After leaving my screening of Ant-Man and the Wasp, I told my friend that it was a welcome change from Avengers: Infinity War just two months prior. He agreed, noting the necessity of tonal variety when managing such a complex media franchise. It is especially important to avoid telling the same story, in the same way, when you have so many properties spanning several platforms.
In Ant-Man’s case, it is certainly a fun diversion from the weighty themes of its two strong predecessors (Black Panther, Infinity War), despite lacking the sociocultural depth or awe-inspiring scale.
Two years after Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is more bored than despondent in Ant Man and the Wasp. He’s under house arrest for helping the fugitive heroes in Civil War, and he’s not allowed to communicate with his former partner, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) or her father, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). In the meantime, Hope has been developing her skills as the Wasp, using similar shrinking technology given to Scott in the first film.
As they eventually come together to pursue a lead in the disappearance of Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) into the quantum realm—a subatomic dimension beyond time and space—new threats emerge to challenge the team.
The villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are consistently criticized—and rightfully so—for their stereotypical schemes and lack of true threat. The ostensible villain of Ant-Man and the Wasp is the Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a mysterious masked thief with the ability to phase through solid objects.
For reasons explained in the film, the label “antagonist” is more appropriate; she’s not evil so much as she opposes the responsible use of quantum energy, as viewed by Scott, Hank, and Hope. She’s not an all-time great, but Ghost is fleshed out in an organic fashion that explains her motives, and she is played with empathy by John-Kamen.
It’s tempting to say that Ant-Man and the Wasp would be the easiest film of phase 3 to skip for Marvel fans heading into the fourth Avengers movie, the culminating chapter of the MCU as we know it. It’s a breezy, funny adventure that embraces its standalone elements and central cast of characters before its larger connections.
But due to several intriguing narrative elements that are incorporated into the story, which promise a separate payoff down the line, it’s definitely for MCU diehards—and will prove an enjoyable action-adventure for more casual moviegoers.
