Ant-Man and the Wasp is out in theaters, which means that we have finally hit the 20 movie mark in the MCU. While the last installment of the MCU brought us the existence-wide devastation that was Infinity War, Marvel switched gears with Ant-Man and the Wasp. Instead of a high-stakes, reality-bending conquest for power, Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne's second adventure brought us a story filled with size-changing cars, the word "quantum" in front of every science-sounding word imaginable, and a giant Pez dispenser. And the result? A fun superhero movie with important tie-ins to the upcoming Avengers 4.
In some ways, it's not even fair for a movie like Ant-Man and the Wasp to follow a major crossover event like Infinity War. With most of the events happening before the dreaded snap of death, some of the movie's brilliant moments could get lost in the sheer anticipation of what is still to come. And after a movie filled with events that affect the entire universe, a story where the fate of everything doesn't hang in the balance can almost feel like hitting the breaks while the story is building momentum. Regardless, there are some absolutely wonderful things about Ant-Man and the Wasp, as well as a few things we could do without. And while we could talk about that all day, we picked 10 things that we loved about the latest installment of the MCU, and 10 things we were less than thrilled about.
WARNING: Massive spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp ahead!
20 LOVED: LUIS RECAPS SCOTT AND HOPE'S RELATIONSHIP
Luis’ recap of events was one of the best gags in Ant-Man. With such a legacy, it would have been criminal if Ant-Man and the Wasp didn't give Luis a chance to catch someone up on an important sequence of events. And during his truth serum rants, Luis' summary of Scott and Hope's relationship certainly took the cake.
Sonny might have been looking for where Scott was in a geographical sense, but we were more than happy to hear about where Scott was emotionally. Is anyone else still pulling for a recap of the MCU's complete history told like this?
19 DIDN'T: CHANGES TO JANET VAN DNYE
In a movie dripping with various scientific experts, we're not entirely sure why Janet Van Dyne was one of them. In the comics, the original Wasp is many things: an expert fighter, a world-renown fashion designer, and a founding member of the Avengers -- even their leader for a time.
What she was not was a scientist, which makes her occupation as a brilliant scientist in the movie a tad surprising. It's not like we had a shortage of scientists studying the Quantum Realm. Was it really necessary to change an established comic book character like Jan so she could enter one algorithm in one scene?
18 LOVED: TRUTH SERUM
Truth serum, the age-old tool of interrogators, is traditionally sodium pentothal. While romanticized as a reliable method for gaining information in comics, spy novels, and pulp-fiction, the actual results of "truth serum" are not always the actual truth. Apart from causing rants, truth serum opens leaves a person open to suggestion.
Considering its shortcomings, actual truth serum doesn't technically exist. Unless, of course, we're talking about superheroes. In that case, it does exist, but the man who created it still believes truth serum doesn't exist, even though he's using it to get the truth from Luis. It's kind of ridiculous and kind of brilliant all at once.
17 DIDN'T: A POTENTIAL WASTE OF BILL FOSTER
Dr. Bill Foster was a welcome addition to the MCU. Laurence Fishburne did an excellent job portraying the scientist and honestly, we're a little sad we didn't get to see him suited up as Goliath. From what we gathered in the movie, Foster's ability to grow didn't amount to much -- only 21 feet, to be exact.
And unlike the Ant-Man movie where we at least had photos and flashbacks back to Hank Pym's days as Ant-Man, we sadly have to take Foster's word on his exploits as a giant. Hopefully, we haven't seen the last of Bill Foster. If not, then it's a terrible waste of an amazing character.
16 LOVED: THE QUANTUM REALM
We only saw a glimpse of the Quantum Realm when Ant-Man came out in 2015, but the movie ended with the understanding that we would see more of it in the coming movies. Even after focusing most of Ant-Man and the Wasp on this mysterious realm, we have quite a lot to learn about it, but we loved what we saw.
Aside from being visually stunning, the Quantum Realm promises to be an excellent source of weird creatures, strange powers, and confusing comic book science. Not to mention, it's strange scientific properties would make it an epic destination for a superhero fight.
15 DIDN'T: FOOTAGE FROM THE TRAILER NOT IN THE MOVIE
It's a common crime in movies today: the trailer promises us a certain action sequence, a particular one-liner, or some other amazing lure that makes us want to buy a movie ticket months in advance. And then the movie hits theaters, and that particular shot, line, or scene is nowhere to be found.
