‘Ant-Man, Wasp’ a Dynamic Blend

Ant-Man & The Wasp REVIEW
Rated PG-13
(Marvel Studios)  

“We need all hands on deck. Where’s Clint?”
“After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal.
It was too tough on their families. They’re on house-arrest.”
“Who’s Scott?”
“Ant-Man.”
“There’s an Ant-Man AND a Spider-Man?”
-Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Black Widow and Captain America, from “Avengers: Infinity War”

“Ant-Man & The Wasp,” Marvel’s third release of the year and their 20^th film, proves that the studio is showing no signs of slowing down or running out of exciting, reinvigorated comic-based movies.

After the darker, heightened dramatic tones of “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Ant-Man & The Wasp” is the perfect, dynamic blend of comedy, action and family drama.

As a sequel, the story opens in such a manner that one need not have seen the previous film; all of its moving parts spool at a simple, engaging, easy-to-follow pace.

Though a former model mainly known for her work on ABC’s “Lost,” Evangeline Lilly, in terms of fervor, is on par with Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. She’s terrific as she tears into the role of Hope van Dyne (The Wasp) and is absolutely commanding with a zeal and ferocity that actually exceeds the character’s comic origins.

She’s the perfect counter-balance to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd as Ant-Man) who’s the emotional core and ever relatable (and still, somewhat hesitant) newer hero. And for all of his previous dramatic resume, Michael Pena continues to shine comedically as Lang’s associate, as does (“Fresh Off the Boat”) Randall Park as a federal agent in charge of keeping our hero in check.

The rest of the strong supporting cast (Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne and rapper T.I.) round out this adroit, incredibly funny, action-filled, quantum-based superhero romp.

As with the much-deserved success of the previous movie, “Ant-Man & The Wasp” is an exuberant, thoroughly satisfying, wildly entertaining yarn with a genuine, warm, familial core–and that’s precisely what makes it an exceptionally fun, summer movie.