I loved, loved, LOVED the first Ant-Man because it was so unique (at the time) in the Marvel pantheon of movies. It put humor and heart at the very front and center with an emphasis on the humor.
Also, it was as good as origin stories get; it had everything. It was a fun heist movie with eye popping special effects and tech, superbly choreographed and shot action sequences, a dash of romance with great chemistry between the two leads, and of course that most necessary of all ingredients - emotional resonance.
We cared about Scott, we grew to care about Hope and Hank, and the seed was planted to care about the one and only Janet Van Dyne.
Janet, as all of us comic book readers know, is a GIANT in the Marvel Universe. She is a founding member of the Avengers and over 30 years barely left the team - even when her husband Hank turned into a wife beater that she divorced. Hank was kicked out and eventually died, but Janet stayed strong and stuck around, and became a heroine well ahead of her time with her grit and gusto right alongside the other mighty heroes. Janet was and is the ultimate badass.
So I love that this new movie is all about finding her. That emotional power that I crave in these things, is pretty much on display in every frame because of the 10+ years I devoured the Avengers comic book. Even though Janet doesn't physically show up until the end, her presence is felt for the whole film.
I love that there are little hints all throughout that Hank is indeed a troubled man - I don't know that they need to go full comic book with him, but it will be interesting to see how he and Janet shake out. I could totally see a balls to the wall prequel with them, either younger actors or digitally enhanced Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfieffer. On the other hand, the adventures in my head that they have been on are probably better than any movie that could be made.
Before I continue - the reviews by critics have overall been very good, and the fans are on board as well - but one thing I've noticed in Nerd-Land (that awful community on the internet that deigns itself the end all be all of what's good and what isn't in Genre film making) is that the neck-beards have all pretty much said that AM&W is 'good not great'.
I could not disagree more.
Comic Book Girl 19 said "The movie? It's ok." Mr. Sunday Movies said similar.
I say, they're jaded jackasses. (And I actually like them both a lot and watch all their videos).
From beginning to end I was swept away by this new adventure, and the 2 hour + running time felt like an hour tops.
The movie moves like a bat out of hell - yet they don't skimp on the character moments at all. The little girl who plays Cassie (a future superhero as you comic book readers know) is just superb and helps build in even more emotion along with the Janet thread.
Luis is back and even funnier this time, which is crazy, I dreaded them re-doing the lip synched story telling, but here it's even better because they use Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in the flashbacks! Awesome! Gotta put Michael Douglas and Michell Pfieffer in the next one!
The 'science' is rather absurd and silly at times, like it was in the first movie, but it's so easy to forgive. I look at it in the spirit of the old Marvel Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter, who used to award a "No-Prize" to comic book readers who would write in a detailed explanations to fill in plot holes
and oversights.
Yes, it's ridiculous that they shrink an office building and then roll it away like a piece of carry on luggage - the miniature building should simply rattle and fall apart as it's rolled along the ground. But, as you may remember from the first movie, they explain that when Scott shrinks he gains strength and power exponentially - I figure the same could probably be said of the lab building. It gets a lot tougher and more resilient when it's miniaturized. So where's my 'No-Prize'? Right?
Other than that bit of plausibility stretching, the rest of the movie holds together very well. I am especially happy that the villains this time around are MUCH more well rounded and believable.
Ghost turns out to be fantastic - and her relationship with Black Goliath is truly something special - he really has adopted her, loves her, and will not go along with her morality bending plans, and best of all Ghost actually listens to him and doesn't betray him! How refreshing is that? I was amazed that Ghost didn't go after Cassie, I groaned when she floated the plan because I knew that's what she was going to do - and then she didn't do it! Awesome! Excited to revisit her character, hope they do bring her back.
The action in this movie is just as good and sometimes even better than the action in the first Ant-Man. Love the kitchen sequence, love the car chase that goes on and on and on! Giant Scott is of course great, stunning visuals of him in San Francisco Bay.
Hanks descent into the quantum realm could not have been done better - I was hoping he would flash into a realistic looking setting like his house - and he does and it's awesome!
Another great great scene - Janet goes into Scott's body. Awesome humor that incredibly also gets emotional! Now that's a hell of an actor who can pull that off - if Paul Rudd had been even a little bit off, the scene simply wouldn't have worked. Outstanding!
So yes, I loved this one - A LOT.
As to where to rank it in my massive MCU ranking list a couple of posts below... well it is tough because the list in my head changes quite a bit every time another movie comes out.
Objectively I think it's fair to say that the first Ant-Man is at least as good as this one, but honestly right now I just want to watch Ant-Man & Wasp over and over! Because it's so new and fresh I feel like it's BETTER in a lot of ways.
I know that passion will cool off eventually, but right now I don't think it's possible for me to put it at the same level or below Ant-Man part 1. I'm going to have to put it in the top 10 for sure, and bump out part 1 down to number 11, also bump down the first Iron man to number 10. Yes, Ant-Man & Wasp is the new number 9!
That's as objective as I can be right now, if I really let my emotions take over I would put the movie in the top 3, but that would be pretty silly. All the movies ranked 1-8 are genuinely objectively better than AM&W - I know this to be true deep down, so I won't dwell or get too goofy.
I would be remiss in this, whatever this is, if I didn't mention the mid-credits scene. What a gut punch! Still, it's pretty clear from Infinity War that the characters who got 'dusted' are all coming back (based on the sequels that are scheduled and some that are already shooting) so I'm not too freaked out. Hopefully Scott Lange will play a major part in Avengers 4!
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