Director Report Card: Peyton Reed (2018)

8. Ant-Man and the Wasp

Once upon a time, the idea of a fairly obscure and somewhat divisive superhero like Ant-Man launching a blockbuster franchise must've seemed like a long shot. Yet, by 2015, the general public trusted the Marvel brand so much that any superhero film they put out was guaranteed to become a success. Thus, “Ant-Man” pushed pass the initial negative buzz surrounding Edgar Wright's departure – not that Joe Movie-Goer cared about that or was even aware of it – to gross well over 500 million dollars at the box office. Not huge numbers by Marvel standards but a success never the less. Picking up where the first's sequel hook left off, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” would be an even bigger commercial success than the first one.

The sequel's box office performance probably got a boost from Ant-Man's appearance in “Captain America: Civil War.” At the story's beginning, Scott Lang is under house arrest for his involvement in that film's plot. He hasn't seen Hank Pym and Hope in two years. That's when he has a flash of the Quantum Realm and Janet Van Dyne. Hank and Hope get back in contact with Scott. They've spend the last two years inventing a machine that can safely access the Quantum Realm, (In addition to a shrinking suit for Hope, similar but more advanced than Scott's.) Hank is determined to rescue his wife and Hope's mother. Pursued by bad guys – including a mysterious matter-shifter nicknamed Ghost – Ant-Man and the Wasp seek out new and old friends to achieve this goal.

In many ways, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” both embraces and defies the typical superhero sequel expectations. It is bigger than the first movie in several ways. After all, it features two superheroes, instead of just one. The action scenes are a little more elaborate. The sequel explores more of the Quantum Realm only glimpsed briefly last time. At the same time, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is defiant in its choice to be a smaller scale Marvel movie. Once again, the focus is not so much on saving the world as it is making sure Hank Pym's discoveries do not fall into the wrong hands. The stakes are more personal, with Hank and Hope working to be reunited with their wife/mother and Scott continuing to prove himself to his daughter in a round-about way.

In fact, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” seems to zero in on one specific personal element. Scott is a dad totally devoted to his daughter. The film largely opens with an adorable sequence of him playing an ant-themed scenario out with his daughter, featuring some incredibly cute cardboard sculptures. This relates with flashback scenes to Hope and Janet playing when she was kid. Hope lost her mom and that's a fear Scott can relate to, worried he may loose Cassie if he's not careful. Even the film's villain has a father figure, though she's not aware at first how much he cares for her, how much support he's willing to give to her. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is a movie where parental love is a powerful force that can overcome all sorts of odds but also one that sometimes must be struggled for.

Despite these serious ideas, don't think for a minute that “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is a serious movie. In fact, that wacky sense of humor that was such a highlight of the first film plays an even bigger role in the sequel. There's a number of delightful gags here. Probably my favorite comedic sequence is an extended one involving Scott's size-changer malfunctioning, resulting in him changing size at inopportune moments. The setting soon shifts to an elementary school, where Lang has to go undercover as a grade-schooler, an inspired gag. The humor even veers towards the surreal at time, such as the nonchalant appearance of a giant ant in non-giant-ant contexts. Naturally, the sequel reprises one of the first film's best gags – Luis' meandering anecdotes – without feeling like its repeating the joke. There's a number of amusing small bits here. Such as Scott learning close-up magic to deal with his boredom while under house arrest, which surprisingly impresses those around him. There's also amusing lines of dialogue concerning what exactly classifies as a truth serum and a particular Russian boogie-woman.

Something that made the first “Ant-Man” the pleasant surprise it was, was the inventive ways it cross-bred its size-shifting special effects and the action sequence. Presumably having a bigger budget, the sequel is allowed to indulge this habit even more. The Wasp gets a show-stopper of an introduction. She shifts size around a hotel kitchen, walking along the blade of a thrown knife and dodging around a hammer with her power of flight. The size-shifting disc, introduced in the first movie, return here to giant-size mundane objects like a salt-shaker or a Hello Kitty Pez dispenser, moments which gleefully combine comedy and action. The entire last third of “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is a chase scene, through the winding hills of San Francisco. Reed and his team really enjoy upping the set-pieces here. Cars are size-shifted around other vehicles, Giant-Man turns a pick-up truck into a skateboard, and the heroes leap through the downhill traffic. It's all pretty cool.

