While D.C. has chosen to approach movies based on comic books from a far more serious angle, Marvel has always seemed to recognize the delightful absurdity of movies based on books filled with characters who shout silly catch phrases while running around with their underwear on the outside of their clothes. As a result, every installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has included some comic relief. Even the most serious movie, Black Panther, included enough levity to assure that audiences would have fun. Other movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, and Ant-Man, seemed to be evenly split between action and humor.
While those included many funny moments, there has never been a full fledged comedy... until now.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is a comedy that mixes in enough action scenes to ensure that fans looking for an adrenaline rush don't walk away disappointed. Because I am often very sarcastic, I feel it is essential to clarify that I am not saying this movie is a "comedy of errors" or is so bad that it is unintentionally funny. This movies was written to make the audience laugh and it delivered in a huge way!
While I was watching the film, something very unique occurred. Usually during comic book movies, at certain points, I find myself thinking, "I wish they would stop talking and get to the action already." For the first time, it was the exact opposite. Please don't get me wrong, there was plenty of action and the fight sequences and special effects were awesome... but the laughs were better.
The producers of this movie absolutely nailed it. Ant-Man is about a hero who shrinks down to a tiny size to fight evil. A tiny little man punches bad guys and somehow generates enough momentum to knock them down. That is absurd! These movies could not possibly take themselves too seriously. They had to get the audience laughing so they could jump into this silly reality.
After leaving the theater, I was actually fatigued from laughing. I could not believe how much my entire family had just laughed. About 30 seconds ago, I figured out how that was possible. Ant-Man and the Wasp was written by comedy writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Not only have these two written sitcoms including American Dad and Community, these guys wrote The Lego Batman Movie which is one of the five funniest kids movies I have ever seen!
When I wasn't laughing, I never got bored. The story is interesting if you are willing to complete suspend your disbelief. It centers around Scott (Ant-Man) trying to help Hank Pym and his daughter Hope (The Wasp) save her mother from being trapped in "The Quantum Realm" (turning suspension of belief to 11). The already difficult task is complicated by Ghost, a villain who can phase through solid objects at will.
The fight scenes involving Ant-Man and Wasp growing and shrinking while Ghost phases in and out are simply spectacular! Once again, the special effects team managed to show me some things I had never seen before.
I was absolutely THRILLED with the casting of Ghost! She is portrayed by Hannah John-Kamen who stars as Dutch in the very underrated Syfy show Killjoys. John-Kaman is a trained ballet dancer. So what? Nice piece of trivia huh? No. She is a trained ballet dancer. This means she is incredibly athletic and is able to pull off some very cool physical fight moves in both Killjoys and Ant-Man and the Wasp. She also happens to be a fine actress so I am incredibly excited that she has been properly introduced to the world. (Yes I know she was also in Game of Thrones and Ready Player One but she really shines here.)
My 13 year old son and 11 year old daughter both loved this movie. While my son and I were busy whispering (very, very, quietly I swear) about Easter eggs, my daughter was still laughing at a previous joke. Perhaps hearing her nearly constant giggle positively biased my opinion of this movie a little bit... but who cares? It was an incredibly fun experience and I can't wait to see it again!
This is very important:
You must stay for the first post credit scene. The scene gives important plot information for the upcoming Marvel movies.
The second post credit scene is not worth waiting for. It seems to be thrown in just to make sure the audience does not leave on a serious note. Not only was the seen spoiled in the previews, it is pretty useless. One fellow audience member blurted out "That's it?" after waiting through all of the credits to see it. My entire family (except my giggling daughter) agreed.
Geeky Guy's Movie Guide
Number of times I fell asleep: 0
Number of eye rolls: 0 (Suspension of disbelief turned up to 11)
Number of face palms: 0 (Although you have to accept that Matchbox cars can keep up with real ones )
Number of times I checked steemit: 0
Number of times I said "That's ridiculous": 0 (Suspension of disbelief still turned up to 11)
Did my kids like it: They LOVED it!
Would I see it without my kids: At least twice
Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: Full price in a high quality theater.
