Ant-Man and the Wasp

Stars: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip 'T.I.' Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas

Director: Peyton Reed

While Marvel/Disney's Ant-Man was fast and flashy, in the final analysis it was fun but mostly forgettable.

Here, thanks to hard work on both sides of the camera (the special effects, in particular, that convincingly create the titular characters, along with bizarre quantum realms and sizzling screens of action and fantasy in Darkest San Francisco are Oscar-worthy) along with car chases that would make Bullitt envious, Ant-Man and Wasp Woman fly high.

This time out, Rudd spends his time polishing his drumming skills while consigned to house arrest until he boldly goes where no Ant-Man has gone before into weird and wonderful quantum zones along with Wasp-Woman to solve his emotional hang-ups and save lives...

Movie magic creates everything from giant seagulls to a building that conveniently shrinks to the size of a briefcase so that it can be picked up and carried variously by the villains and the Good Guys, Pfeiffer makes a welcome appearance, Fishburne, Pena and Goggins do all that is required of them while director Reed does a splendid job of making the fun (if hardy credible) story move briskly with fortunately few narrative holes.

Alan Frank

USA 2018. UK Distributor: Walt Disney. Colour.
113 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 17 Dec 2018

DVD review