a jerk), but there’s a sort of father-son dynamic with Scott, and Douglas plays
to that.
Having had teased the notion of Hope Van Dyne as the Wasp in
the previous film, this time out the story puts her right in that role, and
Hope’s look fits the character. Evangeline Lilly reprises her role as Hope, a
new creation for the cinematic universe the first time out (though the comics
do now feature a teenaged daughter for Pym named Nadia, created mostly because
of the previous film). Where the first film had Hope estranged from her father
and reluctant to work with a scoundrel ex-con like Scott, this film finds her
at a better place with Hank, and trying to sort out differences with Scott over
his decisions (she starts out justifiably angry with him). There’s a playful,
romantic spark between Hope and Scott that the actors play off of, but the
actress invests her character with strength, resolve, and a fearlessness that
makes her come into her own.
Paul Rudd brings back his laconic charm as Scott Lang, the
former convict who’s been hard at work trying to better his life. The first
film brought him full circle in that respect (with a rather impulsive decision
during Captain America Civil War leading
to him messing up his life, even if it was with good intentions). We find him
still making the effort to do right, even if it’s under house arrest and the
only thing he can do right is to be a good father to his daughter Cassie. The
film takes him beyond that, requiring him to put his legal status in peril for
a greater good; his concern about being a responsible parent happens to also be
the same personal quality that makes him want to do right by Pym and Hope.
Scott is something of a regular person (which is how Rudd plays him), but he’s
the sort who can rise to the occasion when needed, and proves to be resourceful
and capable in and of himself.
Ant-Man & The Wasp
continues the Marvel cinematic universe in the right way, investing itself in
its characters, playing off a lighter tone but still with some dramatic weight.
It’s self-contained and yet linked to the greater Marvel universe (as the credits
sequences will show), and it’s fun and well-paced. The leading actors have the
right degree of chemistry, and their antagonist is a welcome new addition to
the Marvel universe, one who manages to elicit our sympathy just enough.
