‘The Wasp’ punches above its weight

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Funny cast, zippy action scenes lift Marvel sequel

Not since Animal against the advice of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker ingested Insta-Growth pills has a movie had as much fun with scale as “Ant-Man and The Wasp.”

Among the greatest threats to the shape-shifting heroes of the Marvel sequel are windshield wipers, salt shakers and seagulls. This is surely the first movie to weaponize that most fearsome of terrors: a giant Hello Kitty Pez dispenser. In one of the film’s finest moments, a loud, careening chase culminates in a dramatic fall into the ocean sounded not with an explosive splash but with a tiny ripple and a “Plink!”

In both scale and ambition, “Ant-Man and The Wasp” is an altogether more modest affair, and it’s so much the better for it. Most Marvel movies strenuously insist on how much they matter — how much a carefully stitched together comic-book apparatus hangs in the balance — with only an occasional aside to acknowledge their inherent silliness. But slapstick is in the DNA of “Ant-Man and The Wasp.”

For some Marvel devotees, “Ant-Man and The Wasp” will be a clever enough diversion in between the more main-event releases. But it’s pretty much exactly what I’d want in a superhero movie: a funny cast, zippy action scenes and not an infinity stone in sight.

The Marvel product has, it should be noted, grown more dynamic and varied in recent years. But if you’re not going to reach the mythic heights of “Black Panther,” the light-hearted antics of “Ant-Man and The Wasp” are your next-best bet. As different as they are, the two films have one crucial thing in common: No outer space.

Just as “Black Panther” styled itself after a spy thriller, “Ant-Man” takes from the heist movie. The first installment in 2015 was a somewhat muddled franchise debut, thanks to a late director shuffle. Peyton Reed, who took over production on the first one, is back here, and he has carved out a real identity for Paul Rudd’s character, among the most self-contained in Marvel’s “cinematic universe.”

And more than its predecessor, “Ant-Man and The Wasp” has adopted the goofball charm of its leading man. Coming a few years after “Ant-Man,” Rudd’s Scott Lang is now under house arrest for his involvement in the Berlin showdown of “Captain America: Civil War.” When his 10-year-old daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) isn’t around, he passes the time playing drums and learning magic tricks. With just days to go before Randall Park’s S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is to remove Lang’s monitoring device, he’s summoned by the brains behind their last adventure: Dr. Hank Pym (a sometimes in-the-way Michael Douglas) and Pym’s daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), whose winged Ant-Man-like suit has earned her the Wasp moniker.

Damage

Pym believes his wife, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) has for the last 30 years been locked away in the “quantum realm,” a mind- and matter-bending subatomic limbo that, it turns out, has predictably done curiously little damage to the indestructible Pfeiffer. A Technicolor blur of floating blobs, the quantum realm looks like a lava lamp’s dream of heaven.

To send someone into the realm on a rescue mission, Pym and Van Dyne have built a sophisticated laboratory many stories high that, with a click of a remote, they can shrink down to carry-on size. Their plans bring them into contact with a black-market dealer (Walton Goggins) and an old academic colleague of Pym’s (Laurence Fishburne). It also attracts the interest of the film’s villain, Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), whose tragic backstory has left her burning (figuratively) and blurry (literally) with anger for being robbed of a bodily existence.

The plot is fine but many of the pleasures of “Ant-Man and The Wasp” come from its digressions. And no one better breaks down the molecular structure of a Marvel movie than Michael Pena. Every time he takes the screen, he threatens to destabilize it with his chatterbox excitement. When Pena’s Luis (Lang’s friend and business partner at X-Con Security) is given a truth serum, you pray for the movie to just let him keep talking until the end credits roll. Just as good is Park, who steals his scenes with a quieter deadpan.

