Ant-Man And The Wasp (July 6, 2018)

"Shoo-dley-BEE, Shoo-deley-WASP, Shoo-dley-WHA-WHA-WHAAA!"

 

The only comic I still have is fantastic four “Enter Doctor Doom.” I carry it in my briefcase. I know it’s getting beat that way but I just love it and the cover.

 

I wasn't that crazy about the first Ant-Man. This trailer looks entertaining enough, I guess.

These Marvel films are coming out so fast now I can't even keep up. I'm still trying to get around to watching " Captain America Civil War"! Things are getting pumped out way too fast now.

I'm eager to see the newest Avengers film, though that's mostly because I want to see it before I hear any spoilers. Not that these films are the center of my life or anything. In fact I've probably only seen half of them at this point. And do I really like them? I'm not always sure. But I liked the old comics, though, so I try to go along with it and be a team player. But I feel no obligation to see all of them, especially ones focused on characters I couldn't give a rat's behind about in the first place. Never liked Thor so skipped all those, although I am considering checking out "Ragnarok".

I heard good thing about the first Ant-Man but it really didn't do much for me. I didn't really like Rudd's character. Maybe I didn't like Rudd himself. Michael Douglas is one of my favorite actors but even his presence couldn't get me too excited (though I liked seeing him "young" again in the opening scene). I thought the fight with The Falcon was pretty lame and a waste of time. But that sort of thing would have happened in the comics too. So often our heroes beat each other up first, ask questions second. Overall I found the whole affair forgettable.

Maybe the addition of The Wasp will jazz things up this time. I'm willing to give them another chance, albeit from the Redbox.

 

You'd think, with both "Ant-man" & "Deadpool" making the 'basic-cable' rounds already (TNT & FX, respectively), that "Civil War" would be on one of these, being shown every other day, too!

 

"Deadpool" is another one I haven't watched. I know it's popular with the young people. Should I invest my time? The character was just a nobody from the pages of X-Force when I bailed out on comics. I'm not a Ryan Reynolds fan either. Or Rob Liefeld, while we're on the subject.

 

It's silly and dirty!
Whereas, the new "Thor" is just silly...
But, I LIKE 'silly' so...

 

True, but at least Dizney'z givin' us popcorn chompers (almost) enough time between films to earn the shekels for tickets.


Cat

 

Sorry that it didn't work for you, but you might want to give it another try. From my perspective, Rudd was fine in the role as AM, as was Michael Douglas as Henry Pym. I'm looking forward to the wasp as well, but not to jazz things up. I'm just looking forward to the storyline advancing now that we've got the origin movie behind us (origin movies traditionally have pacing problems due to back-story emphasis).

IMO, the first Ant-Man was a very pleasant surprise given the pre-film buzz & fan apprehensions. There was so much that could've gone wrong with it that didn't. Ant Man somehow managed to juggle a dark melodramatic storyline with FX, action and occasionally cheeky side-kick humor that was funny without ever being racially condescending.

Fortunately, everything balanced perfectly, emphasizing clever scripting and FX without descending into campy humor. The focus, along with creative visual humor ...I cracked up during the Thomas the Train stuff... remained on the action. When thrills and comedy work together, it's the whole enchilada.

In short, AM was a fast paced, fun flick that stood out and succeeded on it's own terms.


Cat

 

I was expecting Ant-Man to be total crap when I saw it, since the comic book is kinda D-list at best, but Paul Rudd, the writers and director managed to make it a very pleasant romp. I had a good time and thought there was never a dull moment, plus the movie wasn't too stupid. Definitely a very light touch, but not completely crazy.

I think when they spent $140+ million on the film a couple of years ago, there's no way they dreamed it could make over $500M... but that's actually what it did. Technically, it's the lowest-grossing Marvel film for a long time, but I think a minor character like this doing this well is a bit of a miracle. A pal of mine knows Paul Rudd casually and says he's every bit as nice and down-to-earth as you would expect: solid guy, good actor, total pro. Extremely happy for his success.

 

can't wait to own this on BD...love the first one...big fan of Paul.

 

He was perfect for the role...

 

fantastic...don't listen to the nay-sayers...Ryan Reynolds is brilliant in this, but I'm biased I'm a fan...this isn't your typical Ryan. It's a kick ass movie.

