BBC – Culture – Film review: Ant-Man and the wasp lose their zest



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"Do you just put the word" quantum "in front of everything?" Scott Lang's application, better known as the Ant-Man, when genius researchers start talking about scientific circles around him. "Quantum, Quantum, Quantum" captures almost the pedestrian style of Ant-Man and The Wasp. Fortunately, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man is as engaging as ever. It saves almost alone this suite, which is pretty cool but not as fun as the original.

Humorless in the first Ant-Man, Hope Van Dyne, the Wasp, did not improve

In 2015, Ant-Man introduced Rudd as Scott, a talented burglar coming out of prison and a father dedicated to a girl. He is a regular guy recruited by the inventor Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to put a costume that can make it the size of an insect and sometimes gigantic, the best in a way to fight the evil . But where the first film relied on Rudd's brilliant comedy, everyman persona, the sequel has too little comedy and too little spectacular action. He also Evangeline Lilly as The Wasp, Ant-Man's partner in the fight against evil, who turns out to be a pale heroine despite his kicking and flying high voltage.

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The film begins with Scott under house arrest, what he gets for fighting Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War. Hank and his daughter, Hope, recruit Scott again because they think Ant-Man can save Hank's wife and Hope's mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer). Decades ago, she "subatomic", narrowing and disappearing into a tiny world. Timing is everything, because Scott has to go home before his probation officer discovers that he's gone.

Very early, there are funny visual jokes. A giant ant is left at Scott's house carrying his monitor at the ankle and living his life – playing drums, lounging on the couch. Hank and Hope live and work in a fully equipped lab, which narrows conveniently and has a handful, so that Hank can roll in the street like a hand bag.

The plot is less inspired. Sonny (Walton Goggins) is a black salesman who wants to steal this lab, but he is a stubborn villain, a practical excuse for action. The hope slaps his cohorts around a restaurant in his first appearance in the wasp suit. Her super-powerful uniform is a steel catsuit with wings, retro and as dull as Hope herself. Without humor in the first film Ant-Man, she did not improve. It is hard to imagine that she would have the wit to fall in love with Scott, which she apparently did.

The villain is less a character than a promising concept

The other big bad guy, Ghost, is a young woman named Ava (Hannah John-Kamen) whose molecules are spreading, making it virtually translucent. No wonder she's grumpy, but she's less of a character than a promising concept.

While he evades the wicked and tries to get down the rabbit's hole to save Janet, Scott becomes small and tall, small and tall, in a relentless, repetitive pattern. Cars zoom around San Francisco. There are kitschy touches, including a giant Hello Kitty Pez distributor flying in the street.

These special effects and CGIs are fluid and quickly effective, but the best moments of the movie have nothing to do with it all. Like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, with Chris Pratt, the Ant-Man series relies on its friendly hero and his jokes rather than on the explosive action of most Marvel movies. As time goes by, Ant-Man and The Wasp move away from humor, losing the identity that makes it special.

Crazy moments are however scattered. Scott and his burglar friends, led by his former prison mate Luis (Michael Pena), now run a delightful company called X-Con Security. In one episode, Scott becomes middle-aged and sneaks into a school to pick up something from his daughter's backpack. It's Rudd's frustrated and childish posture that makes the scene work, not its size. And in the comedy of the film, Janet manages to put an antenna in Scott's head, which allows Rudd to hilariously channel his loving words and worship his long-lost husband and daughter.

Rudd played a role in the scenario obviously not enough), along with four other authors including Chris McKenna and Erick Sommers, who wrote Spiderman: Homecoming. Peyton Reed directs the sequel as he did it first: with skill.

Young children can enjoy tiny flying and a giant salt shaker. For them, everything is new. Disappointed adults may wish Scott to stay under house arrest and take advantage of Rudd's comic potential. They might disagree with Lewis Carroll, who wrote of his heroine in Wonderland: "It was more enjoyable at home," thought poor Alice, "when we did not get bigger and bigger." smaller.

★★★ ☆ ☆

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