"your dessert after a main meal and a hell of a summer of comic book goodness. Smaller but no less delicious"

Some might say the original Ant-Man movie was the surprise hit of the bunch or it was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise overwhelmingly large franchise, either way it leads to the inclusion of one of the best entries in the MCU. Its sequel has more to live up to however, coming hot off the heels of both Infinity War and (although not part of the MCU) Deadpool 2, its got a lot of heavyweight competition.

It does however have something very different about it, whilst not always operating within the parameters of the law leads both Ant-Man films to feel very much like heist movies or at least have nods to this genre, Paul Rudd’s acting abilities also help lend both seriousness and humour to the story which shouldn’t be understated.

The story at a glance is pretty standard Marvel fair, picking during Infinity War, although not explicitly reference, Scott Lang is under house arrest for his actions in Berlin (See Captain America: Civil War) and is nearing the end of this. However, following a vision of sorts, he once again finds himself with Hope Van Dyne & Hank Pym (Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas respectively) and a plan is hatched to find Hope’s mother Janet who has been lost in the Quantum Realm.

To anyone who may be finding this slightly hard to follow a cursory re-watch of Ant-Man and Doctor Strange should bring you up to speed. However, to give away any more of the story would be both a HUGE spoiler (see what I did there?) and also would ruin the magic and sheer fun of this film. It may not take itself as seriously as most of its MCU counterparts but that’s its charm.

Visually this movie is stunning, and personally makes me thankful for how far visual effects have come since that start of the superhero book. Both Ant-Man and The Wasp’s characters look and feel like they should, borrowing just the right elements from their comic book counterparts to make them both enjoyable and believable. Ghost is both played and shown beautifully, Hannah John Kamen really brings the character to life and makes them feel like they hold weight within the story. She also gives us what could be argued has been needed for a while, a complex and layered female antagonist with more than just motives of wanting to rule.

The music as to be expected with a Marvel film is great, cheesy but fitting; it is less utilised here than something like Guardians of the Galaxy but still fitting.

The late appearance of Janet as well as learning of the ties to the larger MCU and possibly how the film leads into Avengers 4 is brilliantly done, whilst not wishing to spoil any of it, there are also potential nods as to how future stories and possible characters, including those soon the be acquired during the Disney/ Fox merger may be included withing the overall narrative.

For what some see as a smaller scale entry into the MCU, it could end up having massive or shall we say GIANT implications to the future of the MCU.

Lastly this film carries the distinction to be the first female headlined (albeit co-headlined) film to come from Marvel Studios, whilst we know there has been a Black Widow film discussed and being in various stages of development for some time, the Wasp has beaten her to it and proved herself to be more than a little more badass than her leading man. I don’t have to remind our readers of the importance of this, as with DC’s Wonder Woman, this is a further step into not just the right but the best direction.

To summarise, Ant-Man and The Wasp is your dessert after a main meal and a hell of a summer of comic book goodness. Smaller but no less delicious.