 

One of the funniest damned films I've seen in a long time. It's what I call an action/comedy where the audience is in on the joke, yet it still surprises you all the way through. Funny and very witty, but also very R-rated.

 

I originally had my doubts about going the Scott Lang route thus making Hank and Janet older, but it works very well. Sure, I was disappointed that Hank and Janet weren't charter members of the Avengers in the MCU but I have no worries about the use of them being legendary characters. Same going for Bill Foster and Goliath too, btw.

Ant-Man is definitely one of my favourite MCU films and I never get sick of watching it. Really looking forward to the sequel too. This film does need to be lighter in tone, especially following the epicness that was Avengers: Infinity War. It's going to be a nice little breather.

 

I have never before seen a trailer that promoted the fact that in IMAX, you see "26% more picture" (because of the change in aspect ratio). That's a first.



They should add that the ticket prices are at least 26% higher than regular tickets, but I guess they forgot about that.

 

Anyone see this? Laughably won't be released in Japan until August 31st..

 

Saw "Ant-man" months ago on basic cable and enjoyed it much better than the other Marvel movies. Looking forward to the sequel, which is already projected to be a much bigger box office hit than the original.

 

And we saw Ant Man & The Wasp today in IMAX ("26% more picture!") and... it was just OK. Not horrible, not great, not even very good. But good.

I felt the whole thing was extremely sitcom-my and predictable, with a lot of forced laughs, contrived dialogue, and a very, very convoluted plotline. I think Paul Rudd is a funny comic actor with good timing, and there are some good moments here and there (even some that honestly seem to be completely unrehearsed, natural, and ad-libbed), but for the most part I felt like it was a very "on the nose," almost boring kind of action film. It did everything I expected, but not much more.

Some of the repeated gags went way too far. I can buy hearing The Partridge Family singing "C'mon Get Happy" once, but twice? Same deal with the Mexican van "La Cucaracha" horn. There's tons of little things like that that made me wince. I couldn't keep track of the logistical nightmares and damage to buildings in and around San Francisco, but ya know... this kind of thing happened in Marvel Comics, too, so at some point you kinda have to say "what the hell."

But there are some great things in the film. The opening bit with a 1980s "40-year-old" Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer is pretty stunning, and shows how far Lola FX has come with their amazing process. Douglas' acting is terrific, and everybody is believable in terms of what they do. But it's just kinda "eh" for me. All the tech credits are fantastic: color, lighting, sound mix, sound FX, visual effects... everything was what you'd expect in a $130 million movie. There were a few dodgy composites and some weird 3D-animated insect stuff I didn't quite buy, but I have no doubt the crew did the best they could in the time available.

But... good god, Evangeline Lilly used to be a beautiful woman. I don't know what the hell advice they're giving her, but the plastic surgery is frightening... especially on an 80-foot IMAX screen. Ditto with Ms. Pfeiffer. Both terrific, talented actors with long resumes, but they're crossing over into scary "plastic face" territory. (And Ms. Lilly is not an old woman by any means.)

Be sure to stay to the bitter end: theres an extremely important ending sequence after the first minute of credits, and then one final surprise after the credit crawl ends. (Let's just say there's an Avengers tie-in.)

 

I saw it Thursday night. C-. Just kind of "meh". Meandering with no real villain and ultimately not a lot going on. Some cool action sequences, but few and far between. The humor was also too sporadic and more of a "wink wink" to the first film.

 

Civil War came out two years ago, I don't think they are coming out too fast. At least not for me. I enjoyed the lighter tone of "Ant-Man". It worked for me just as "Thor: Ragnarock" had a nice dose of comedy. You may want to reconsider for Ragnarock as it is one of the best and also is involved in "Infinity War" to a degree.

 

I'm watching Ragnarok this week. I got Black Panthrr standing by. I'm pretty much caught up now.

 

I understand the sentiment but let's face it, Michael Douglas has had more procedures than these two ladies combined and no one's squawking about it (at least none of the men LOL).

 

Naw, Douglas looks like a million bucks. I know bad plastic surgery when I see it, and he looks like a still-handsome 73-year-old leading man. I stare at faces for a living, and a lot of my job is to make them look better on TV.

 

After INFINITY, I think we all need a breather. This little light entertainment fit that bill imo.