Paul Rudd outdoes himself in this film from his previous performances as Scott Lang/Ant-Man. Whereas before he was trying to find a new path for himself, here, he's more or less content with his life and more confident in the Ant-Man suit. He's a bit more happier than before, enjoying himself and making more jokes. Since Rudd is a more comedic actor, this film allows him to play more to his strengths. If it wasn't for him, the film would just be way too serious. Admittedly, he does become the butt of jokes, but that's the point; he's still one of those people you'd least expect to be a superhero.
Like "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Black Panther", this film deals with some fallout from "Civil War", but this time from the side of someone on Captain America's team. The film opens on Scott nearing the end of his house arrest when he's pulled back into action by Hank and Hope. This makes for some hilarious moments when Scott has to rush back to his house before the FBI gets there and act like he never left. It's like those movies where the kid is grounded and has to make it back home before their parents find out.
Evangeline Lilly reprises her role of Hope Van Dyne from the previous film and is now following in her mother's footsteps as the new Wasp. She is without a doubt a major badass and probably the best female fighter in the MCU, giving Black Widow a run for her money. And before you say "Well it's not fair because she can shrink", remember that she was able to hold her own against Ant-Man back in "Civil War"; given Hope already has years of training compared to Scott, it could be a pretty even fight. But besides her fighting capability, she still has great chemistry with Rudd and adds a lot of the emotional backdrop to the film. My only wish was that she was able to interact with Scott's daughter Cassie.
Which brings me to my next point. Abby Ryder Fortson continues to be an adorable delight from the first film as we see more of the father-daughter bond between her and Scott, whether they're just playing or when she covers for her dad when the FBI try to catch him breaking his house arrest. We even see she not only shares her dad's sense of humor, but his willingness to do good as well. She wants to be a hero like him, and I say in a few more years we'll see just that.
Everyone else from the first film is great as well, from the serious Michael Douglas as Hank Pym to the hilarious Michael Pena as Luis (who doesn't love the way he tells a story?). Then you have newcomers in Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne. Fishburne is usually pretty good in whatever he's in, especially when he acts in a fatherly role (in this case to Ghost). And while Pfeiffer has a very minor role in the film, her reunited moments with Hank and Hope are some of my favorite moments of the film.
Finally, there's the main villain of the film, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr, AKA the Ghost. Her powers are new visual treat for the MCU and her story makes her one of its most tragic villains. In some aspect, she reminds me of Bucky when he was the Winter Soldier. Having her powers since she was a child, she was used by SHIELD on missions with the promise/lie of a cure; I can't help but wonder if HYDRA was using her as well. In any case, the way she was used her whole life made her how she is, leading to her more villainous tendencies, despite only wanting to be normal. When it comes to Phase Three of the MCU, Marvel seems to have finally solved its villain problem with a five compelling villains in a row.
As for the action, they definitely had more fun with the shrinking and growing this time around. It focuses a little less on working with ants and more on shrinking pretty much everything, from cars (to which Hank carries around in a Hot Wheels container) to buildings. Not only does it make for entertaining fight scenes, but also another memorable car chase scene on par with the one in "Black Panther".
Now for some MINOR SPOILERS so you might want to skip this paragraph. I think we all pretty much expected some kind of tie-in with "Infinity War" and Avengers 4, and it happened with the mid-credits scene showing Hope, Hank, and Janet disintegrating because of Thanos' use of the Infinity Gauntlet. While I knew something like that was going to happen, it still left with me with the same devastated feeling from "Infinity War". But not only that, the stinger at the end of the film said "Ant-Man and the Wasp will return" and then a "?" fades in. I think at this point, Marvel's just trolling us. It's like "Wasn't that a fun movie? Well, time to remove that nice feeling you had." I mean, we all know what happened will be undone, but come on, Marvel. It still hurts to watch these characters die. But I digress.
Nevertheless, "Ant-Man and the Wasp" is the feel good movie of the summer, with lots of laughs, action and emotion.
