Ant-Man and the Wasp

Marvel Studios is obviously having a good year this year with its two recent juggernaut movies that are Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther which broke box office records both domestically and internationally. Now, the studio has one more movie to wrap up 2018 and hopefully will garner equal success – Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Taking place two years after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang / Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest for aiding Captain America and gang in violation of the Sokovia Accords. This resulted in a rift in his friendship with mentor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and romantic interest Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lily), who has taken on the mantle of Wasp after her mother, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), went subatomic 30 years ago and is lost in the quantum realm forever. But a mysterious message from Janet forces all three former associates to reunite and get her back to the real world while fighting off Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a villain who can phase through solid objects.

After Avengers: Infinity War which has a big scale of world, no, planet destruction, it is nice to see this movie taking on a more personal route having the plot only revolve around Lang’s social circle and in San Francisco. It is as if Marvel Studios wants the fans to relax from its previous movie which took place in multiple planets starring larger than life superheroes and supervillains, and enjoy its underdog tale of a family reunion.

Peyton Reed returns as director – not replacing anyone this time – and showed off his directing skills quite efficiently that balances action, comedy, and heart that this movie has. The shrinking effects are always impressive to look at and it seems like it has improved since the first movie adding a sense of realism to an otherwise unrealistic technology. Reed, who is known to direct comedies, expresses his comedic knowledge through a script that manages to give equal time on comedy and heartfelt moments. It also helps that he has actors and actresses with good comedic timing specifically Michael Peña who has the best scenes that are sure to make audiences laugh out loud.

Unfortunately though, Ant-Man and the Wasp struggles from what a lot of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies suffered from and that is a weak villain. After two great villains – Thanos and Killmonger – Marvel Studios should have stepped up their game and bring out a villain that is at least on par if not better than its previous two. The backstory they gave Ghost was not enough to emotionally affect and challenge the audiences to sympathise with her and her upbringing. Not to discredit John-Kamen, but it is just a pity to see her work with minimal help to create a compelling villain.

MCU fans needed this movie. It is relieving to see Marvel Studios taking a step back from all of the destruction that Avengers: Infinity War created and focuses more on a small problem in a town in America. It is good to see Reed adapt to the lore without any hand-holding and hopefully he returns to the franchise if a third movie was ever to be made. The post-credit scene ties into future MCU movies which fans of Ant-Man can look forward to.

[4/5]

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Sicario surprised us in 2015 with a movie so compelling and visually pleasing that it made lots of top ten lists and managed to get three Oscar nominations which were Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing that year. Three years later, a sequel would arrive in cinemas to continue the story of the sicario – “hitman” in English; a sequel that nobody on Earth asked for.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado follows Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) who is tasked to carry out a mission to start a war among the Mexican drug cartels to ultimately combat them. He is given free will by the US Department of Defence and is allowed to get unethical in order to succeed in this mission. And who better to be unethical with if it isn’t the sicario himself, Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro).

Straight of the bat, Sicario: Day of the Soldado does not hold back on its violence and shock value when a bunch of suicide bombers blow themselves up in an occupied supermarket; similarly shocking to the dead bodies they found within the walls of a house in the first movie. From there, the movie is seen taking familiar steps from the first movie to hopefully achieve its successes. Though a bit lacking in its intensity level, this movie still manages to achieve high-octane action scenes which will leave the audience gripping to their seats.

However, Sicario: Day of the Soldado failed midway when they introduce Isabela Reyes (Isabela Moner), the daughter of a high-profiled Mexican drug cartel who is being used as bait to further lure her father out from hiding.

The movie feels unfocused the minute Isabela is introduced, switching from the CIA’s plan to create war among the cartels to the movie becoming a babysitting movie that dumbs down del Toro’s character who has the most fleshed out persona among the other lead characters. This whole subplot slows the movie way down with a conclusion that is unsatisfying to the audience. Whether or not it is a setup for the next movie, but as it stands now, it was just an unnecessary plot point that can be shaved off and move on to the initial reason why Sicario: Day of the Soldado happen.

Looking back at Sicario, Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a poor sequel of an original story which failed to recapture the heart and soul of its predecessor. Knowing it has Brolin and del Toro as its two leads, the movie was a let-down that does not fully utilises its two actors and their capability as performers. With an unfocused story, Sicario: Day of the Soldado will be forgotten and overshadowed by its prequel.

[3/5]