Tag: Movie

Film News – Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman + Peter Ramsey Discuss Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

It feels really weird to be in December and not have a new Star Wars film being released. Still, the void is slightly filled with movies such as Aquaman, Bumblebee, Mary Poppins Returns and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Indeed, the latter of these films is receiving a ton of praise with many film critics stating that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the best animated superhero film ever made in addition to being one of the best films of 2018.

The directors for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse are Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman and Peter Ramsey and, in an interview with Collider, they had the chance to speak about this Marvel animated superhero movie.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman had this to say on the process of creating the script for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:

PETER RAMSEY: “It’s an insanely organic process. Even the writing of the script is part of that whole flow, so there’s very little delineation between like an actual script page and what ends up in boards or what comes out of the art department. It’s all a really free-flowing sort of thing that we all just shepherded along and threw things in the pot, stir, and stir, and taste it.”

“See where we are, then it’ll bounce back to pages. Its one of those things that it’s like, it really was all about the film as a process in and of itself rather than, ‘Here we have a finished script. Now we will do exactly what’s on the page and nothing more.’ It was much more alive than that.”

ROTHMAN: “Some ideas start in the script. Most ideas, a lot of ideas happen downstream from the script and then as we’re working on the script, if we have to tweak or rewrite a scene, all of a sudden we’ve seen what animation is doing, or we’ve seen what the art department has added.”

“And that makes us think of this other idea. It is a really organic process of seeing what the team is doing and then refining what you’re doing and emphasizing things that seem to be working well and disappearing things that aren’t.”

Miles Morales

Bob Persichetti said this on what type of person they wanted Miles Morales to be in this film:

“A kid from Brooklyn, first and foremost. He’s meant to be your average teenager from Brooklyn with a loving mom and dad. That’s the big difference between him and Peter Parker is he still has both his parents.”

“We tried to make him as relatable as possible, because even though it’s a radioactive spider that triggers it, it’s really just a simple coming of age story for him. Putting him in New York, and thinking about all the aspects of this film, a lot of the different cultural aspects of this film originated in New York from comic books to hip-hop to graffiti to the idea of Spider-Man, period.”

“It was really just trying to create a kid who maybe had a little bit of a creative soul in him and was searching for an identity. Making sure that he was challenged and grew and had like a radioactive puberty.”

Thank you for reading this article! You can find my other articles here at theturnertalks.com as well as my reviews which you can also all find at sp-bx.com.

Film News – Director Josie Rourke On Mary, Queen of Scots

Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan are starring together in Mary, Queen of Scots, a film that focuses on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary I of Scotland. The director for this movie is Josie Rourke and, in an interview with Collider, she had the chance to speak about various aspects of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mary, Queen of Scots

One of the things Josie Rourke spoke about was how much of the script was done when she became involved with Mary, Queen of Scots:

“None. There was a screenplay that had gone through a number of iterations. Working Title had been wanting to make this project for a long time, and Saoirse [Ronan] had been attached to it since she was eighteen.”

“I came onto it a couple of years ago. I looked at the material that was there— Elizabeth was not in that screenplay… Really what the movie aims to do now is what I wanted [from] the screenplay. I knew that in order to do that, I would need to start afresh and ideally, I would need Beau Willimon.”

“I knew from his work on House of Cards, he could write with a Shakespearean dimension. He really understands how to make politics vivid and dramatic. I wanted to take these women seriously as politicians and think about their leadership and the cost of power.”

“That was something I knew Beau would do brilliantly, so I wrote a pitch. A tiny one that basically said I think we need to take Mary more seriously than history and the screen has taken her up to this point.”

“Let’s revise that. Let’s have an amazing scene that’s like a Renaissance Heat [between Elizabeth & Mary]. Let’s think about looking at just one period of Mary’s life. That’s where Beau and I began.”

Thank you for reading this article! You can find my other articles here at theturnertalks.com as well as my reviews which you can also all find at sp-bx.com.

Film News – Robert De Niro On The Irishman

When a film from a famous director such as Martin Scorsese comes out, it is an event for hardcore movie fans. This was the case with Silence and it is going to be the case once again when it comes to The Irishman. This is a film that sees Martin Scorsese reunite with Harvey Keitel, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro and, at the Marrakech Film Festival, Robert De Niro spoke to Collider about The Irishman.

