Film Review: ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’ is Abuzz with Laughs & Shrinkage

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CHICAGO – Gag writers, it’s time to head to Marvel Studios. Apparently the direction their superhero franchises are going for is laughs. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is a prime example… the second film in the “Ant-Man” series amps up the humor, priming a hero that can go super small or massive. Go ask Alice, I think she’ll know.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

Paul Rudd returns as the Ant-Man, and his sardonic air fits the hero like his tight costume. It’s a bit of an extension of an origin story, as Antie is involved in with his creator Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Pym’s experiments into the sub atomic realm. It’s not as good as the first film, only to the degree that it repeats a lot of its rhythms. And the surprise of Antie being able to go small and go massive has already been established, and what they do with it is not as cool. BUT, the film has a great sense of humor and there is still a lot of awe in going into the worlds of the small and the large. It is almost sad that we live exist only “in between.”

Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest, for violating federal crimes (as depicted in “Captain America: Civil War”) and is supervised in that arrest by FBI Agent Woo (Randall Park). His sentence is almost up, but he called upon by the creator of Ant-Man, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) to help in an experiment in the sub atomic world.

While working on that situation, which involves Pym’s long lost wife (Michelle Pfeiffer), the trio encounter The Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a creation of scientist Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), Pym’s ex-partner. The Ghost wants all of Pym’s technology, because she is slowly dying. But in the meantime, gangster Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) is also after Pym’s secrets, for potential profit. The Ant-Man will have to try on various sizes to for solutions to these problems, with help from the Wasp.

“Ant-Man and The Wasp” opens everywhere on July 6th, in 3D, IMAX and regular screenings. See local listings for 3D/IMAX theaters and show times. Featuring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian, Tip Harris, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Laurence Fishburne, Randall Park and Michelle Pfeiffer. Written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. Directed by Peyton Reed. Rated “PG-13”

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Ant-Man and The Wasp”

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Insect Heroes in Flight in ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’
Photo credit: Walt Disney Studios

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Ant-Man and The Wasp”

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