One of the best parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that each movie can have it’s own style. Of course there are certain Marvel elements that have to be included in any of the films, but otherwise we’ve seen a lot of variation in the last 10 years. We got Shakespearean influenced drama in Thor. A war movie in Captain America: The First Avenger. High school coming of age á la John Hughes in Spider-Man Homecoming.

But before we move on, I have to be honest about something. From approximately Guardians of the Galaxy to Doctor Strange, I had kind of annoying habit. I would anxiously await a new Marvel movie starring an obscure, untested hero, and predict to my friends that it would flop. “Yessiree,” I would say. “They’ve finally over extended themselves. No one cares about Star-Lord. Doctor Strange is dumb. A character like Ant-Man can’t carry an entire movie.” Somehow during this stretch of time Marvel kept on churning out quality hits, and my friends didn’t dump me for being so annoyingly wrong all the time.

The original Ant-Man helped break me out of this. I was not expecting a very good movie. Even with Paul Rudd and Thomas the Tank Engine in the cast.

You can guess where this is going. Despite a dull villain, I ended up loving Ant-Man. It was funny. It had heart. The stakes were somewhat small (haha). I expected almost nothing, and walked out very happy with what I’d seen.

Naturally, my expectations for Ant-Man and the Wasp were much higher. I’m happy to report that the movie delivers, improving on the original in every way.

MAJOR SPOILERS INCOMING

Lower Stakes = More Heart

I love a superhero movie that isn’t afraid to keep things personal. I love a good world-saving just as much as the next guy, but some of these movies can lose themselves in earth-shattering events.

Part of what makes Ant-Man and the Wasp so great is that the stakes are personal. The driving force behind the movie is that Hope and Hank are determined to rescue Janet, the OG Wasp, from the quantum realm. In the meantime, Scott is torn between wanting to help them (especially since they’re on the run after his Civil War stunt) and needing to stay under house arrest for three more days.

What really works is that even though the stakes are small all the world scale, they are absolutely HUGE for the heroes. This builds major tension and promotes great character growth. The final act becomes a zany battle for Pym’s lab, with the heroes, the FBI, the main antagonist, and some black market dudes all involved. When team Pym finally rescues Janet, it’s immensely satisfying. Since the fate of the world isn’t at stake, there’s no guarantee that they would be able to pull this off. That keeps tension high straight through the conclusion.

More Than a Villain

For me, the biggest weakness of the original Ant-Man was the lack of a compelling villain. The sequel does a much better job with the inclusion of Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen. However, to just call her a villain is kind of missing the point. She’s a lot more interesting than that.

Ghost would probably better be described as less of a villain, and more of an antagonist. Her motivation is just as personal as Hope, Scott & Co. She’s literally fighting for her life. You see, Ghost has not had a very good life. As a girl, she was caught in a quantum explosion that killed her parents. She survived, but now shifts in and out of reality as a result. SHIELD got their hands on her afterwards and turned her into an assassin. I love this touch because it echoes what the KGB did with the Winter Soldier, only SHIELD is supposed to be the good guys.

Ghost has just a few weeks left before she fades away forever, and is obviously uneager to have that happen. Although she’ll do whatever it takes to save herself, you can’t help but feel for her. She’s had a rotten life, with basically all of it outside her control. You obviously want the heroes to succeed, but can’t deny that Ghost does not deserve her lot in life. This makes the moment that Janet van Dyne heals her all the more powerful. Moments before Ghost was in the process of tearing her apart, but Janet recognizes the suffering inside her and shows mercy.

Not only was Ghost a great addition to this movie, but will hopefully be an exciting piece of more Marvel movies to come.

The Wasp Rules

The best thing Ant-Man and the Wasp does is right there in the title; it adds the Wasp.

Evangeline Lilly kills it as the Wasp. She’s had a history of giving her all in roles that writers and re-shoots have ruined, so it’s really nice to see her finally be able to shine.

Hope van Dyne is easily the most effective member of the team. I never once got tired of her fight scenes. Lilly pushed the filmmakers to allow her to have a graceful, fluid, even feminine fighting style, and it’s beautiful to watch. In a recent interview, she said “I wanted her to have a signature style that little girls, like I was when I was a feminine, girly little girl, would be able to fall in love with, emulate and relate to in their own movements.”

The thought and preparation that Lilly put towards this role really shows. Her personal devotion to her family is awesome, and I loved her interactions with Scott’s daughter at the end of the movie. It took Marvel way too long to give a female hero at least co-billing in a movie, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Other Parts I Loved

I got a huge kick out of the Southern black market villain. His bit about undercarriage washes being for “our northern state sisters” was hilarious.

Laurence Fishbourne was fantastic. Laurence Fishbourne is always fantastic.

Luis and the other members of X-Con were hilarious once again. I’d really like a whole Avengers movie explained in the style of Luis’ scattered story-telling style.

Michelle Pfeiffer.

Tears Shed

None this time.

Final Score

9 out of 10 “World’s Greatest Grandma” trophies.

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