The Irishman

One of the things De Niro spoke about was the role Netflix has had with the making of The Irishman:

“There had been a lot of juggling regarding who would put money in and when it was coming. When Netflix came in they just came in. They relieved a lot of anxiety and grief about doing it in a certain way, the way Marty wanted to do the film and it’s as it should be.”

“So now it has to be presented in a traditional grand style. When Netflix switches to small screens, even if today they can be big, that’s something to be worked out and debated. I don’t know where that stands.”

De Niro also talked about the de-aging technology used in this movie as well as teaming up again with Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel for The Irishman:

“This particular project was the right thing to do, so that’s why it took us a long time to get it going. It was a great experience.”

“The idea was to go back four, maybe five decades. So Marty wanted the people at ILM to do this as best as it’s been done to this point, to make us look younger. And I was excited by that. It gave us the freedom to do scenes when we are younger and not worry about makeup so much.”

“Sometimes we used movies when I’m in my 50s, in my earlier years, just without makeup. So I’m very curious to see how it looks.”

Thank you for reading this article! You can find my other articles here at theturnertalks.com as well as my reviews which you can also all find at sp-bx.com.

Film News – Lukas Haas Discusses First Man + Widows

For any actor to be in one film that is in contention for awards is a great achievement. But, to be in two in the same year should be applauded. This has happened for Lukas Haas who has roles in both First Man and Widows. In an interview with Collider, Lukas Haas had the opportunity to speak about being in both of these movies.

First Man + Widows

This is what Lukas Haas said about being in both First Man + Widows:

“I actually did Widows first. I think somebody else was cast for that role and had to drop out, for whatever reason, and they were scrambling to find somebody quickly. My manager hit my up and asked me to self-tape, really quickly, that day.”

“They were like, ‘You have to send it in now, or it’s gonna be too late.’ So, I called my friend over and they helped me record it with my iPhone. I just read off of the page and sent them a little audition, and I got a call later that day from (director) Steve [McQueen] saying that I got the role.”

“And then, I was in Chicago, two weeks later, for filming. It really just happened out of nowhere, and I was there for maybe a week, if that. Everything that I shot was packed into three days.”

“And then, First Man was the opposite. I was there for four months, or something like that, and there was a whole process. I got to go to NASA, see everything and ask every question, and we had astronauts escorting us through it.”

“We went to not just Florida, but Houston, traveling from NASA to NASA and checking everything out. It was very, very cool. That whole part of the experience was the coolest film field trip that I’ve ever been on, for sure […] It’s just interesting how it took a few days to film one, and months to film the other.”

Thank you for reading this article! You can find my other articles here at theturnertalks.com as well as my reviews which you can also all find at sp-bx.com.

Bohemian Rhapsody (Film/Movie Review) – Good Movie, Poor Biopic

Bohemian Rhapsody is a “biopic” about iconic British rock band Queen that was mostly directed by Bryan Singer. Rami Malek stars in the lead role as Freddie Mercury with a supporting cast that includes Mike Myers, Tom Hollander, Aidan Gillen, Allen Leech, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Gwilym Lee and Lucy Boynton.

The story of the film focuses on the rise of Queen, their successes and their struggles which all culminates in their historic performance at Live Aid in 1985. Naturally, Freddie Mercury is the focal point of the story told in Bohemian Rhapsody.

My Expectation For Bohemian Rhapsody

I was extremely nervous going into Bohemian Rhapsody because, from the mixed reviews, my fears about this film looked to be confirmed. My fears about Bohemian Rhapsody were purely related to how realistic the portrayal of Queen would be.

A good amount of the reviews stated that this movie was very safe in its portrayal of Queen to the point where it over-glorified the band rather than showing both the good and bad of the band as well as Freddie Mercury.

Still, the music sequences and Rami Malek’s performance seemed to be the things that were universally praised which pleased me. Indeed, judging from the reviews, it seemed that Rami Malek was already guaranteed to be Oscar nominated for Best Actor.

With all of this in mind, I was expecting to be entertained even if I found problems with the narrative of this biopic and how true it would be to the history of Queen.

My Thoughts On Bohemian Rhapsody

So, Rami Malek is a lock for a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He is the entire reason Bohemian Rhapsody succeeds as much as it does. For what it is from an entertainment perspective, the film is good. However, it is a poor biopic.

I completely understand that all biopics are going to take minor liberties with the truth to craft a more compelling narrative. Moreover, with Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor being consultants on the movie, it is also understandable that they would not want to put themselves and the band in a bad light.