While the first “Ant-Man” was a definite victim of the Marvel Movie Villain Syndrome, the sequel does a lot better. The film takes Ghost – a male comic villain who usually tangles with Iron Man – and reinvents the character into someone surprisingly sympathetic. Portrayed by Hannah John-Kamen, Ghost is now a victim of circumstances beyond her control. Granted matter-phasing powers by a lab accident as a little girl, she was eventually recruited by SHIELD to become a covert assassin. Now, she has been driven by her condition to commit villainous acts... Yet she's ultimately not a bad person either, simply pushed to desperate measures by a desperate situation. And she's not beyond forgiveness either. John-Kamen does a good job of playing the villain as a confused overgrown kid, emotional and pushed-to-the-edge.

As with the first film, a lot of the success of “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is owed to its stars. Paul Rudd remains utterly lovable. The interaction he has with Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie are absolutely delightful, ranging from giant ant themed play time to heart-to-hearts in her bedroom. Rudd, in general, somehow manages to combine comedic skills with an everyman quality to create a superhero not quite like any other.

However, this show belongs to Evangeline Lily as much it does Rudd. Where Rudd's Lang is a bit goofy, Lily's Hope is always serious. She brings a hyper-confidence to the action sequences, while also having a wry sense of humor of her own which comes out through her quibs. (The sequel also pushes the romantic angle between them way into the background, which was probably for the best, considering it was kind of underdeveloped last time.)

The first film provided a rich supporting cast and, luckily, most everyone comes back for the sequel. Michael Douglas' Hank Pym grows into a less prickly figure, having already completed his redemption arc and showing his vulnerability – his connection to his daughter and his missing wife – more. While the entire comic relief trio from the first movie returns, T.I and David Dastmalchian don't get too much to do. Luckily, Michael Pena gets a number of amusing moments, the hyper-verbal Luis suddenly thrust into a role of authority. Bobby Cannavale also gets a few more laughs than last time, thanks to his sudden affectionate quality.

There's also, of course, a few solid additions to the cast too. Michelle Pfeiffer makes her sophomore superhero movie appearance as Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp. Pfeiffer plays a saint-like mother figure, glowing with an angelic energy. Laurence Fishburne, also making his second superhero movie appearance, shows up as Bill Foster. (Goliath to you comic nerds.) Fishburne has some fiery debate scenes with Douglas, a high-light, but also has a parental edge to his role, which Fishburn – an actor equally capable of warm and cuddly or intense – excels at. Walter Goggins shows up as a supporting villain. In a nice touch, he plays the character like a refined Southern gentleman. Randall Park is hilarious as the cop monitoring Lang's case that seems a little too close to his subject.

In most ways, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is at least as good as the first “Ant-Man” and maybe a little better, due to having slightly more complex characters and leaning into the wacky sense of humor even harder. Yet there's one element that makes me prefer the first film to the second. The first “Ant-Man” concluded with a totally unexpected and surprisingly trippy journey to the Quantum Realm. The sequel spends more time in the same location but, maybe just because we know its coming this time, its not as effective. Sure, Hank Pym almost being eaten by a group of giant Water Bears is cool but what we see here – a vibrating alien terrain that eventually leads to a journey into the center of the mind – is way less exciting than our hero being tossed among spinning fractals.

Ultimately, I can't complain too much. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is a lot of fun. The humor is highly amusing, the action scenes are fantastically done, the cast is having a blast, and the whole product is executed very smoothly. Peyton Reed has comfortably moved into the realm of blockbuster film making, juggling thrills and comedy with his trademark high-energy visual style. While people have debated endlessly about the merits of Disney/Marvel's unstoppable blockbuster conveyor belt, at least the “Ant-Man” duo have enough quirky laughs to feel like their own thing. [Grade: B]

Officially, Peyton Reed's next project hasn't been announced yet... But it's pretty easy to guess what it'll be. Considering the box office success of both “Ant-Man” movies and the continued pop culture dominance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seems extremely likely – and has been frequently rumored – that “Ant-Man 3” is just around the corner. While I guess Reed isn't guaranteed to return for a third size-changing adventure, as Disney/Marvel is hardly precious about their directors, it seems probable he'll be back to direct. And, hey, maybe Reed will get to make that “Fantastic Four” movie after all.