Three days… that is all Scott has left on his house arrest after tangling with the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War two years earlier. He simply has to keep his nose clean and has no contact with Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly; The Hobbit series) and her father Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas; Wall Street). Unfortunately for him he has a dream/memory of Hope's mother, Janet ( Michelle Pfeiffer; The Fabulous Baker Boys) and calls Pym to tell him. Bad idea on his part but then again Scott doesn't often have great ideas. Scott suddenly finds himself by Hope and Hank in an effort to help them bring back Janet from the Quantum realm.
While all this is going on there are other forces conspiring against Hank and Hope. The sleazy black market parts dealer, Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins; The Hateful Eight), The Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen; Black Mirror) and the FBI are all after them and their technology. With Scott's help, the trio manages to communicate with Janet, long thought to be lost forever or dead. As the villains close in Hank risks life and limb by jumping into the quantum realm in an effort to find Janet while Scott risks life in prison to assist them in their quest.
Rudd is the perfect anti superhero as he fumbles his way through every rescue effort and yet somehow manages to "save the day" (with an assist from the Wasp). Lilly makes kicking butt and science look easy and effortless and she fits into her role beautifully. The two have great timing and chemistry and are a joy to watch on screen. Douglas is well cast as the somewhat crotchety elder statesman/scientist yet loving and devoted father and husband and Pfeiffer is an excellent choice to play a brilliant scientist/ loving mother Janet. Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Judy Greer (27 Dresses), Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine), Randall Park (The Interview) and John-Kamen, among others, assist these veteran actors to bring this story to life but special mention has to go to Michael Pena; CHiPS) for his role as Scott's friend/business partner, Luis.
Director Peyton Reed who also helmed the original Ant-Man does a good job shuffling a lot of story in a two-hour time frame. He doesn't use too many quick cuts to distract the audience and keeps the flow and pace moving nicely throughout. Through sharp editing he makes the fight scenes look masterful especially the Wasp in the restaurant kitchen fending off Burch's goons.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is a win in the humor department delivering hilarious jokes while staying away from the R-rated variety founding Deadpool and its sequel. There are several scenes where the dialogue was missed because the audience was simply laughing too loud. However, the points where the movie falters is in some of the plot. There are too many villains simultaneously trying to get to Hank, Hope, and Scott and it felt like overkill at times. There is also too much-advanced science with too little explanation for the layperson and much of the quantum physics details while going over the audience's collective heads.
If one is looking for a fun night out at the movies and wanting a good superhero movie Ant-Man and the Wasp is worth the price of admission and it boasts a pretty decent soundtrack to boot. I personally can't wait to see what these two are up to next (hint: stay through all the end credits for some inkling).
Grade: A-
