SPOILER WARNING! This review discusses and/or mentions a few important plot points. If you would prefer not to have these spoiled, please stop reading now and come back once you've seen the film.
Following on from his part in the battle between the Avengers on the Leipzig airfield in Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang has been sentenced to two years' house arrest in lieu of going to prison. With just days to go until freedom, he gets drawn back in to helping Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne who believe they can rescue Hank's wife Janet from the Quantum Realm where she has been trapped for thirty years. However with a bunch of black marketeers and a quantum-phasing 'Ghost' on their tail, not to mention the US Government, Scott is in for an eventful couple of days...
It's a high-energy, fun romp, playing on the heist elements of the first film but adding a literal whole new world as the Quantum Realm is explored in more detail.
Performances are good. Paul Rudd is as likeable as usual as Scott, balancing trying to stay out of trouble versus helping people out. Matching him in likeability and strength is Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp, an equal within the film in every way. Michael Douglas gets some great irascible one-liners as Hank, whilst Michael Pena, T.I., and David Dastmalchian provide a lot of the laughs as Scott's old crew (especially when they're under the influence of something which is most definitely not a truth serum). There's also a lovely turn by Abby Ryder Fortson as Scott's young daughter Cassie. Juvenile performances can often be a minefield, either going to too winsome or precocious, but Fortson balances it well, giving a laugh or two as well as providing the heart.
Of the new cast, Hannah John-Kamen is strong as the villain Ghost (here, Ava Starr). They've gender-swapped the character from the original comic books, but it fits. There's an interesting theme about the relationships between fathers and daughters: Scott and Cassie, Hank and Hope, and Ava and her real faither (a scientist who worked for Hank) and her relationship with her surrogate father. Another positive is, yet again, we have a villain with a sympathetic motive: the quantum energy which gives Ava her phase powers is slowly killing her, and she's seeking a cure.
Randall Park is great as FBI Agent Jimmy Woo, who is Scott's parole officer and monitoring his house arrest. There are several really quite amusing sequences where the characters attempt to pull the wool over Woo's eyes. Walton Goggins brings an oleaginous charm to Sonny Burch, a restaurateur and black market dealer who Hope has to meet with, but- if I'm honest- there's so much going on in the film that he feels a little superfluous. The MacGuffin which he introduces could have been done by another character, to be fair. Laurence Fishburne adds an air of gravitas to his role as Bill Foster, a former associate of Hank's who has a link with Ava. Finally, it's an absolute joy to see the positively radiant Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne. She's just superb.
As you can imagine, this is a visually stylish film. There are sequences- especially when characters enter the Quantum Realm- that are just sublime. There's also a lot of humour given with perspective changes- with cars, people, and even buildings shrinking and growing throughout. I also love the idea of a full laboratory which can shrink down to the size of a small suitcase.
With a mid-credits scene that links the action of the film directly to Avengers: Infinity War, this is another triumph for the MCU.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Tez
