Five Random Things I Loved About Ant-Man and The Wasp

I was invited to a complimentary early screening of “Ant-Man and the Wasp” in exchange for my review. All opinions are mine.

I hate sequels. On principle.

I go into every sequel, all jaded that this is going to suck. Sequels have to work so much harder than the original movies to convince me to like them.

So of course, I went into Ant-Man and The Wasp thinking I was going to hate it.

I really like it when Marvel proves me wrong.

I would love to get into the nitty gritty details of why I loved this movie, but there are so many fine points and I HATE spoiling movies for people, so instead of a minute-by-minute breakdown on why this movie is my favorite of all the Marvel sequels (yes, even over Thor)…I would like to present you with this:

Five Random Things I Loved About Ant-Man and The Wasp

Luis (played by Michael Peña). There is so much more screen time for his character in this movie, and it thrilled me to my very core. His rambling stories where his voice is played as the voices of various characters (like this one) are one of my favorite scenes in any movie anywhere. They’re just silly and remind me so much of myself trying to tell a story and he’s so ridiculous and relatable, you just can’t help but love him.
The Bechdel Test. This movie passes it. There are several scenes with women (who have names that you know) talking to each other about something that isn’t a man (and in this case, is very STEM-y and rad). There are multiple femail main characters, and they are not there for “window dressing”, which I love.
The blended family dynamic. Being the parent in a blended family situation, I know how valuable it can be if the other parent (and their spouse/partner) will work with you in a harmonious manner, and I know how difficult it can be if they won’t. In this movie, Maggie (Judy Greer) and Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) co-parent their daughter with Scott in such a badass way, supporting him in his rather boring house arrest and just being awesome all together.
Life lessons learned through superheroes. “Hurt people hurt people.” “Never underestimate the power of listening to your tribe.” “Bigger is not always better.” So many life lessons you can pick up from this movie – find yours. (And let me know what it is!)
The whole anti-hero-ness of it all. Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is a mess. He’s not regal and serene like Captain America. He’s not hunky and god-like as Thor is. He’s the dude you chat up in the coffee shop about his nerdy teeshirt, or the book he’s reading or the funny case he has on his phone. He (awkwardly) fell into this whole superhero madness, and he’s still not really used to it (but he’s really enjoying it). He’s a hot mess sometimes, and needs help coming into his aweseomeness sometimes.