There's a lot to like in Ant-Man and the Wasp, the newest offering from the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, but it's definitely not without its flaws.
We're here to take a look at what worked… and what might have worked a little better.
These are the five best and five worst things about Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Best: Dad of the year
Some of the best moments in the film are when Paul Rudd's Scott Lang is hanging out with
his young daughter Cassie, played by Abby Ryder Fortson.
The chemistry between Paul Rudd and Fortson is exceptional, with Fortson bantering with
Rudd like a seasoned professional.
It's hard to believe the two aren't actually father and daughter in real life, and with
a relationship this strong to anchor the film, everything else comes together beautifully.
Worst: Previously on Ant-Man...
Ant-Man and the Wasp is a sequel to Ant-Man as well as Captain America: Civil War, so
there's a lot of story to fill viewers in on.
Unfortunately, the first several minutes of Ant-Man and the Wasp are bogged down by clumsy
exposition.
From Hank and Hope sitting down to remember the plot of Ant-Man to Randall Park's Jimmy
Woo rehashing the plot of Civil War and Age of Ultron, it's a lot of re-hashing from a
writing team that is capable of more interesting things.
Best: Ghost isn't transparent
Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost doesn't even seem to realize she's a villain, and that's because
her motivation is pretty simple: survive.
Her quantum powers are tearing her body apart, and she doesn't have long to live.
In putting our heroes up against a villain whose goal isn't world domination but simple
survival, the film feels fresh and distinct from the 19 MCU outings that precede it.
"Who is the bad guy in Ant-Man and the Wasp?
Mmmm, we have opponents but not necessarily villains."
Worst: They can't all be winners
On the other hand, Walton Goggins appears in the film as a shady black market tech dealer
named Sonny Burch, and the role is everything Ghost isn't.
While Ghost has a compelling backstory and a clearly defined personality, Burch is about
as bland as they come.
The film is saved by Ghost's antagonistic menace, but it's hard not to regret seeing
Walton Goggins wasted in a forgettable role.
Best: Michael Peña steals the show
The best heist in the original Ant-Man isn't Scott breaking into Hank's house, it's Michael
Pena's Luis stealing the show.
He shines every time he's onscreen.
"Got their credentials?"
"He's in the system."
"I'm in the system?"
"You're in the system."
"The system?"
Pena is once again a standout in a film packed with memorable actors.
His rapport with Michael Douglas's Hank Pym is still delightfully awkward, and they even
manage to work in one of his sloppily narrated stories.
"I first met Scotty in Cell Block D and I say 'I'm Luis,' and he says 'I'm scotty, and
we're gonna be best friends.'
Scotty gets out of jail and that's when he met Hope and she's all 'look at my hairdo,
I'm all business."
Wherever Ant-Man goes in the future, here's hoping Luis goes with him.
Worst: Can Janet catch a break?
Janet's disappearance prior to the first film pushes Hank into his angry, reclusive state
and screws up his relationship with his daughter.
Ant-Man and the Wasp has the opportunity to undo this while giving one of the great Marvel
characters her MCU due.
Instead, it just trades one trope for another, making Janet one of the film's primary MacGuffins.
When she finally appears in the end, she gets maybe five minutes of screentime.
Janet - and Michelle Pfeiffer - deserves better.
Best: Low stakes, high reward
Avengers: Infinity War took the MCU to the highest stakes the franchise has ever seen,
and came on the heels of an Asgardian apocalypse and a Wakandan revolution.
Luckily, Ant-Man and the Wasp gives viewers a bit of a break from the ridiculous tension
of the last MCU movie.
The fate of the world isn't at stake in this new Ant-Man adventure.
At its core, Ant-Man and the Wasp is about the fight to save the lives of two people,
Ghost and Janet van Dyne.
It's a comparatively small story, but just what MCU fans needed after Infinity War.
Worst: Time is money
These days, most blockbusters have a run time of over two hours, even though longer isn't
necessarily better.
With comparatively small stakes and such a simple story to tell, Ant-Man and the Wasp
is absolutely a film that would benefit from a shorter runtime.
Even the director himself agrees.
"I'm very vocal about the Ant-Man movies being under 2 hours."
Unfortunately, it comes in at over two hours, longer than the first Ant-Man film, Doctor
Strange, and even the first two Thor movies.
You'd think a movie about shrinking heroes would know that bigger isn't always better.
Best: Laugh it up
In the past, MCU movies have had a bad habit of incessant quipping; even the previous Ant-Man
movie did it.
"It's okay!"
As funny as Ant-Man and the Wasp is, there isn't a single important dramatic moment in
the film that gets interrupted by a character making a joke or a gag going down.
Serious moments are given the time to be taken seriously, and that makes the comedic moments
even better.
Worst: Character matters
The MCU excels at a lot of things, but its best quality might be its ability to take
characters and make them grow organically from film to film.
Unfortunately, this is Ant-Man and the Wasp's biggest flaw.
Scott might grow as a character, but it's literal growth, not emotional.
He ends the movie in the same spot he ended in the first Ant-Man: romantically involved
with Hope, and no longer in immediate trouble with the law.
Meanwhile, Hope experiences a significant life event in her mother returning from the
Quantum Realm, but the film never really shows us what this means for her past the initial
reunion.
Despite the size-changing, neither character gets a chance to really change as people.
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