A Geeky Dad’s Movie Guide to Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

in #movie-review6 years ago

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.)


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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.





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I'll have to see this with my son, but he's just gone away for a few weeks. I'll just have to wait a while. We enjoyed Antman a lot. I don't think superheroes should be taken too seriously. What they do is generally ridiculous.

I agree! I think adding comedy is a great way to keep the audience engaged. I think that DC doesn't do this as gracefully. In my opinion superhero movies need to either be funny or rated R so that they can show what fight scenes would look like if super powers really existed. Logan is a great example. It is gritty and dirty but it is believable that there would be blood and guts EVERYWHERE if a guy ran around with claws in his hands kicking the shit out of people.

DC happens to fall in the middle of serious and funny and because of that, they end up quite corny...

I think it will be worth the wait. I bet he will really enjoy it.

I think it will be
Worth the wait. I bet he will
Really enjoy it.

                 - hanshotfirst


I'm a bot. I detect haiku.

I was not much interested in watching this movie but now I think I should give it a shot.... And @hanshotfirst, I liked the way you wrote this review. (Writing film reviews was a part of my curriculum and I can say that this would have impressed my teacher) ;)

Thanks! I try to just write them as if I am giving advice to a friend if they should spend their time on it or not.

That's exactly what makes your review all the more interesting. And one more thing.... I'm waiting for more :)

I continue to be blown away by the way Marvel seems to have mastered their craft. Just when you think they can't do it any better, they totally captivate you again. I have yet to see this film but it is on my must-see list as is every single installment of this franchise. What amazes me is how they keep evolving these stories while at the same time intertwining them into these epic Avenger films. The comedic factor of the movies has increased and gotten better with every film. I think what makes that so good is exactly what you mentioned. The comedy is an add-on and the story and the action is all still there. Nothing is lost by adding the humour. Rather, it is enhanced. I agree with your response to an earlier comment that Dead Pool, hilarious, is kind of in a different category and is intended for a more mature audience. Paul Rudd is a funny guy to begin with so I think he was a great choice when casting this character. I was a little leary before the first film but he got me on his side pretty quick. What I love about the films is how funny they have made Thor's character. His seriousness and literalness when saying some of the things he says or interacting with people are so funny. I guess its time to head to the movies again.

I felt the exact same way about Paul Rudd. I thought they had lost their minds. I love the guy but he did not seem like a comic book hero. then I saw their plan and was immediately thrilled with their choice.

Now Ant Man and the wasp ready on
http://bit.ly/antmanthewaspMovie Enjoy it

Hope that ant-man will be an great success, still i didn't watched this movie but i will watch soon. But whenever i hear Ant then for sure we can understand an pattern.

And it's out of context but in my opinion Ants use amazing technique and if anyone will observe the actions of Ant then we can also learn something from them and that is Discipline.

And for sure this movie is reflecting as full action oriented movie and that GIF telling one awesome aspect of the movie. And also reflecting as awesome Graphics used.

And i hope that more awesome movies will going to come in future and i personally like the movies which based on Biographies in that way we can connect in more aspect.

Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂

I like to read your suggestions, since I love movies, today I seem to be in luck, in my city is already in premiere this movie, what I like most is that you make your family suggestion, particularly I see movies with my son and nephews, so it is necessary to have an opinion based on them also, also if you laughed until the fatigue is worth watching, thank you.

I hope you and the kids enjoy it!

Can't wait to see it! How funny is it compared to the Guardians of the Galaxy? I think both vol. 1 and 2 are the funniest Marvel movies out there! Along with Deadpool of course! The first one left my actually laughing out loud!

You have me pumped to see it! Fingers crossed that I will have time this weekend!

I agree with you about Guardians. But I also thought Thor Ragnarok was surprisingly funny. And I did accidentally leave out Deadpool. I was thinking of that as part of a different universe but I loved both of those.

Deadpool is very adult humor so that is in a different category. As far as Guardians vs Ant-Man and the Wasp, I think Ant-Man and the Wasp is funnier... but that might be because of some bias from seeing it more recently.

I'll be curious to see what you thought of it after you see it.

I agree with Thor and funnier than the GG is a bold statement! haha I will let you know! :)

My family and I loved Ant-man and The Wasp!! We thought it was better than the first Ant-man movie.

I knew I liked your family for a reason!

Even though I am a Marvel fan, I wasn't convinced to go see this movie, in fact, my girlfriend was the one who convinced me to go see it and the truth, was the best decision. .. very good effects, plot and comedy. And it captivated me even more when I saw the first scene of the credits.

Now that is a movie review

Question: what is he moral of rhe story??
What was the story asking people to explore?

I found that the movie was about family dynamics and gave us three versions of relationships to explore.

Thanks! I like how you look for deep meaning even in comic book movies. I try to do the same.

Comics and movies are incredibly influential. That might be why Disney purchased: Marvel, Lucas and Fox.

I like knowing what messages the movies are conveying and I like maintaining my critical thinking.

Movies are like food - you are what you eat and it becomes part of you.

Thank you for your reviews.