Ant-Man (2015) entered the party rather aloof, its foot in the door and seemingly unsure of itself. How could it not be? The construction of the story was passed around between different writers and directors; the film had nearly no chance of solving its own identity. Ant-Man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) really just crawled his way into familiarity, thanks to the Avengers team who piggybacked him into the story.

Ant-Man and the Wasp feels more assured and at least a little more confident in itself. Ranging from the comic-book capacity of drama seen in The Avengers: Infinity War (2018) to the self-referential Guardians of the Galaxy (2014 and 2017), the film lies somewhere in the middle, a place more willing and giving to its audience to crack a joke and an authentic smile once in a while, yet also delivering in the Slam! Pow! action that translates from comic book to screen.

Does the film all work? Not necessarily. There are plot points paved over so aberrantly heavily that it seems as if part of the joke is not explaining things to its audience. But even plot flaws are forgivable. The film’s main weakness, however enjoyable throughout, is that it rides into heroic battle without the backbone it seems to promise. The Wasp, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), is listed in the title, but her significance to the story and action does not amount to as much as should have been promised.

The Dove Take:

There is plenty of heroism to go around in the film, not just from both Ant-Man and The Wasp, but also from supporting characters like Scott’s friend Luis (Michael Pena) and even Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). The film gives the comic adaptation room to breathe and lets several heroes show their true colors. Although Ant-Man and The Wasp suffers from the technicalities, there are a lot of positive messages to extract. Dove awards Ant-Man and The Wasp approval for ages 12+. We encourage families to suss out these themes and, with a sense of fun and adventure, escape into the realm of superheroism once more this summer.