<Review by: Daylynn DeSouza>

Directed by Peyton Reed. Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Micheal Peña, Bobby Cannavale, Walton Goggins, Judy Greer, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas

Running time: 2 hours

After Avengers: Infinity War it seems like Marvel has nowhere to go but down. Which is exactly what they did, but in a surprisingly positive way. There’s not as much back-story to keep up with and the stakes aren’t as high. This is a huge positive in my book because it lets you wind down, take a breath and just have a laugh… Until the mid-credits scene.

Much like the first movie, this one can work well as a standalone film; there are a few references to the first Ant-Man movie, Captain American: Civil War and a mid-credit scene linked to Infinity War but nothing I feel would ruin your enjoyment of this movie, unless you’re exceedingly bitter. Despite being in the awkward position of being sandwiched between Infinity War and Captain Marvel, just as the last Ant-Man movie was sandwiched between Age of Ultron and Civil War, this movie holds it own.

Picking up two years after the events of Captain America: Civil War, this movie focuses on the microverse and getting Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the original Wasp out of it. Unfortunately, the main antagonist of this film known as The Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) also needs Janet so that she can finally escape pain and death. This to me is a far better motivation that the motivations of the villains in the first Ant-Man and Iron Man who were just bald guys who wanted money and power (which were both portrayed extremely well and worked brilliantly, but it’s a bit overdone in retrospect). The second tier villains in this movie have that as their motivation (the money and power bit, not the bald bit). My only gripe with this movie is the plug and play convenience of components used for highly sophisticated quantum tech.

Paul Rudd brings his trademark wit and charm to us once more as Scott Lang. Michael Douglas is still a perfect Hank Pym. Evangeline Lilly got a lot more to do this time around as Hope van Dyne and The Wasp, and it was brilliant. Her fight scenes with the Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) gave me the exact thrill I got while watching the fight choreography in Infinity War. Not a single super power was wasted.

Abby Ryder Fortson, the little girl who played Cassie, Scott’s daughter, was brilliant and is well on her way to being Stinger from the comics. This movie sets up her desire to be a hero just like her dad really well and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we get to see her in a Young Avengers movie really soon. Laurence Fishburne is brilliant as always and is a great Dr. Bill Foster. But, the crowning glory of this movie has to be Michael Peña as Luis who is brilliantly hilarious. He simply steals the show with his comedic brilliance.

That being said, this movie continues to focus on familial relationships, namely Scott and his daughter Cassie and her desire to be more like her dad; Scott mending his relationship with Hank and Hope after the events of Civil War and Hank and Hope reuniting with Janet after nearly 30 years. Even our main antagonists form a familial bond at the end of the movie.

The visuals are stunning especially new bits of the microverse that we see and the de-ageing tech used in flashbacks to a younger Hank Pym., but once again, the 3D was a bit wasted. Unlike Infinity War however the 3D doesn’t really pull you out of the story so it’s not all bad. If you still insist on watching movies in 3D then watch it at IMAX or don’t bother and just watch it in 2D, which would be my recommendation anyway. But, to truly enjoy this movie watch it on DVD or Blu-Ray because the Indian censor board has had its pointless crack at censoring naughty words once again. What a bunch of *****!