Ant-Man and the Wasp

PG-13 | 1h 58min | 6 July 2018 – SPOILER-FREE
Well, ants and wasps might not sound that attractive, even less when there’s nice summer weather outside… yet when the heat wave keeps coming for weeks, spending some hours in the Marvel universe and a fully airconditioned environment seems very inviting… and has anybody seriously complained about “too many superheroes” and movies about them?

Yet I have to admit that the Ant-Man didn’t seem inviting enough for the big screen the first time. A totally unknown character to me – but then his appearance in Captain America and then the movie on DVD confirmed that it was a mistake to dismiss this ant-sized hero. First of all, Paul Rudd is a likeable person and delivers an even more adorable Scott Lang / Ant-Man, the untypical, absolutely accidental super hero. No super powers or major martial art skills whatsoever – the Average-Joe, a nerd and minor-offence-criminal ending up in trouble all the time. Partly because of the “wrong hood”, partly because of his big heart – and also lotsa bad luck. Nevertheless, he wants to be the best-dad-ever for his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) from a failed marriage – which naturally causes even more trouble.

Further complications arise when Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) appear once again in his life with a new mission and new adversaries, among them a mysterious ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) … A mind-boggling high-speed high-tech adventure yet it still does not seem overly complicated – well, thanks to a character like Scott Lang who would be too overwhelmed with too much of science too. It seems he always needs some help, even when it comes from his chaotic buddies, e.g. “Luis” Michael Peña (such a great, hilarious character – how a bout a spin-of?). Those are some of the reasons why Ant-Man is super-likeable …

Despite all this action this movie has some “for-the-whole-family” appeal – it’s so much lighter, brighter and more amusing than e.g. the Avengers.  And even heart-warming without this slimy, annoying kitsch US movies tend to deliver – chapeau to the writers Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari as well as to director Peyton Reed. There are a lot of tongue-in-cheek moments when playing with sizes, movie quotes or insider gags  (“ANTonio Banderas”) – and I recommend to stay until the VERY end (as always with Marvel movies) not to miss a major LOL …

Another bonus – the veterans Michelle Pfeiffer and Laurence Fishburne prove that even when matured from Catwoman or Matrix-Morpheus they can deliver convincingly in an action movie. So go and check it out!