Tiny heroes, huge heart.

If the very concept of Ant-Man wasn’t a hard enough sell on its own, the film’s development hell made it downright astounding that it not only got made at all, but that the end result was far better than it had any right to be. After Guardians of the Galaxy sold us on a talking raccoon and a living tree, the against-all-odds success of an ant-riding superhero was truly the point Marvel proved their infallibility once and for all.

Conceived at a time that pre-dates the behemoth Marvel Studios would later become, Ant-Man looked to be the studio’s first major flop when Edgar Wright unceremoniously parted ways with the project. With friction mounting and a relative unknown in Peyton Reed drafted in for directorial duties at the last minute, surely Ant-Man had car crash written all over it? Not quite.

While the film was nowhere near the box office success of many of its more illustrious franchise-mates, Ant-Man bucked expectations to become the kind of small but enthusiastic success story that perfectly reflected its eponymous hero and his place within the ever-expanding universe.

Just when the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks to dial up the action and stakes to epic, world-ending proportions, it has become custom to deploy Ant-Man as some form of superhero palate cleanser. After Avengers: Age of Ultron dropped an entire city on its head, along came Ant-Man with a quirky, small-scale heist comedy to calm everyone’s nerves.

Just three years on from the first film’s successes, Marvel are playing the same trick again, as the enormous, universe-shaking consequences of Avengers: Infinity War are swiftly followed up with Ant-Man and the Wasp – the perfect superhero pick-me-up when a massive, purple, raisin-chinned alien starts getting you down.

In the wake of his adventures with the Avengers in Germany, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) wrestles with the consequences of his choices as both a superhero and a father. Now under house arrest and struggling to balance his personal life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, Scott is dragged back into action when Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank (Michael Douglas) task him with an urgent mission. Suiting up once again, Scott joins forces with The Wasp to rescue her mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), from the Quantum Realm and help unlock secrets from the past before it’s too late.

After ten years, there’s bound to be a few repetitive features for any film franchise and, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe has its fair share of recurring ticks, thankfully the most persistent thing about it all is just how strongly they stick to their principles. Much like Disney classmates Pixar, there’s a certain nobility to the studio’s unwavering commitment to its core beliefs and it’s largely this dogged determination that has seen them last so long in such a cut-throat industry.

Fundamental to everything at Marvel is an unwavering belief in every film’s heart, humour, and potential as a visual spectacle. Pick any one of the twenty-two films in the MCU arsenal and even the harshest of critics will be hard pressed not to recognise each of these elements in at least some form and, without a doubt, Ant-Man and the Wasp ticks all three of these boxes and then some.

Cranking things up a notch like any good sequel should, Ant-Man and the Wasp, however, never loses sight of just what made its predecessor tick. The film has all the key ingredients of a Marvel success, yet, before anything else, it ensures its heart is firmly in the right place, wrapping its narrative around core, universal themes of parenthood and family.

Played wonderfully by Paul Rudd and the infinitely cute Abby Ryder Fortson, the father-daughter relationship between Scott and Cassie is as adorable as ever. Superheroes struggling to strike a balance between hero and home life has been done to death over the years, yet Ant-Man and the Wasp’s attempts to tie these common themes into Scott’s efforts to be there for a daughter that idolises him precisely because of his reckless heroism adds a neat little spin on a well-worn concept and makes their bond all the more resonant.

Playing as a parallel to this, Hank and Hope continue to work through their relationship issues, while the discovery that Janet may still be alive in the Quantum Realm gives their side of the narrative a new, surprisingly affective, hook. As with Scott and Cassie, the notion of balancing parental responsibility with allowing your child to become the hero they’re destined to be is a powerful thread that weaves its way through the Pym/van Dyne relationship and one that bonds together an often fractious narrative.

Of course, what made Ant-Man become such an unexpected hit is just how much of a chord the humour hit. Thanks partially to original writing duo Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, but supplemented by subsequent scribes Adam McKay and Rudd himself, Ant-Man’s comedy chops felt a step above even the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy. It was zippy, well balanced, highly visual, and utterly bizarre, yet this suited the character to a tee.

Ant-Man and the Wasp’s humour doesn’t always land in quite the same way, yet when it hits, it hits and is as hilarious as anything Marvel Studios have offered recently. Fun, silly, witty, and often wonderfully dry; the film’s humour is the embodiment of both Scott and Hope as characters, and precisely the kind of light relief needed after all of Black Panther’s social commentary and the utter devastation of Avengers: Infinity War.

From Scott’s goofy, unlikely hero shtick, to absolutely every scene involving Michael Peña’s Luis, there are one-liners, running gags, and wry witticisms sprinkled throughout, yet what really hits is the film’s visual trickery. While the visual humour that comes from the shrinking and growing abilities of the titular heroes may not be the novelty it once was, it delivers as consistently as Ant-Man, while always looking to find new ways to go one better when necessary.

There’s an incredibly simple charm in seeing both people and inanimate objects shrink and grow at will, however, Ant-Man and the Wasp takes advantage of this to its fullest. Whether it’s our heroes, a salt shaker, or a Hot Wheels collection; the film runs with the size gags as far as it possibly can without ever exhausting the joke.

