Ant-Man was the surprise superhero film success of 2015. Based on a less popular comic book character with powers that didn’t feel as sexy as others from the Marvel line-up, and starring comedic talent Paul Rudd who is known for his everyman roles rather than action chops, the film won hearts with its endearing characterisation and the positively goofy humour tailor-made for its leading man.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, which happens to be the first Marvel film to feature the name of a female superhero in the title, builds on that foundation but loses a touch of the heart and humour that gave the original its unique place in the Marvel universe.

Whereas Ant-Man was at times wickedly funny with its whacky set-pieces, the jokes in Ant-Man and the Wasp, save for the appearance of a giant Hello Kitty Pez dispenser, are less hilarious. Perhaps it’s just a case of sequelitis but Ant-Man and the Wasp doesn’t poke fun at the Marvel tropes or use the size-changing powers as cleverly to tickle our funny bone. This is most likely because comic talents such as Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) and former SNL writer Adam McKay (Anchorman) were sadly not invited back to co-write the script with Paul Rudd.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is not as funny as its predecessor but makes up for it with its action

This isn’t to say that Ant-Man and the Wasp isn’t amusing — many of the weird jokes left me and other members of the audience in stitches — just not as amusing. An area where Ant-Man and the Wasp improves though is in the action. As I said, this is the first Marvel film with a titular female superhero and Hope van Dyne/Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) makes her entrance with a sensational butt-kicking sequence where she takes down a bunch of goons who are looking to double cross her. She gets the better of them by using her size-changing powers to fuel some velocity-powered strikes. Other action scenes, especially those featuring Ava Starr/Ghost, a super villain who can phase through objects because of a tragic origin story, also employ some exciting hand-to-hand combat.

An area where Ant-Man and the Wasp improves is in the action. This is the first Marvel film with a titular female superhero and Hope van Dyne/Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) makes her entrance with a sensational butt-kicking sequence where she takes down a bunch of goons who are looking to double cross her.

While on the subject, though I liked the Ava Starr/Ghost character’s look, abilities and portrayal by Hannah John-Kamen, I wasn’t completely sold on her inclusion. This is because she is constantly in severe agony, and her dark scenes abruptly break the otherwise sunny pacing.

Like other elements of the film, the overall story in Ant-Man and the Wasp is standard Marvel fare. The premise starts with the late 1980s when the original Ant-Man Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and the original Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer) shrink down to size to stop a Soviet missile set to kill thousands. With Ant-Man’s suit malfunctioning, Wasp enters the sub-atomic realm to stop the weapon with no way back, and is believed to be lost forever. Decades later, she makes contact with the new Ant-Man, Scott Lang (Rudd), when he enters this quantum realm, leaving a now aged Hank Pym and daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) to attempt a rescue mission. Of course, this puts Scott’s parole at risk, which in turn puts his duties as a father on the line again. Let’s hope Scott doesn’t find himself on the wrong side of the law in the next film as there is only so much déjà vu audiences can tolerate.

Rated PG-13 for some sci-fi action violence

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 15th, 2018