This Week's Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp

The weekend of July 7 was enlivened by the opening of the latest Marvel comic book movie, “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” I had been awaiting it with enthusiasm. It was worth the wait, and I enjoyed the film, but I came away slightly disappointed.

The film answers the question of why Ant-Man did not appear in “Avengers: Infinity War.” I won’t reveal the answer, but it is logical, and I can safely say that there is a strong connection to the events in “Captain America: Civil War.”

The special effects are amazing, and go far beyond anything in the original comic books. The film introduces a character I had almost forgotten about, Bill Foster, aka “Black Goliath.”

The cast is good, particularly Michael Douglas as the curmudgeonly Henry Pym, the first Ant-Man, but I confess that I was somewhat disappointed in Evangeline Lilly, the Wasp. She was much better in the first film about Ant-Man; she looks different in this film, and never seems comfortable with her character. The repartee between her and Scott Lang, the current Ant-Man, is good, but, again, it was better in the first film.

Despite those quibbles, I did enjoy the film. Be sure to stay through the credits; there is an essential scene that ties this film to
“Avengers: Infinity War.” There is a second clip at the very end of the credits, but it adds nothing to the story line.

For the July 14 weekend, I will probably see “Skyscraper,” even though it resembles nothing more than a hybrid version of “Towering Inferno” and the first “Die Hard.”