And while we hoped this movie would be the exception, that is sadly not the case. Among other offenses, some of Ant-Man and Wasps' fighting sequences and banter were cut from the movie, as well as a few of Luis' lines (and that is just a crime).
14 LOVED: TIE-IN TO INFINITY WAR
With Ant-Man's absence from Infinity War, fans knew Ant-Man and the Wasp would have to have some sort of tie-in to the movie that killed off half the universe. And while we knew the movie would inevitably come to a scene where heroes turned to dust, the first post-credits scene left us even more hyped for Avengers 4 than ever.
With Lang trapped in the Quantum Realm, speculation about the realm's connection to other powerful forces like the Soul Stone is looking more and more plausible. However the narrative plays out going forward, we can't wait to see how Ant-Man is involved in saving the universe.
13 DIDN'T: THE PORTABLE LAB
It sounds like a great idea -- a lab the size of a large building that can be shrunk to travel size, rolled onto the street and loaded into a car. Pym’s portable lab enabled him to build a quantum gateway while on the run, and move his base of operations with little trouble.
It’s incredibly convenient, at least, it is unless someone picks it up, steals it and disables the tracker. And somehow, the sudden appearance or disappearance of the building is never noticed, even when it disappears from a city’s skyline. Seriously, how is no one in the city picking up on the fact that an entire building was literally carried away?
12 LOVED: FORESHADOWING CASSIE AS A HERO
While fans have speculated for months now that Cassie Lang will make an appearance as a superhero, fans aren't the only ones thinking about her future. While Cassie's allusions to Ant-Man needing a partner in the trailers appeared to be referring to Hope, Cassie was actually referring to herself in the movie.
As time travel will be an important aspect of Avengers 4 and Emma Fuhrmann is all but officially confirmed to play Cassie Lang's older self, we've been mentally preparing to see Ant-Man's daughter live up to her legacy. And if what we saw in Ant-Man and the Wasp is any indication, Ant-Man's daughter is mentally preparing for it, too.
11 DIDN'T: THE SOKOVIA ACCORDS DEAL
As briefly explained in Infinity War, the government put pressure on Scott Lang’s family for his actions in Civil War. After threatening his family, we would have expected his punishment for helping Captain America to be long and hard. As it turns out, the government was more than happy to forgo the 20 years of prison if Lang agreed to a few years of house arrest and then a few more years on parole.
While half the Avengers are fugitives in over 100 countries, Ant-Man has no mandatory assignments from the government and no time in jail, just a little mandatory good behavior. And fooling the government while he played superhero was a piece of cake. Why is everyone afraid of the Sokovia Accords again?
10 LOVED: STAN LEE CAMEO
A movie isn't a Marvel movie without a Stan Lee cameo. Spotting the Marvel legend in every Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four movie is an absolute necessity nowadays, and Ant-Man and the Wasp is no exception to the rule. Even in the rare instances where he isn't present for the film, a prominent image of Stan is bound to pop up at some point in the movie.
As the last Marvel movie before Ant-Man and the Wasp, Deadpool 2, only had a picture of Stan on a billboard, we were all the more pleased that she showed up in the MCU's latest film to contemplate his actions from the '60s.
9 DIDN'T: THE MYSTERY BUYERS
Eager to get in on the ground level of quantum energy, the nebulous black market dealer Sonny lined up a few buyers that absolutely no one asked for. From what we gather, these buyers aren’t the sort of folk to disappoint, and fear of letting them down drives Sonny to pursue Pym and his tech throughout the film.
The only problem is that we never get even a hint or a post-credits scene that shows who Sonny is so afraid of. Is it A.I.M., some new upshoot of Hydra, or maybe an Ant-Man villain from the comics? Why build up some nameless group of people when there are scores of Marvel characters and organizations to choose from?
8 LOVED: HOPE AS THE WASP
If Hope Van Dyne is any indication, Marvel is moving in the right direction with their female superheroes. The Wasp is an excellent balance of intellect, skill, wit, and feelings, and Evangeline Lily's portrayal of her is amazing. She's not a damsel in distress, and helps Ant-Man in battle just as much he helps her.
