Ant-Man and the Wasp: What worked and what needed work
Ant-Man and the Wasp had a stellar opening weekend at the box office, but did Marvel’s only theatrical release of the summer actually live up to the hype? Warning: Spoilers are ahead.
Admittedly, I was a little late to jump on the Ant-Man bandwagon. This week, I saw the original 2015 film for the first time and Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, I think that short time span has helped me compare the movies more fairly than if I’d had to wait three years between seeing them.
I actually liked the sequel better in many ways, though I know it’s not flawless. Here’s what I think worked well and what needed some work.
4. Scott and Hope
Since the release of Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) have been my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) couple. I know they haven’t actually been together since the 1940s and that Peggy is dead, but I found their chemistry and beautiful love story to be unparalleled.
Well, as of this week, they’ve been supplanted by Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lily). The basis for their relationship was well-developed in Ant-Man, but their chemistry is even stronger this time around. I never knew the word “hi” could be so sexually charged.
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It may have been too on the nose for characters like Hank (Michael Douglas) to repeatedly make note of their flirtatious behavior. Like, yeah, we get it. But I frankly I didn’t care. I tend to get overly invested in characters’ relationships, so I was kind of rejoicing in the fact that Scott and Hope were not at all subtle about their feelings for each other.
Plus, Paul Rudd is adorable as Scott (to be honest, Paul Rudd is always adorable); and it was really nice to see Hope smiling so much this time around given that she was not in a great place emotionally for much of Ant-Man. Tragically, Hope is worse off now since she’s dead — screw you, Thanos! But I’m betting The Avengers, hopefully including Scott, will be able to bring her back.
Another strong point for Ant-Man and the Wasp is that it bills Rudd and Lily as co-leads, and it delivers on that promise. Scott, perhaps, has a more multi-faceted narrative while Hope’s almost exclusively focuses on saving her mom Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer).
However, Scott and Hope are equal partners in the field and seemingly have about equal screen time, both of which are big wins for female superhero representation.