There are more gags, too. A malfunctioning Ant-Man suit turns Rudd enormous or embarrassingly child-sized. A Hot Wheels-riff on the “Bullitt” car chase tumbles down the hills of San Francisco. None of this is earth-shattering stuff, but that’s part of the fun of it. Here, for once, is a Marvel movie about saving one life, not a billion.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp,” a Walt Disney Studios release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “some sci-fi action violence.” Running time: 118 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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LOS ANGELES: After a record-breaking second quarter, the domestic box office shows no signs of slowing down.

July looks to start strong as “Ant-Man and the Wasp” eyes a debut between $70 million and $80 million when it launches in 4,100 theaters on Friday. Fellow newcomer “The First Purge” is hoping to scare up a solid opening of its own, getting a jump on the Marvel tentpole by opening on the 4th of July. The fourth title in the “Purge” series should earn around $25 million during the five-day period.

If estimates hold, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” will start well ahead of the original “Ant-Man’s” $57 million debut. That Marvel movie went on to earn $519 million globally, including $180 million at the domestic box office. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly reunite as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne in the film set between the events of “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” The follow-up sees Ant-Man teaming up with Lilly as the new Wasp to carry out a mission from her father, S.H.I.E.L.D. inventor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). The cast also includes Hannah John-Kamen, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Pena, Walton Goggins, and Bobby Cannavale. Peyton Reed, who oversaw the first film, returns to the director’s chair for the 20th iteration in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Praise seems to be even stronger for the superhero sequel, which holds a promising 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. The first film, which also received universal acclaim, came in slightly lower with a 82% Rotten Tomatoes average. (Agencies)

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” comes on the heels of Marvel’s recent string of box office hits. “Avengers: Infinity War” has racked up over $2 billion and counting, while “Black Panther” hit $1.3 billion globally.

“The First Purge,” Blumhouse Productions’ latest collaboration with Universal Pictures, is opening in 3,000 theaters on Independence Day. A mid-$20 million bow would be promising given the film’s $13 million price tag. The fourth installment in the “Purge” franchise — starring Y’lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, Luna Lauren Velez, and Marisa Tomei — takes audiences all the way back to, you guessed it, the inaugural purge. “The First Purge” introduces the deranged 12-hour period set in a dystopian America where all crime is legal.

The prequel is written and produced by James DeMonaco, though it is the first film in the series he didn’t direct. Gerard McMurray took over filmmaking duties this time around, while Michael Bay, James DeMonaco, Andrew Form, Jason Blum, Bradley Fuller, and Sebastien Lemercier are producing. The most recent “Purge” was 2016’s “The Purge: Election Year,” which ended its theatrical run with $79 million in North America and $118.5 million worldwide. Combined, the franchise has earned $320 million globally. Universal is handling the international rollout, which opens day-and-date with the U.S. in 27 overseas territories.

After its two-week reign, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” will likely slip to the No. 2 spot. “Incredibles 2,” now in its fourth frame, looks to deliver solid returns as well. Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” has pocketed $265.6 million domestically and $669 million overseas. The dinosaur tentpole starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard should hit the $1 billion mark this week. Meanwhile, Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” holds a worldwide tally of $648 million, including $440 million in North America. In three weeks, it has already surpassed the entire theatrical run of 2004’s “The Incredibles” ($633 million).

At the specialty box office, Annapurna is releasing “Sorry to Bother You” in 16 locations. The comedy debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it was praised for its humor and originality. Set in an alternative present-day Oakland, Calif., “Sorry to Bother You” follows Lakeith Stanfield as a young black telemarketer who beings to excel at his job once he adopts a white accent. The directorial debut from rap artist Boots Riley boasts an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, Danny Glover, and Armie Hammer round out the cast.

Roadside Attractions’ “Whitney” — an expose on the life and career of Whitney Houston — will attempt to join a number of recent documentaries that have made their mark at the box office when it premieres this weekend in limited release. Kevin Macdonald’s feature, which screened at Cannes, has received favorable feedback. (Agencies)

By Jake Coyle

This news has been read 9177 times!