However, major, unforgivable liberties are taken in Bohemian Rhapsody to a point of disrespect. The HIV diagnosis of Freddie Mercury, the most important moment in the history of Queen, is changed for greater dramatic effect.

In real-life, Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 but, in Bohemian Rhapsody, the diagnosis happens in 1985, before Queen play at Live Aid. In my eyes, this decision to change history is unforgivable and completely ruins any argument for Bohemian Rhapsody being a good biopic.

On top of the rose-tinted glasses look at Queen in this movie, I was left longing for a more in-depth, accurate and mature story about Queen and the life of Freddie Mercury.

The Positives Of Bohemian Rhapsody

But, if I ignore all of this and just purely focus on what Bohemian Rhapsody is trying to do from an entertainment standpoint, it succeeds. As I said earlier, Rami Malek gives a phenomenal performance that carries this film and the entire cast around him were really good too.

However, like Freddie Mercury in real-life, Rami Malek’s star shines brightest in Bohemian Rhapsody and the whole movie soars in the music sequences with the pinnacle coming at the end with Live Aid.

I have complained about accuracy of events in this film but Live Aid was brought to life to in such an incredible and faithful way that I could not help but be moved, especially when ‘Radio Ga Ga‘, my favourite Queen song, started to play.

My Final Thoughts On Bohemian Rhapsody

So, as you can see, I have mixed feelings about Bohemian Rhapsody and I will reiterate that it is a good, entertaining film and, at the same time, a poor biopic. Rami Malek and the music sequences are the reasons you see this film and it is obvious that he will be Oscar nominated for Best Actor. So, if you are an Oscar junkie, then you should see Bohemian Rhapsody.

Bohemian Rhapsody Film Review

 

First Man (Film/Movie Review) – Damien Chazelle’s Worst Film Yet

First Man is a biographical drama directed by Damien Chazelle that is based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. The film stars Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas, Christopher Abbott, Corey Stoll, Ciaran Hinds, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Claire Foy and Ryan Gosling.

Ryan Gosling plays Neil Armstrong in this movie and the story of First Man focuses on Neil Armstrong in the years leading up to and including the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969.

My Expectation For First Man

Damien Chazelle has made a real name for himself in the film industry. Indeed, Whiplash, a film I consider to be spectacular, put Chazelle on the map and he followed that up with La La Land which I thought was good but a huge step down from Whiplash and, to be honest, a bit overrated. Still, both of these movies received Oscar nominations and, because of this, anticipation amongst film fans has been high for First Man.

From the trailer, the movie looked visually stunning and the reviews for this film have been very positive. I was eager to see where First Man would rank amongst Whiplash and La La Land as well as concluding whether the hype for this film was earned because First Man is already being touted as a serious contender at the 2019 Oscars in categories such as Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.

My Thoughts On First Man

I was left extremely underwhelmed by First Man. This film did not click with me at all. Despite some good performances from Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, great technical elements showcased in the flying sequences and moon landing as well as a decent score by Justin Hurwitz, I was bored throughout due to how unbearably sluggish the pacing was.

For a story as inspirational and historically iconic as the Moon landing, it was so disappointing to see it brought to the screen in such a dull, cold fashion. I did not mind the focus on Neil Armstrong and his underlying recovery from a devastating loss in his family, but I was never engaged to the degree I wanted to be and I have absolutely no intention to ever watch First Man again. For me, this is Damien Chazelle’s weakest film.

Yes, I slightly prefer La La Land to First Man and that film was not one that floored me. Whiplash still remains the movie to beat and I am not confident that First Man will do well at the 2019 Oscars. I can see it getting nominations in technical categories such as sound and effects but nothing more than that in my opinion.

Even at such an early stage in awards season, I am assured in saying that First Man is nowhere near good enough to deserve a Best Picture nomination. Additionally, I have a feeling that I am going to see films with much better direction and acting performances than what I saw in First Man. So, overall, First Man was a disappointing movie when I consider how excited I was to see a film about such a momentous event in human history.

First Man Film Movie Review

A Star Is Born (Film/Movie Review) – An Early Oscar Contender

A Star Is Born is a musical romantic drama directed, produced and co-wrote by Bradley Cooper. This film is the third remake of the original 1937 movie of the same name and it stars Anthony Ramos, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chapelle, Sam Elliot, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Gaga and Cooper play the lead roles of Ally and Jackson Maine respectively.

