Ant-Man and the Wasp: What worked and what needed work
2. A cluttered but entertaining plot
Ant-Man and the Wasp certainly tries to juggle more storylines than its predecessor, but I think for the most part it succeeds. The threads converge effectively for maximum impact on multiple characters.
For example, Scott trying to keep his business afloat leads him to inadvertently compromise Hope and Hank’s mission to save Janet because of Luis’ (Michael Peña) run-in with Sonny. That run-in almost puts Scott back in jail but also allows him to get the heart-to-heart pep talk from his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) that he needs in order to rescue Hank and Hope from the FBI and get their mission back on track.
The storylines also come together wonderfully in what may be the most entertaining car chase scene I’ve ever seen. Turns out the secret is people and cars being able to rapidly change size, or in Scott’s case, getting stuck as a giant. Having him use that flatbed truck as a kind of kneeling skateboard was genius.
The ferry scene unfortunately suffered a bit because I’d already seen its biggest moment in the trailer a million times and the dialogue wasn’t great. However, it did lead to one of my favorite scenes: Hope saving Scott’s life and then kissing him out of relief.
Scott saves her life, in turn, a few minutes later at the lab, but I really appreciated Hope being the first of them to save the other. It further cemented their equal partnership.
As for the film’s comedic moments, Ant-Man and the Wasp was at least as funny as Ant-Man, even if not all the jokes landed. Peña is comedic gold as always, if maybe a little underused.
Randall Park brilliantly convinced me that using a law enforcement officer as comedic relief can actually work well, even though I’m so used seeing that trope fail miserably. If you’ve never seen Park on ABC’s Fresh off the Boat, you should fix that.
As noted, Rudd and Lily’s chemistry is incredible, so they banter quite well. Their scene in Cassie’s school is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Cassie herself, Fortson, is also a natural in the comedy department. She was great in Ant-Man and is an even funnier scene-stealer in the sequel. It’s quite a testament to her since almost all her scenes are with Rudd, who can make pretty much anything funny.