Seems that it's no longer a rarity for me to wind up all alone in theaters anymore. In just my last two recent outings - The Incredibles 2 and this time around - I've been the only soul in the theater...and I love it! Thank God (again) for the early morning showings
Time to get back into things Team Marvel after the devastation witnessed in Avengers: Infinity War. This takes place about 2 years after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and just prior to the events of Infinity War. This catches up on the events of one of the wild cards from Civil War (Hawkeye still somewhere in the ether) and the story lets us explore the dynamic of Scott Lang's life after the fallout. He's under house arrest, has a better relationship with his family (even with his Ex's current husband) and he and his crew of delinquents (Luiz, Dave and Kurt) have set up a security firm. The only thing that's not working out for him is that Hank Pym and his daughter Hope have basically abandoned him since his little dalliance with Cap. He's basically going through the motions so he can get done with his house arrest stint and revert to living a normal life. That all changes when he somehow ends up quantum-entangled with Janet Van Dyne, the previous incarnation of the Wasp and also a Pym; so this movie sets out to unlock the secrets of the quantum realm in order to free her. Since Hank and Hope have had to go off-grid, not only do they have the FBI on their backs, but their black market dealings have invited a two-faced seedy character (Sonny Burch) into their lives. As if that wasn't enough, they have the ethereal "Ghost" hot on their trail for the keys to the quantum realm, which might be her only way of finding a solution to her condition.
I really enjoyed this movie for much the same reason that people are giving it so much grief. First off, the stakes are not as high in this movie, which is fine; this wasn't meant to be another movie in the tune of Infinity War. It is so diametrically different from the first Ant-Man that they can barely be compared: the first movie was a wonderful heist film mixed in with some industrial espionage in the same right as the first Iron Man; the sequel keeps matters close to the chest and seeks to close the Janet Van Dyne arc that it started in the first movie by having us explore more profoundly the concept of the quantum realm (which comic book/cartoon fans would recognize because Hank Pym has used it to house criminals).
Another complaint about this movie is that Marvel has yet again given us a movie with a weak villain. Well, to truly expound on that, this movie has no real villains. (to-may-to, to-mah-to!). In my opinion, the movie doesn't suffer one bit from this turn of events. Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) is a villain in a portrayal similar to Iron Man's "Justin Hammer"; to him, this is all about business and he's just trying to land the biggest score. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) is a most unfortunate character who's merely out for her own survival; her problem is that "the end essentially justifies the means" in her mind. Considering how rough her childhood was, you can't exactly blame her for not truly developing a sense of empathy. The collision of all these competing interests still provides enough conflict to elegantly propel the story forward. (I would argue that Captain America: Civil War also played around with the villain in the same way. The only true villain they had was "Crossbones", and after his speedy exit we get "Baron Zemo" whose machinations only revolved around him setting up conflict within the heroes' ranks).
The characters from the last outing are all present here and mostly share the wonderful chemistry set up in the first Ant-Man. Thanks to the fallout from Civil War, Scott Lang's relationship with Hank Pym and Hope gets set back to zero, with even more disdain than he faced last time around. Hope sheds her business suit and has more screen time as her alter ego, and she gets to more intensely utilize the combat skills that she previously took out only on Scott. Thankfully, they also got rid of her horrific haircut from the first movie and allowed her to loosen up a bit more. Among the newcomers, Hannah John-Kamen nicely captures the other-worldliness of the antagonist; Laurence Fishburne's turn as Bill Foster was also a pleasure to behold - part nemesis to Hank Pym and part father figure, his stake in the film was relatable. Randall Park plays a pretty by-the-numbers FBI agent Jimmy Woo; though, I instantly recognized him as the patient from House MD who tried to circumcise himself with a pair of box-cutters, but I digress.
As usual, the visual effects are a feast for the senses. The alternate shrinking-growth melds really well with the fighting and looks just as believable as it did first time around. Ghost's phasing ability is so gloriously rendered that it would be considered a cool superpower, if it wasn't for the fact that it causes her a great level of pain. This movie also did its bit of scientific research and you will be impressed by how well they are able to represent the cuddly yet deadly tardigrades.
This movie is a great addition to the MCU and something lighter for you to get into after Infinity War. It is not mere filler: it is a more down to earth family-oriented movie. Enjoy it for what it is, Grade A in my books.
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