The story of A Star Is Born focuses on Jackson Maine, a popular, established but hard-drinking musician whose is on a downward spiral. He meets Ally, a young, undiscovered singer who he sees a lot of potential in. The two develop a romantic relationship as Jackson attempts to bring Ally into the spotlight and make her a star in the music industry.

My Expectation For A Star Is Born

Any film that receives universal acclaim coming out of a premiere at any film festival is going to grab my attention and raise my expectations. A Star Is Born was praised to a degree that I had not seen since La La Land.

With this in mind, I had to be careful with my hopes for this movie because of La La Land. Indeed, La La Land was a film which I thought was good but I was left slightly underwhelmed by it. This was because there was a difference between the critical reaction, which deemed it to be one of the best movies of the decade so far, and the actual quality of that film in my eyes.

Instead of going into A Star Is Born thinking that it was going to be a phenomenal movie, I believed that it would just be a good film. Nothing more, nothing less. I was interested to see how capable Bradley Cooper would be as a first-time director and for me to see Lady Gaga as an actress for the first time would be fascinating to experience.

Every review for A Star Is Born proclaimed that it was a guarantee for a Best Picture nomination at the 2019 Oscars. Whether I would come to this same conclusion was a difficult thing to predict given how, to some extent, I was burned by La La Land.

My Thoughts On A Star Is Born

My cinematic experience with A Star Is Born was a bit tainted because I unknowingly went into a screening for the Hard of Hearing which meant that there were subtitles. Consequently, it was harder to focus on the film when there were lines of dialogue coming up on the bottom of the screen, sometimes before the words had actually been spoken.

Still, that slight annoyance did not to do much to deter how much I liked the movie and the more I think about A Star Is Born, the more I like it. It is a very good film flowing with heart and soul thanks to brilliant performances and superb songs.

It is early days in this Oscar season and there are still plenty of movies to see in the coming months. However, I would be extremely surprised if Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga and Sam Harris do not end up getting nominated for Oscars in the categories of Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively.

They are all exceptional in A Star Is Born and the emotional impact this film has, especially in the third act, is solely down to how great the relationships are. The chemistry between both Cooper/Gaga and Cooper/Harris are the foundation for the success of this movie.

Bradley Cooper deserves a lot of credit for this as it is not an easy thing to do, especially in a film that is your directorial debut. Because of this, he has a chance of getting an Oscar nomination for Best Director too.

The Music In A Star Is Born

Clearly, in a movie like A Star Is Born, the quality of the music is going to be incredibly important for the quality of the film and, as I previously stated, the songs in A Star Is Born are superb. Indeed, I would have no problem if ‘Maybe It’s Time’, ‘Shallow’, ‘Always Remember Us This Way’, ‘Is That Alright?’ and ‘I’ll Never Love Again’ made up all the nominations for Best Original Song at the 2019 Oscars.

That is not going to happen though. For me, ‘Shallow’ and ‘Always Remember Us This Way’ were the standout songs in A Star Is Born and every time that Ally sings in this movie, I defy anyone to not be enraptured and swept away in the story.

I also liked the commentary on the modern music industry in this film as we see an artist like Ally slowly become a product rather than a storyteller. It made for some interesting story beats and character moments.

My Final Thoughts On A Star Is Born

If I had to pick out faults in A Star Is Born, I would say that the pacing is a bit inconsistent and there was one important story moment for Ally and Jackson that came out of nowhere and it felt a bit rushed. This slightly sullied the quality of the story in this film but not to a degree where it severely lessened my overall admiration for it.

I am confident in saying that A Star Is Born is an early contender for a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Nonetheless, it is too soon to say that it will win and/or if it is my personal choice to win Best Picture because there are still plenty more films to come out in the coming months that could also be Oscar contenders.

All I will say is that I find it unlikely that someone watches A Star Is Born and does not at least think the film is decent because there is a lot to admire in it.

A Star Is Born Film Movie Review Pin

 

American Animals (Film/Movie Review) – A Fantastic + Unique Surprise

American Animals is a crime drama written and directed by Bart Layton which stars Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Blake Jenner, Barry Keoghan and Evan Peters. The film is based on the true story of a library heist that occurred in Lexington, Kentucky at Transylvania University in 2004.

