Ant-Man and The Wasp

After the emotionally wrenching ending of "Avengers: Infinity War", we were due a purely fun entry in the Marvel canon. It arrives in fine form as ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, the follow up to the funny & enjoyable original in 2015.

Paul Rudd is back as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, just days from the end of his house arrest.

When a portal to another dimension that Scott was the only one to return from in his last mission is opened, Scott is reunited with his former love and partner Hope/Wasp and her father Dr. Hank Pym. They are attempting to recover Hope's mother, whose been trapped in the "phantom zone" like realm for thirty years.

Evangeline Lilly (Lost) is great as Hope, exasperated that Scott left to fight with Captain America in the "Civil War" battle in Germany that led to his arrest.

Michael Douglas is equally good as the clever Dr. Pym, unveiling a never ending series of suits and scientific breakthroughs like a more quiet and less well-funded version of Tony Stark.

Michelle Pfieffer (The Witches of Eastwick, Scarface) is great on screen as Hope's mother and the flashback scenes of her and Douglas three decades ago are a triumph of CGI.

Walter Goggins (Vice Principals, Justified) is our earthly villain in a predictable subplot that shows him chasing the tecnology for evil-doers. Hannah John-Kamen (Game of Thrones, Ready Player One) is our less than Earth bound Ghost.

The action scenes are first rate, with a car chase through the classic hills of San Francisco made even more enjoyable when our heroes cars are shrunk and expanded to varying sizes that add a whole new dimension to a traditional movie chase scene.

Michael Pena is back as Scott's friend Luis and is even better than he was in the original. His storytelling during a truth serum questioning is hilarious and just one of many solid choices from Director Peyton Reed that continue and build on the fun he created in the original film.

Randall Park (The Interview, Veep) is the most inept FBI chief in history, which is great for us as he delivers a TON of great comic relief. He is the perfect, socially awkward foil to Rudd's deadpan delivery.

At the center of it all is Paul Rudd (Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin) who looks like a super hero but brings many laughs with perfect comic timing. He's a riot.

Throw in a great action music score by Christophe Beck (Edge of Tomorrow), songs from The Partridge Family, references to everything from "Them!" to "Animal House" and a fantastic closing title sequence and you have a really enjoyable, lightweight Marvel flick every bit the equal of the original.

We kept asking ourselves when this film takes place in the timeline of the series. Stay tuned after that great End Title sequence for a post credits scene that will answer that question to perfection.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP have plenty of comic sting and deliver a fun-filled B+.