You all know what we here for so let’s not waste any time shall we?
Well, that’s a tricky question. In the grand scheme of Avengers Doomsday (and Endgame), it’s probably worth watching for the characters and concepts it introduces. In terms of the actual quality of the film? It’s just very okay.
Front and centre is Paul Rudd back again as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, and to be honest, this may be the funniest performance from him in the MCU! They really let him dig into his comedic chops here and the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the result is an absolutely joyous time watching Rudd just do whatever pops into his head. You can tell that his fingerprints were all over this script, between the scenes of him on house arrest to his banter with the rest of his little gang and even his relationship with Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym, Rudd really shines in this film! His relationship with his daughter really is the heart and soul of these movies, with the young girl playing Cassie just killing it with her comedic timing. It’s rare you see this type of relationship in a superhero film so purely for that I’d say to check it out.
The movie itself revolves around Hank and Hope trying to retrieve Janet from the Quantum Realm after she interacted with Scott on his way down during the last Ant-Man. This is a perfectly fine story to follow, there’s honestly not really that much to say about it. It makes sense for the characters and is a natural evolution to their character arcs from the previous film. Douglas has around the same amount to do as he did in the first one, and is still as charmingly gruff as ever but this time around, Evangeline Lily’s Hope gets to suit up as The Wasp which is met with mixed results to be honest. I’m not sure if it’s Lily’s performance or the writing of the character but I could never really get that invested in her as a character. Bringing her to the forefront for this sequel was a smart move to flesh her out except they barely do much to flesh her out. Most of her conflict comes from Scott’s actions in Civil War, and even then they pretty much forgive him by the second act. I wish they were able to give her more to do and be more of her own character, but sadly that chance seems to have passed us by.
The villain in this film is Ava Starr aka Ghost, played by the brilliant Hannah John-Kamen. She’s actually one of Marvel’s better villains in my opinion, as she’s incredibly sympathetic and isn’t inherently bad but she is out of necessity. Visually her powers are cool and slightly underutilised by director Peyton Reed, but the script more than makes up for that with the foundation of a great character (more on that later). There is also a smaller villain in Sonny Burch, played by Walton Goggins and my god what a waste of a great actor! He should be a big time villain or at least a recurring one! Not a one and done! Look, no one is really here for the story or the villains, it’s mainly for Paul Rudd doing funny things and shrinking (or growing) a lot.
One of the reasons I liked the first Ant-Man so much was because the DNA of Edgar Wright was still all over it. From the shot composition to the casting to the script, it’s pretty much still his movie, they just brought someone in to finish it when he left. Losing that aspect now, you can clearly tell that Peyton Reed isn’t really a director with flair or a vision, as this film is very visually dull and the action often feels uninspired. You have two characters who shrink, and you don’t once think to do an extended action sequence from their POV? I don’t know what they were thinking allowing Reed to make the film as sauceless as this!
Overall, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a fine way to kill 2 hours, it’s fun, it’s stupid and it’s frequently funny. However, if you’re looking for something with a bit more kick or identity, then this film probably isn’t the one you’re looking for.
Well for starters, this film introduces the foundation of what will become the key to time travel in Avengers Endgame. That being the Quantum Realm, this film explores a lot of the inner workings of the Quantum Realm and very clearly sets up a specific aspect of that which is used to solve the problems left behind by Infinity War. The thing is, from there it becomes the foundation of the Multiverse in a sense. As in the MCU, the Multiverse is defined as “branching timelines” which are directly caused by changes to the timeline that branch off to create it’s own continuity. So, if you want to know EVERYTHING about the foundation of the Multiverse, then this film (and specifically it’s post-credit scene) are your way to do so.
On top of that, this film also introduces a character that is one of the main “New Avengers” within Avengers Doomsday, Ava Starr aka Ghost. She becomes a freelance assassin who works for the government, and is then recruited by Valentina who then invertedly sends her on the path to joining the Thunderbolts, who THEN become the New Avengers. Whilst I don’t know the scale of her role within Avengers Doomsday, I can be certain of the fact that this film is the only other film besides Thunderbolts in which she appears and has actual development. So, just on that front I’d say give this a watch to enhance your experience of both Avengers Doomsday and Thunderbolts!
That’s about it really, this film is both consequential and inconsequential to the wider MCU, a feat that’s really impressive when you think about it. I can’t say that this is a must watch for Doomsday but it would certainly help things along, so I guess I’ll leave it down to you!
Iron Man - Yes
The Incredible Hulk - No
Iron Man 2 - Yes
Thor - Yes
Captain America: The First Avenger - Yes
The Avengers - YES, PRIORITISE
Iron Man 3 - Yes
Thor: The Dark World - No
Captain America: The Winter Soldier - YES, PRIORITISE
Guardians of the Galaxy - No
Avengers: Age of Ultron - Yes
Ant-Man - Preference
Captain America: Civil War - YES, PRIORITISE
Doctor Strange - Yes
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 - No
Spider-Man: Homecoming - Preference
Thor: Ragnarok - Yes
Black Panther - Yes
Avengers Infinity War - YES, PRIORITISE
Ant-Man and the Wasp - Preference
That’ll be it for the Doomsday Countdown this week! Thank you so much for reading and sticking alongside me for this journey through the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Join me again next week as we go over the film in the MCU that I will defend until my last breath, the debut of one of my favourite women in the whole Marvel universe, Captain Marvel!
Don’t forget to leave a like and subscribe so you don’t miss any of the future Doomsday Countdown posts! If you want something a bit more varied, I also do posts on Wednesdays and Fridays about all things film and media! Not just nerdy Marvel stuff! Check it out!
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