My Expectation For American Animals

I never knew that this movie even existed until Matt Knost of The Top10 Show raved about it on a recent instalment of that podcast which he co-hosts with John Rocha. I decided to give American Animals a shot based on his adulation for it and I went into this film knowing nothing about it.

I had seen no trailers, knew none of the cast members by name or the true story on which this movie was based on. Sometimes, when this happens, the film in question can be a nice surprise in terms of its quality and I hoped that, as a bare minimum, I would be entertained by American Animals.

My Thoughts On American Animals

American Animals really surprised me with its quality and it is one of the most unique films I have seen in 2018 and possibly ever. I am so glad I went into this movie blind because it was the best possible thing for my experience with it. Indeed, knowing nothing about the real story made the plot of this film so much more interesting and compelling than if I knew specific details about the actual library heist that took place.

Undoubtedly, the thing I loved about American Animals the most was how, in a lot of ways, it was more of a documentary than a film based on a true story. Indeed, the young men who committed the library heist in real-life were interviewed for this movie and this footage was interwoven into the narrative of American Animals. This storytelling device was highly effective on a comedic, dramatic and thematic level.

I could not recollect any movie I had seen before this one that had told a story in this way which made American Animals a really different experience and I hope this storytelling device is used in more movies going forward. The way the narrative in American Animals was told also helped me to connect to the main characters and relate to all of them in a big way despite knowing that what they were doing was wrong. This was particularly the case for Warren (Evan Peters).

My Final Thoughts on American Animals

Ultimately, this all blended together in a hard-hitting way with the film’s sobering, philosophical ending. When American Animals had ended and the credits were rolling, I was struggling to think of any major, glaring flaws with it. If I had to be overly critical, I would say that it is not consistent with its pacing. Some parts of the movie flow better than others but this is a pretty minuscule nit-pick in the grand scheme of things.

It certainly does nothing to majorly detract from the quality of a great film. I hope American Animals is experienced by as large an audience as possible because films this unique in its storytelling as American Animals deserve it.

American Animals Film Movie Review Pin

 

BlacKkKlansman (Film/Movie Review) – A Must-See Story

BlacKkKlansman is a biographical drama directed by Spike Lee which is based on the 2014 memoir Black Klansman that was written by Ron Stallworth. John David Washington stars as Ron Stallworth alongside a cast of Alec Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Corey Hawkins, Topher Grace, Laura Harrier and Adam Driver.

The story of the film takes place in Colorado Springs in the late 1970s and follows Ron Stallworth. Stallworth is the first African-American detective in the Colorado Springs police department. He decides to infiltrate and expose the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.

My Expectations For BlacKkKlansman

Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X and Inside Man are Spike Lee joints that a lot of film fans, myself included, hold in high regard. However, one could make a strong argument that, since Inside Man, Spike Lee has released a number of films that have not hit the same level of quality as those aforementioned movies.

This is why I was delighted when many film critics, who have a much stronger grasp on Spike Lee’s filmography than I do, stated that BlacKkKlansman was one of Spike Lee’s best directorial efforts in years. The reviews for BlacKkKlansman have been so good that it made me believe that I could potentially watch a contender for Best Picture at the 2019 Oscars. I was really looking forward to see this movie so I could find out whether this would be the case.

If BlacKkKlansman was good enough to be an awards contender in my eyes, then it had a chance of eclipsing Malcolm X as being the best Spike Lee joint I have seen so far. Moreover, seeing if John David Washington could continue what his father, Denzel Washington, brilliantly established with Spike Lee decades ago when it came to a collaborative relationship would be fascinating to see.

Additionally, Adam Driver is, of course, going to draw me into any movie he is in given his quality as an actor. I had high hopes for BlacKkKlansman and I was confident that a powerful and timely story would be told with this movie.

My Thoughts On BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman is a film that everyone needs to see. This is great work by Spike Lee. While it slightly suffers from slow pacing and, in turn, does not have the huge rewatchability of Malcolm X or Inside Man, it absolutely has the similar power and impact of Do The Right Thing at various times throughout its running time.

One of the big strengths of the movie is how it is able to seamlessly blend comedy and drama. Still, while there is humour in BlacKkKlansman, I was not laughing out loud because I treated this film very seriously due to its significant social and political messages/themes which were deeply embedded in its story.

I can definitely see BlacKkKlansman being a contender at the 2019 Oscars in categories such as Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. It may also get some attention for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor. Certainly, Adam Driver delivers, as he always does, a great performance and John David Washington, based on this film alone, is a natural when it comes to acting, like his father.

