Ant-Man and the Wasp - Review

When the original Ant-Man was released, it could be fair to say that some Marvel fans (this reviewer included) did not have high hopes following the departure of writer-director Edgar Wright.
It turned out however, that the finished film turned out to be a light, fluffy, bite-sized delight that was the perfect palette cleanser after the all-you-can-eat buffet that was Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Fast forward three years and seven films later and Ant-Man and the Wasp arrives, once again on the back of a super-sized Avengers main course. Will it be another fun-filled treat that will help lift the mood of Marvel fans following the events of Infinity War or is there another sting in the tale?
The sequel makes the wise move to distance itself from Infinity War in terms of tone but also in terms of timeline. Instead setting itself in the couple of weeks before Thanos's masterplan comes into effect.
Speaking of Thanos, any film following the biggest bad in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would have an impossible act to follow. That is why they make the smart move in that this film doesn't really have an out-and-out villain, despite what the trailers lead you to believe.
Instead, characters like the quantum phasing Ghost (Hannah John Kamen) and weapons dealer Sonny Birch (Walton Goggins) are more obstacles for the team to overcome in the main quest to bring the original Wasp back from the Quantum Realm.
The film begins with a flashback to 1987 when Hank and Janet go off on their ill-fated mission, saying goodbye to a young Hope. It is a nice scene that helps to develop the bond between mother and daughter and instantly increases the emotional investment.
It is also another opportunity for Marvel to give a pay raise to the team who de-age the actors in these movies because the work they do here on Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfieffer is breathtaking... that is up to the point when we meet her later in the film and you realise that she has hardly aged at all and clearly must be drinking from the same fountain of youth as co-star Paul Rudd.
Rudd once again has a writing credit on the screenplay, much like Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool, which means he has had a huge creative hand in developing the character into the likeable Everyman the audience wants to see win the day but at times is his own worst enemy. Particularly with his actions in Civil War having a dramatic impact on his life, his family and his relationship with Hope and Hank.
Rudd might still be the first name above the credits but he is not the only hero as this marks the first film in the MCU with a female hero in the title.
Evangeline Lilly grabs the brass ring with both hands and flies through the glass ceiling, paving the way for Captain Marvel to follow her.
Importantly the film reintroduces her with a solo action scene in which she defeats a group of armed goons singlehanded (without the need of a man to help her or bail her out of trouble).
Of course, the title suggests that this is the formation of a crime fighting duo and the two actors build on the chemistry from the original and it has developed into the best MCU partnership since Thor & Loki. Their constant verbal sparring (and flirtatious banter) is reminiscent of a 30s/40s screwball comedy.
One of the successes of Ant-Man was the uniqueness of the action set pieces that organically grew out of the hero's abilities in the suit and the gadgets and powers that came with it. Just like transforming from the size of an ant to a giant, this film expands on the visual flair of the fighting style to incorporate not only hand-to-hand combat but also now car chases and Innerspace-style journeys to the Quantum Realm.
It was a very self-contained story, similar in many respects to this year's Black Panther, but this could have major implications going forward for the MCU, particularly in the battle against Thanos, as we delve even deeper into the Quantum Realm and the effect and power it can provide those who interact with it.
So while it is very much the light comic relief when compared to the rest of the recent output (Thor Ragnarok aside), it is heartwarming to see it lean into it and embrace its role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This reviewer found himself laughing out loud even before Birch asked Luis a question while under the effects of truth serum because you know what was coming. And it was glorious.
The jaw-dropping mid credit scene means that all bets are off as to the characters roles in Avengers 4 but it is safe to say that Ant-icipation levels are sky high now.

