Another Fun Super Hero Adventure
by
Disney and the Marvel people create these super hero movies so quickly the head spins! Wasn’t one of these adventures released only last week? It seems like it; but it doesn’t matter because the kids and adult fans eat them up to the tune of millions of dollars at the box office. We must admit, we rather enjoy these eye-googling IMAX/3D features quite a lot. This is the twentieth film made by the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it just seems like more.
Ant-Man and the Wasp propels actor Paul Rudd into the forefront of “A” List stars. This role is perfect for his whimsical humor and goof ball personality. He always lingered in the shadows of near-stardom. He finally found the role that is perfect for him and his style. Fortunately, Rudd had a hand in forming the screenplay, so his sense of humor has thankfully creeped into the storyline and brightened it up.
All things are related in the Marvel universe, so we see connections between Rudd’s character of Scott Lang and events of the past. He’s now under arrest and supervised by congenial S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo, played by the handsome Randall Park. After the events that occurred in Captain America: Civil War, Lang is suffering from the consequences of his involvement. He has to wear an ankle bracelet and can’t leave the premises of his home. He is a former petty criminal who acquired a suit that allows him to shrink in size while gaining strength.
When Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and physicist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) show up to entice Lang with a new assignment, he can’t resist. Hope, daughter of Hank and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), who also has a suit that can shrink her, knows she and Lang will be off on some new adventures. Hope can now be The Wasp and right the injustices that matter to her.
And adventures they do have -- in spades! This is where the Hollywood genius technicians take over and do their magic. Off the pair go into the inner workings of the Quantum Realm to rescue Janet, who was lost there years ago on a mission that went wrong with Pym. On what one can only imagine what a trip on LSD looks like, the special effects guys overdid themselves in creating fantastic shapes, colors, geometric designs and fantastic worlds. It’s a journey to an unknown world to us on earth.
The diverse cast utilizes many actors with distinctive styles of their own. Walton Goggins shows up as a slick, slimy, impeccably dressed low-level criminal. Goggins appears different in every role, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what he looks like from film to film. He’s a fine character actor who is handsome enough to play leading men. Laurence Fishburne appears as the authoritative Bill Foster, a scientist who once worked with Pym. Now they are rivals and don’t see eye to eye. Broadway actor Bobby Cannavale plays a San Francisco Police Officer engaged to Lang’s ex-wife (Judy Greer). Cannavale always has that New York masculine swagger about him.
The picture is definitely full of fun, action, thrills and danger. It is sprinkled throughout with humor and lightheartedness where necessary. One of the finest films to come out of the Marvel Studios, this movie just might please everyone. Oh -- and look for Stan Lee!
(Released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/ Marvel Studios, and rated “PG-13” for some sci-fi action violence.)