Nothing quite tops the all-out fun of Ant-Man’s final showdown in Cassie’s bedroom, Thomas the Tank Engine et al, but there are many fight and chase sequences that make full use of the CGI trickery at the filmmakers’ disposal to produce something that’s an absolute joy to behold. There’s even room for a deep (if all too brief) dive into the weirdness of the Quantum Realm, complete with the most mind-bending visuals this side of Doctor Strange – a minuscule section of the universe that’s sure to play a big part in the MCU moving forward.

While it bounces around all over the place with the energy of a kid on a Baskin-Robbins binge, the film’s plot is a far simpler affair compared to the eye-popping visuals. Narratively, things feel far looser than the first film, yet the plot is just as low-key and, while this small-scale approach stays true to the affable, approachable spirit of its characters, it all feels a rather lacking in stakes as a consequence.

Of course, Infinity War has just offered up the most grandiose stakes imaginable, so it comes as something of a relief to literally and figuratively shrink things down, yet, with a lack of definitive antagonist and a central plot that feels over and done with far too quickly, it’s hard not to feel a little underwhelmed. Much like its predecessor, Ant-Man and the Wasp breezes by on its charm, heart, and visuals, while the plot leaves far less of an impression.

As loveable, child-like, and charming as ever; Paul Rudd is an effortlessly engaging hero and gives it his all once again for a superhero role that he continues to embody with surprising ease, however, it’s his co-star that absolutely steals the show. Making Marvel Studios history as the first female superhero to be named in the title (it’s about damn time), Evangeline Lilly grabs her opportunity with both hands and doesn’t let go.

Playing the kick-ass straight role opposite Rudd’s affable goofball, Lilly is finally unleashed after spending much of Ant-Man in the shadows, absolutely ripping through the film like a natural born hero. With Captain Marvel up next on the MCU docket, and with the promise of more female-centric outings to come, you’ve got to believe that Marvel have grand plans for Lilly in the future of the franchise.

As Lilly and Rudd bounce off one another, what Ant-Man and the Wasp does so well is to supplement its heroes with an ensemble cast of oddball characters that form the film’s strong, if rag-tag, foundation. From the stately class of veterans Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Lawrence Fishburne, to the return of everyone’s favourite ex-con security specialist sidekicks - Luis, Kurt, and Dave - Ant-Man and the Wasp brims with just the right balance of wisdom and comedic quirkiness to fit the bill.

However, with supporting protagonists left, right, and centre, what Ant-Man and the Wasp often lacks is an antagonistic focal point. Playing different forms of villain, both Walton Goggins and Hannah John-Kamen deliver great performances, yet neither feel like anything more than inconvenient stumbling blocks, rather than anything of villainous significance. Of the two, John-Kamen’s Ghost holds the more dramatic weight as one of the MCU’s more tragic villains, yet the film often holds back on allowing the character to develop in any satisfying way.

Above all else, however, the glue that holds Ant-Man and the Wasp together so well is director Peyton Reed. As the unsung hero of Ant-Man, Reed has at last been given a blank canvas and free rein on characters that he clearly loves, and this affection shines through with every scene.

If there’s one thing that Marvel has nailed more than anything else throughout the years, it’s their uncanny ability to pair directors with the perfect project. While they’re not always the biggest names around, this clearly means nothing to the studio, as they continue to search out untapped talent that make up for the lack of name recognition with aptitude, knowledge, and a deep-seated passion for the source material.

With a short, mixed bag filmography that consists of comedies of varying quality, Reed doesn’t immediately scream superhero franchise, yet, upon further inspection, Marvel have clearly found themselves another winner. Putting his recent transgressions to one side for a moment, there’s more than a little James Gunn to Peyton Reed’s approach, as he takes to such obscure characters with the unbridled joy and knowledgeable bravado that only a super-fan could possess.

Much like Gunn’s take on the Guardians of the Galaxy, Reed clearly realises that all the oddball quirkiness and idiosyncrasies would be for nought were it not for character and heart. Strip the shrinking and comic book science shenanigans away and Ant-Man and the Wasp is a delightfully small-scale, self-contained story that feels much needed after the bombast of Infinity War. The reduced scale certainly makes for a far more focused and relatable affair than the intergalactic mayhem that preceded it and it’s precisely this kind of tonal handbrake turn where Marvel often excel.

While it’s not particularly ground-breaking, Ant-Man and the Wasp feels like a delightfully light sorbet after the carb-heavy Black Panther and Infinity War main course. Staying true to Marvel’s core beliefs of heart, humour, and visuals; the film embodies much of what made its predecessor tick while upping the ante in almost every respect. Built around stunning CGI, a charismatic lead duo, and with Peyton Reed given a clean run on proceedings; Ant-Man and the Wasp manages to turn its small scale to its advantage and, while it’s certainly not the most impactful MCU effort around, it more than makes up for the lack of weight with the size of its heart. After all of Marvel’s universe balancing and political commentary this year, sometimes you just want to see what damage a giant Hello Kitty Pez dispenser could do in a car chase.