4 stars

Extinction - Netflix Originals Review

Extinction is the latest Netflix Originals film to hit the small-to-medium sized screens around the world and of the science fiction films to land on the streaming platform this year (Annihilation, Mute, The Cloverfield Paradox), it certainly feels the most generic and formulaic to begin with.
The ever-dependable Michael Pena plays Peter, a husband and a father, who is plagued by recurring nightmares of an alien invasion. As the frequency of the dreams increases, it causes him to drift further and further from his family.
Persuaded by his friend to visit a clinic to talk about his issues, he meets another patient having the same dreams and convinced of a conspiracy to wipe them of their memories. Is there something larger at work here?
Just when suspicions of a Body Snatchers-style situation are raised, Peter is unsurprisingly proved correct in his visions as aliens invade Earth in a huge action set piece that sees Pena try to escape their apartment building with his daughters and wife played by Lizzy Caplan (no stranger to alien invasion having appeared in Cloverfield and the Marvel One Shot set after the Invasion of New York).
The scope of the action scenes indicate that it was directed for the big screen but ultimately the budget and CGI make it feel more like a straight-to-DVD sci-fi film from the late Nineties.
It is a shame that the movie feels so carbon copy to others that have come before because with a format like Netflix, there is that danger that they could easily switch over to watch something else.
And in doing so, they would potentially miss out on dramatic plot developments in the second and third acts that flip everything on its head and make you question everything that you have seen before.
It is a fascinating twist that succeeds in temporarily elevating the film above its genre roots into something more profound.
While it is certainly no Annihilation, the twist should give Extinction a chance of not dying out on Netflix in the immediate future.

2 stars

A Wrinkle In Time - review

A Wrinkle In Time is a family friendly adventure about a young girl who travels the universe in search of her missing father. Sadly though, instead of wrinkling time, the film seemingly manages to stretch it. Making a story that is an hour and fifty minutes feel like four hours and none of them that entertaining.
Ava DuVernay made such a strong impression with her debut film Selma. The film was incredibly powerful and perfectly captured the era. Wrinkle In Time had the potential to have power and emotion from the tale of a daughter who feels lost in the world and is desperate to reconnect with her missing father. Unfortunately, that potential is lost the moment the film transfers from the real world to a series of CGI-generated planets filled with giant Oprah Winfreys.
Similar to the three Mrs's who guide Meg (Storm Reid) on her quest, DuVernay has assembled some considerable star power and Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine do their best with the material but they are faced with a number of unintentionally laughable moments such as Pine having to earnestly deliver the line "Love is the frequency!" and it is impossible to have characters shout "Shut up Meg" and not think of Family Guy!
Recent years have seen genuine child talent emerge such as Daphne Keen (Logan) and Millie Bobbie Brown (Stranger Things) but it is unlikely that 2018 will bring a more annoying screen child than Meg's younger brother and child prodigy Charles Wallace. By the time audiences have heard someone shout "Charles Wallace! Charles Wallace!" for the hundredth time, they will want him to disappear into a black hole!
The final disappointment was finding out that after several references to the universal evil called "The IT", there was no crossover with the Stephen King novel and Pennywise the Clown was not the ultimate bad guy. Which could have saved the film and given it a whole new context. Instead, it is as deflating as IT's final form in the TV movie and is strangely voiced by David Oleyowo which means the ultimate evil is voiced by Martin Luther King!
A Wrinkle In Time? More like a colossal waste of time!

1 star

Fury - review

War is hell. Anyone who tells you different is selling something.

The crew of the tank Fury look like they've been to hell and back by the time Logan Lerman's fresh faced new recruit is ordered to serve as their new assistant driver and gunner and the film follows Lerman's character's descent into his own personal hell as his innocence is slowly eroded away by the horrors of war (much of it at the hands of Brad: Tank Commander.

The battle sequences are some of the best captured since Saving Private Ryan culminating on a 300-style last stand albeit it 300 German troops descending upon one busted tank and five soldiers.

Within the tank you get a real sense of the grit, grim, blood, sweat and tears shed by these men and with the constant reloading of shells and firing it feels like Das Tank. It's just a shame that the crew didn't get much chance to develop their characters beyond the one note "Leader", "Newbie", Bible Basher", "Redneck" and "Mexican" as there would have been more emotional investment in these In-Fury-ous Basterds come the finale.

War. What is it good for? Making movies. And Fury is a good movie but we'll have to wait and see if it tanks at the box office.

3 stars