Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway
Ant Man and the Wasp

The ever likeable Paul Rudd (Knocked Up) reprises his superhero role in this sequel to “Ant Man” entitled “Ant Man and the Wasp”. The story has a light and easy tone which is a welcome change to the somewhat somber and overly complicated recent Marvel films. It is slapstick without being overly silly or dumb, and the jokes are sincerely funny without being insult-based.

Here “Ant Man” Scott Lang (Rudd) breaks house arrest to help secure a quantum physics lab. He quickly rejoins with Wasp (Evangeline Lily) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who are driven to find Wasp’s mother and Hank’s wife, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) who is lost in the quantum realm.
Despite the mention of quantum physics and subatomic particles, the plot isn’t complicated. Suffice to say, Pym is just trying to rescue his wife and mother to his beloved daughter, and Lang is doing all he can to stay away from the FBI.

Rudd is perfect in this role precisely because he plays it straight without condescension or corn. Along with his somewhat comic hero turn, he is also a dad and the scenes show warmth and spirit with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson).

Rudd portrays the perfect balance of self-deprecation and good-natured earnestness. In the comic-book manner, he is an Everyman. It fits the actor well. One segment involving channeling is as funny as it is affecting.
Moreover, the film has a great adversary in terms of charge and charisma in the form of Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), an emotional and overly sensitive young woman who was the victim of an explosion. Ghost is not a true villainess. She evokes a degree of sympathy and you may just root for her.

The action scenes are madcap, fresh and exciting with a surrealist flavor as objects change in scale without warning or reason. The entire film has the festive free play of a comic book, having the good sense to pay little heed to the real world. Dozens of cars tumble and crash as eye-poppingly manic fights ensue with a Dadaist intensity, nonsensical and fun. All goes forth without a shred of cynicism or meanness. At one point, Stan Lee does a double take saying “The Sixties were fun, but I’m paying for them now!” This film to its credit is a cartoon through and through, with some of the scenes echoing the psychedelic vividness of “Fantastic Voyage” (1966).

A highlight is Michael Pena as Luis who gives a hyperactive speech on everyone’s enthusiasms, including the singer Morrissey, known for his outlier ballads, who is a now a hit in Latin America.

The always entertaining character actor Walter Goggins (Vice Principals) plays a smarmy bad guy once more. While the role is no stretch, Goggins creates the definitive example of “The Man You Love to Hate.”

Energetic, colorful and humorous, “Ant Man and the Wasp” has spontaneity and verve without any annoying buzz.

Write Ian at [email protected]

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