Ant-Man and the Wasp
This film does take into account the two years that have passed since Civil War. While it opens with Hank recounting his final mission with his wife to Hope, it comes back to present time. After Scott survived the Quantum Realm, it gave Hank the idea to look into some of his old plans and he begins a mission to retrieve his wife, Janet (played by Michelle Pfeiffer, whom we’ve seen in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Murder on the Orient Express, Hairspray, and Stardust). Meanwhile, Scott is serving house arrest, though still managing to have a good time with his daughter [which is sweet].
Then he has a dream about the Quantum Realm and sees Janet and a young Hope playing hide and seek. So he calls Hank. It’s Hope who drugs and kidnaps Scott (they put an ant in his place to keep the ankle monitor happy). She and Hank are still upset that Scott took the suit to Germany, but more upset that he didn’t tell them. But they need what is in Scott’s head in order to calculate a location on Janet. While Hope goes to get their last component, she encounters a fighter in a white suit who can phase through objects. The strange opponent is able to steal the shrunk down lab, so they go to an old friend of Hank’s, Bill Foster, for help (played by Laurence Fishburne, probably most famous for Morpheus in The Matrix series). They are able to find the lab, but also discover that the person is the disappearing suit is a young woman named Ava, who is being helped by Foster. Ava’s father was another former colleague of Hank’s from SHIELD, but when he tried to build a Quantum Tunnell, it failed. Young Ava went back; her parents were killed, but she now phases all the time. SHIELD decided to use her and trained her to become a stealth operative. Ava and Bill now want to extract quantum energy in order to stabilize Ava. Hank and Hope fear that will kill Janet, so they get the lab back.
Once the trio attempts the find the location, Janet takes over Scott in order to help (it’s very sweet how she helps, but funny since it’s Scott whose holding their hands and such). They are successful, but they only have two hours. Until they find out that the feds are after them and Scott. Ava, the Ghost, once again gets the lab, and Scott narrowly returns home in order to not break his house arrest. Cassie is a good-hearted girl and supports her father and urges him to go rescue Hank and Hope when they’re captured by the feds. They manage to get into the lab and Hank volunteers to go after Janet; Hope and Scott will be needed on the outside in order to fight off all the other interested parties. Janet manages to find Hank in the Quantum Realm and they begin their return. But Ava has the lab again and goes to start the extraction. Bill urges her to wait and ask Janet for help (Hank has already promised Bill his help). Hope and Scott arrive (after Hope saves Scott after he passes out from growing too large) and hold off Ava long enough for Hank and Janet to return.
It’s a tearful reunion between mother and daughter, then Janet helps stabilize Ava. Bill and Ava go on the run, but the rest of the heroes get happy endings. The security consulting business that Scott started gets better business after his associates help capture the bad guys. Scott gets his anklet off and immediately goes to see Cassie (and her parents are being much kinder to Scott). Janet and Hank set up house again. The mid-credits scene sets up Infinity War; Scott goes into the Quantum Realm to collect particles to further help Ava. But he’s trapped once Janet, Hank, and Hope dissolve from the snap.
I found it to be a fairly enjoyable movie, though I think they put in too many characters who want the lab, since there’s this other guy who has a mole in the FBI, but is also working for someone who wants the tech. The villain of the film is just misguided. I’m glad things worked out, but honestly, the movie could have ended halfway through. I loved Scott’s interactions with his daughter. And while Hank and Hope don’t immediately like Scott again, they work it out with everyone saving everyone else. Hope even kisses Scott after she saves him. They use a lot more shrinking and growing sequences in this film. (And giant ants are still creepy).
Next Time: Captain Marvel
Dreamer in the Mirror 