Jack Goes Confidential: Paul Rudd Takes ‘Ant-Man’ Sequel Beyond Silliness

Here I am, a grown man attempting to critique ANT-MAN AND THE WASP…

But guess what, you don’t have to be a nerd to enjoy the 20th release in the past decade from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe series.

Because if for nothing else this sequel to 2015’s ANT-MAN makes it Marvel’s first SUPERHEROINE entry…and this wasp really stings!

Thanks to a much more Hope Van Dyne developed character by Evangeline Lilly.

She’s feisty and headstrong in this sequel, which makes things unfold both faster and funnier than the original.

But make no mistake, it is Paul Rudd‘s wit and wisecracking that makes this picture.  

Rudd gets more out of a so-so dialogue than practically anyone else I can think of.

He’s a natural in the title role.

The story here picks up after CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR when Ant-Man was put under house arrest.

Well, our superhero is back trying to balance his home life when physicist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) presents him with an urgent NEW mission that pits Ant-Man not against, but alongside the Wasp!

And so it goes with ever more  size-shifting and some really fun-effects up and down the streets of San Francisco—not to mention a nostalgic confrontation involving a giant Hello Kitty PEZ dispenser.

The CGI effects are well developed in this film. And its supporting cast is nothing to sneeze at, including the likes of Michael Pena, Laurence Fishburne and Michelle Pfeiffer as ‘anet Van Dyke.

One important note of interest: Be sure to stay through the very end of the movie for a telling post-credits scene. (Nuff said.)

So downsize your imagination—or better yet, EXPAND IT…and you’ll have as much fun with this movie as the person sitting next to you.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP opens this holiday week in 2-D, 3-D, IMAX and in other Premium Large Screen formats.

My grade: B

JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES Friday mornings during Kansas City’s Morning News on 98.1 FM, KMBZ.