I also believe that thanks to the incredibly powerful ending, BlacKkKlansman will stay with the people who see it for a long time and it should do because this film is important. The larger the amount of people who see this movie, the better. With that in mind, I urge you to see BlacKkKlansman as soon as you can. I do not believe that any film which has come out so far in 2018 has been more relevant and timelier to see as this great Spike Lee joint.

BlacKkKlansman Film Movie Review Pin

 

Ant-Man and the Wasp (Film Review) – An Enjoyable MCU Movie

Ant-Man and the Wasp is a superhero film directed by Peyton Reed and it is a sequel to Ant-Man. It is also the twentieth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Paul Rudd reprises his role as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Evangeline Lily reprises her role as Hope van Dyne/Wasp. Michelle Pfeiffer, Randall Park, Laurence Fishburne, Abby Ryder Fortson, Hannah John-Kamen, Michael Douglas, David Dastmalchian, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Bobby Cannavale, Walton Goggins, Judy Greer and Michael Peña round out the rest of the cast for this movie.

The story of Ant-Man and the Wasp is set after the events of Captain America: Civil War and focuses on the duo of Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne/Wasp. They are working with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), the original Ant-Man, to retrieve Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the original Wasp, from the Quantum Realm.

My Expectation For Ant-Man and the Wasp

For many years, I was just a casual fan of the MCU. I liked the franchise, but I did not have a deep love for it like a lot of other people did because I never read any Marvel comic books. As such, I never had a lot of attachment for the characters in the MCU which prevented me from liking the films in this franchise to a greater extent than I did. However, recent films such as Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War have really made me a bigger fan of the MCU than I ever have been before.

Certainly, I would have usually ignored a film like Ant-Man and the Wasp but I do not have this mentality anymore. In fact, I went back to watch Ant-Man for the first time as preparation for this sequel. I really liked Ant-Man. It is not the best movie in the MCU but there is a lot to like in it. Corey Stoll as the villain is not one of those things, but there is a lot to like in Ant-Man. The humour, action, visuals and performances by Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Peña and particularly Michael Douglas are great aspects of that movie.

Quantum Realm Ant-Man and the Wasp

As a film that is coming off the brilliance of Avengers: Infinity War, my hopes for Ant-Man and the Wasp were raised but I was not expecting this to be a top tier MCU movie. Instead, all I was hoping was for Ant-Man and the Wasp to maintain the quality of what made Ant-Man so entertaining while improving on its weaker aspect; the villain. I was also interested to see how the events of Avengers: Infinity War would play into this film.

My Thoughts On Ant-Man and the Wasp

Overall, Ant-Man and the Wasp is an enjoyable film. However, if I had to choose between the two, I do slightly prefer Ant-Man. One thing that this film considerably improves over the original is the villain. This was not an especially hard thing to do but I liked how Ava/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) had a more relatable and personable motivation for her actions than Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross/Yellowjacket. Ghost is not one of the best MCU villains by any means though.

Hannah John-Kamen as Ava/Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp

Moreover, I would contest that some of the strongest aspects of Ant-Man are a little bit weaker in this movie. While the performances from the returning cast, as well as the humour in Ant-Man and the Wasp, are still at the same level of quality as they were in Ant-Man, the action and visuals in this film are slightly worse. Ant-Man and the Wasp also has worse pacing than Ant-Man. This movie did not flow as well as the first and some parts felt quite sluggish.

The core story in Ant-Man and the Wasp is what you expect from where the first film left off and it is good. But, it is not as compelling as the story in Ant-Man and it is a bit disposable when you think of the larger narrative being told in the MCU right now. However, Ant-Man and the Wasp absolutely works as a palette cleanser for the serious and heavy Avengers: Infinity War and, once again, the de-aging technology is outstanding. I love this technology as it opens new doors when it comes to storytelling not just in the MCU but for any film.

Evangeline Lily as Wasp and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man in Ant-Man and the Wasp

My Final Thoughts On Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp also has a great mid-credits scene which, as you can imagine, links into the events of Avengers: Infinity War very well and it sets up some interesting things going forward in the MCU. While I prefer Ant-Man, everything in this film combines to make a good and enjoyable instalment in the MCU. If you are a casual or hardcore fan of this franchise then you should absolutely see Ant-Man and the Wasp because you will, at the very least, be entertained.

Ant-Man and the Wasp Film Review Pin