ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (2018)

7/8/18 - Ant Man and The Wasp (2018) - 4+/5-/10

The culminating conclusion of my less-than-enthusiastic viewing experience: meh. Drastically objectionable in no meaningful way, but never strives for or achieves breaking the shackles of middling mediocrity. Almost the definition of “ho-hum”, without ever being un-enjoyably bad. Achingly average, if that.

All of the charisma and wit that was in the first, is bleed out or watered down here. It was very much a “joke-by-the-numbers” effort, lacking the punch and sizzle of all of the characters and situations. I focus on the comedy, because that is its main drive. If we stray from that narrow path, the film is no less engaging or stellar. The plot is a segmented yawn, as we are propelled from one mediocre “adventure” to the next. None of them really work well, but they don’t quite fall apart either. That is unless you look at the logic on display…

I do appreciate that Lilly’s Hope character moves passed being a love interest into the true badass of the film, but she is given little to work with beyond that. Every character here is fairly one-note and uninteresting, unless you are questioning “how, why, or what?” with them, and in that case you have endless fodder. This is most present in the villain Ghost and in Pfeiffer’s Janet, neither of which has any real explanation for how they are existentially and what they do/can do. You are just expected not to question too much, because answers will not be forthcoming.

I think the fun and specialness of the first Ant-Man, which was no outstanding achievement, is lacking here. There isn’t the magnetism or narrative flair. It just isn’t captivating in any way. Again, it is not bad though. It never stops to breath and there is plenty going on constantly. I suppose that is plenty for many viewers. It is light non-challenging, but oh so plain. It was the equivalent of a cinematic sparkler: constantly bright and progressing, but signifying nothing, giving you little to really excite, and once its done, leaving you no more fulfilled than before you lit it.