And while yes, she does have a romantic relationship with another superhero in the movie, it's not her main focus at all. Her relationship with Scott isn't her only desire in the entire world, and it doesn't come close to compromising her goals or her jeopardizing her mission.
7 DIDN'T: SONNY'S UNDERWHELMING OPERATION
Ah, the mysterious Sonny Burch, dealer of black market objects and middle-man for cutting-edge business deals. He has connections to federal agents, a knack for setting up mysterious buyers, and an embarrassing lack of resources when it comes to getting a job done.
Sonny might be scary enough to exchange a few parts and set up some shady buyers, but his lack of men and resources needed to get his hands on Pym’s tech is almost embarrassing. Granted, the truth serum was amazing, but for a man who boasts about such incredible connections and acts like his word is law, his operation was a tad underwhelming.
6 LOVED: FIGHT AND CHASE SCENES
With a host of spies and nigh-omnipotent superheroes out there, it's easy for fight scenes and chase scenes to get repetitive and unoriginal very fast. However, things are a little bit different when your superheroes can grow and shrink, and your villain can walk through walls.
While we saw a little bit of size-changing fighting during Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp took it to a new level with size changing cars. Add excellent choreography, Ghost's phasing abilities, and a Hello Kitty Pez dispenser, and you have some quirky but top-notch fight and chase scenes that can't be found anywhere else.
5 DIDN'T: NO EARTH-SHATTERING DANGER
Typically in a superhero movie, we expect the superhero to save the day. And if we’re counting saving Janet Van Dyne or helping Ava, then Ant-Man and the Wasp fits the bill perfectly. But if we’re interested in saving the multiverse, the galaxy, planet Earth, or even just a few streets in New York City, then the movie is more than lacking in the heroics department.
Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a good rescue mission, but the last MCU movie we saw ended with half of all existence dying. A film with no imminent danger seems to be a step in the wrong direction at this point.
4 LOVED: GHOST
From the moment she popped up in the trailer, Ghost promised to be an intriguing character. With S.H.I.E.L.D. training, powers (at least for a little while) from quantum energy, and a cool containment suit, Ava Starr made an impressive start in the MCU. What set her apart though was her all-consuming desire to survive, even if it cost her the few relationships she had.
While she appeared to have patched things up with Bill Foster and the Ant-Man team, only time will tell what happens the next time she isn't able to get the quantum energy she needs to survive. While we didn't see if she survived the snap of death, we certainly hope she shows up in Phase 4.
3 DIDN'T: CONFLICT TOO EASILY RESOLVED
It’s not that we necessarily want our heroes to suffer terribly (not that much, anyway) but we certainly want them to feel like they’ve earned their victory, too. And as far as happily ever afters go, this one arguably came a little quickly. Pym easily pulled Bill Foster to his side without addressing years of disdain and professional disagreement.
The second Janet Van Dyne came out of the Quantum Realm, she healed Ava and everyone was happy. The Feds might suspect Lang is up to something, but they have no way of proving it. Granted, the Infinity War tie-in certainly sets up for Avengers 4, but the actual story itself resolved very quickly with little difficulty.
2 LOVED: X-CON
After saving the world from the likes of Darren Cross, it was time for Scott, Luis, Dave, and Kurt to earn a living in a business environment less than friendly towards former criminals. As we learned in the movie, they put their talents to use as a security consulting company brilliantly named X-Con Security Consultants.
We're not sure which is better, the fact that ex-convicts would actually be excellent security consultants or the fact that they used X-Con in their name. Either way, it's awesome, and we're glad they now have enough clients to pay for fancy breakfast pastries and carwashes that include washing the undercarriage.
1 DIDN'T: LAME POST-CREDIT SCENE
At this point, post-credit scenes are a Marvel staple. If we sit through 10-15 minutes of scrolling names, we expect to see Bucky waking up in Wakanda, Teen Groot playing video games, or Cap giving a lecture about patience. Ant-Man and the Wasp’s first post-credit scene, the one that showed up about two minutes into the credits, was a tie-in to Infinity War that ended on a cliffhanger.
Awesome. But the second post-credits scene? The one we had to watch all of the credits to see? That was just a few seconds of an ant playing the drums, and we’d already seen an ant do that in the movie trailers. Come on, Marvel, you can do better than that.