ANT-MAN AND THE WASP : Tuesday 10th July 2018.

'ANT-MAN AND THE WASP' which I saw this week keeps the Marvel machine grinding forever onwards churning out superhero fare for us to spend our $20 or so on at the local multiplex. And so it is too with this sequel to 2015's 'Ant-Man', which off the back of a US$110M Budget grossed US$520M at the global Box Office, was generally well received by Critics and audiences alike, and picked up three award wins and another 33 nominations from around the circuit. This 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Directed by Peyton Reed once again, who came on board one month after the release of the first instalment. This film was released in the US last week too, but not in the UK until early August. Paul Rudd, who plays Ant-Man/Scott Lang also takes a Co-Writer credit this time around. The film cost US$162M to make, has so far grossed US$185M and has been generally well received. This is the first MCU film to have the name of a female Superhero protagonist in its title . . . . about time methinks!

Set two years following the events that unfolded with 'Captain America : Civil War' and prior to the events that came to pass just recently in 'Avengers : Infinity War' and now under house arrest (explaining his absence from 'Avengers : Infinity War') Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) struggles with balancing his choices as both a father to young Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) and a responsible superhero. Having had to put his mantle of 'Ant-Man' on ice for the last two years for being caught in the middle of the Avengers fight which was in violation of the Sokovia Accords, Lang is now only three days away from being able to step foot outside his own home. He has been patient, compliant and responsible, while Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) - a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, entomologist, and physicist who became the original Ant-Man way back when, have gone underground, are also in hiding and have cut all ties these past years with Lang.

Then one day, Hope and Pym are able to open a portal through to the Quantum Realm where Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) was lost back in 1987, has not been seen since and is presumed dead. At that same precise moment Lang has a vision of Janet with whom he became entangled when he himself was in the Quantum Realm two years earlier and from which he was able to successfully return. Lang calls Pym for the first time in two years to explain his vision, but gets Hank's voicemail. A short time later Hope kidnaps Lang, miniaturises them and sets a decoy back at his house so as not to arouse suspicion by the FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) that he has broken the terms of his house arrest.

Pym believes that Lang's vision was a message that Janet is still alive, albeit trapped within the Quantum Realm. Needing a piece of hi-tech equipment to create a stable tunnel through which to access the Quantum Realm, Hope meets with her 'supplier' - a black market arms trader named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins). But Burch has other plans for Hope when he realises the potential of what she is working on, and he wants in on the action. A fight breaks out between Hope, who by now has assumed the powers of her alter-ego 'The Wasp' and is able to thwart Burch and his goons, but not so with a mysterious figure come to be known as 'Ghost' (Hannah John-Kamen) for her power to be able to travel through solid matter.

In the fracas Ghost escapes with Pym's miniaturised laboratory causing him, Hope and Lang to visit the one man they think can help them retrieve it - Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburn), a former partner of Pym's but they fell out decades before and had not spoken in thirty years. Reluctantly, Foster helps Pym locate his lost laboratory at Ghosts place of residence. Gaining entry Ghost is able to easily overpower the threesome and reveals that her name is Ava Starr and she has suffered from molecular instability since she was a child when her father, also a former partner of Pym's, died in an explosion with her mother too, while conducting a Quantum experiment which resulted in Ava's unstable condition. Foster reveals that his is in cahoots with Ava and is in fact her guardian, and is determined to make Ava better by harnessing Janet's Quantum energy. But Pym will have none of this as he believes that this would kill Janet, and so they escape with the aid of some giants ants.

With their laboratory back Pym and Hope resume their plan to fire up the tunnel. They are able to contact Janet through Lang, who gives them detailed coordinates with which to locate her in the Quantum Realm. But time is of the essence and they only have a limited window of two hours before the opportunity is lost for a century or so. Burch meanwhile has reassembled his gang of goons and through Lang's security company 'X-Cons' and his partners Luis (Michael Pena), Dave (Tip 'T'.I.' Harris) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) are able to locate Pym's lab. Burch calls an FBI Agent he has on the payroll, who in turns contacts Woo and alerts them to Lang's presence while supposedly under house arrest. Lang hot foots it back to his house just in time for Woo to walk in expecting to catch him out - but not so. However, with Ant-Man indisposed, the FBI converge on Pym's lab and arrest him and Hope leaving Ghost to once again steal the miniaturised lab.

Lang let off the hook by Woo, is able to come to the rescue of Pym and Hope and help them escape custody, and they locate the lab in a well executed and at times completely over the top car chase sequence through the streets of San Francisco as Ant-Man goes from being very little to very large. Lang and Hope divert Ava while Pym enters the Quantum Realm to retrieve Janet. Luis, Dave, and Kurt help apprehend Burch, so Lang and Hope can stop Ava who has already begun sapping Janet of her energy. Pym and Janet arrive back safe from the Quantum Realm, and Janet voluntarily grants some of her energy to Ava to temporarily stabilise her.

Lang returns home once again, just in time for a now suspicious Woo to unbuckle his ankle bracelet at the end of his house arrest period. Ava and Foster go into hiding, with Foster vowing to find a cure for her. Wait for the mid-credits sequence, which brings us right up to date, and naturally Stan Lee's obligatory laugh out loud one liner cameo.

It's good to see some levity arriving in the MCU in the form of 'Ant-Man and The Wasp' after the more depressing and distressing 'Captain America : Civil War' and 'Avengers : Infinity War' episodes. Here the more light handed approach works well with the storyline that is not overly complicated and delivers just the right amount of humour to keep it grounded. The action set pieces are well executed and work best when Ant-Man and The Wasp are reduced down to their insect size or conversely Ant-Man grows to be a towering giant of some sixty feet. Both Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly have settled well into their roles and despite their occasional verbal sparring, feel comfortable around each other and with their gifted super powers. Michelle Pfeiffer's role is a little under cooked, and Walton Goggins is half baked, but these are minor criticisms of a worthy and respectable sequel that is fast paced, good humoured, light hearted and still packs a punch.

'Ant-Man and The Wasp' merits four claps of the clapperboard, from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-