ANT-MAN and the WASP: July 6, 2018 (1 Viewer)

[sleroi]

Saw this tonight, 2d, and really enjoyed it. I wasn't a huge fan of the first Ant Man film. I saw it once and haven't felt compelled to revisit it, even before seeing its sequel.

The action sequences this time around were great and far less gimmicky than the Thomas bit in the first movie. And more importantly, the humor really worked for me this time around. It was just a fun movie.

Two minor questions I have though: how do you survive 30 years without food or water? And while physical objects seemed to shrink or enlarge with a beam or particles, humans seemed to need a suit. Like when Hank suited up before getting into the vehicle to enter the quantum realm. But an unsuited Michael Pena seemed to shrink just fine in the flaming Hyundai?

 

[Greg.K]

Two minor questions I have though: how do you survive 30 years without food or water?

Adam replied to my similar question that the adaptation that she was experiencing in the QR meant she could absorb and use the energy there to survive. Ok, I guess so (waves hands, don't think too hard, comic book movie physics). But I still don't think she or Scott should have been able to breathe or speak without helmets on.

I rewatched the Quantum Realm scene from the first ANT-MAN movie and it made more sense there - there was no "ground", he was floating because gravity had no effect (even his little power disc thing started floating away from him when he accidentally dropped it). I really liked that scene.

But I guess the explanation must be that there are areas that are more amenable to supporting life.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I suspect there will be an Ant-Man 3, given what Kevin Feige said recently about giving characters the audience likes a trilogy.

Especially since this film is off to a solid start, I don't see any reason to think otherwise.

Assuming the three-year gap from between the first two films repeats again, Disney has staked out May 5, July 30 and November 5, 2021 for currently unrevealed Marvel films TBA. We know Ant-Man isn't a big enough franchise to claim May 5, but it could easily go on July 30, which would be a little bit later than for the other two films, but still possible. Disney also has the July 9, 2021 date reserved for a "Disney Live-Action" title, but they could easily swap Ant-Man into that slot and put the "Disney" title on the 30th (like how Christopher Robin is in that slot on August 3 this year.)

The same general pattern repeats itself in 2022, with Marvel claiming dates on February 8, May 6, and July 29, while Disney live-action takes May 27 and July 8. I find this interesting because it demonstrates that Disney is clearly trying to put some additional space between the May Marvel film and the July one than they've had in the past couple of years. The release of Ant-Man and the Wasp pushed Infinity War out of my local theater, so perhaps they are trying to let the summer kickoff film stick around a bit longer before unleashing the second title of the summer. The last time Marvel used the end of July/early August release window was for Guardians of the Galaxy, which worked out nicely. Had they used it for Ant-Man and the Wasp this year instead of early July, it likely would have faced even less direct competition than it currently does.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/?view=distributor&id=buenavista.htm

We'll see where the third one lands. I suspect they will begin development on it soon, quietly, even though they won't officially reveal it until next year post-Avengers 4, so it will probably be ready for 2021.

What's interesting is that Disney has three dates staked for 2021, even though Spider-Man should be due for a third MCU entry by then too, given the two-year gap between his films, and Sony would be the one releasing a Spider-Man project. I suppose it's possible that Disney could "give" one of those dates to Sony if a Spider-Man film were to end up as part of their 2021 slate. Theoretically, if that were to be the case, I would assume Spider-Man would move to the summer kickoff weekend in May, and Ant-Man would stay in July. But we'll see what happens.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

So far, the only post-Avengers 4 movie officially announced is Spider-Man: Far From Home, both because the release schedule required it to start filming well before Avengers 4 comes out and because of the unique partnership between Sony and Marvel on that one. Based on James Gunn's public comments, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 sounds like a lock for one of the 2020 slots.

I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel announces the next seven or eight films shortly after the release of Avengers 4.

When it comes to Ant-Man, there's arguments for doing it sooner, and there's arguments for doing it later.

On one hand, Paul Rudd is going to be fifty next year. His boyish looks allow him to play younger, but Marvel has to know that there's a shelf life for Scott Lang suiting up as Ant-Man. There's also the fact that they'd presumably want Hank Pym back for the next one, and Michael Douglas is in his seventies with stage IV cancer that is being successfully managed but could presumably get worse at any time.

On the other hand, if they decide to make Ant-Man 3 the capper of a trilogy, then Paul Rudd's age isn't really an issue. Set the movie five or six years after Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Cassie Lang will be a teenager. That movie can lay the groundwork for her introduction into the MCU as Stinger or Stature, they can cast an up and coming young actor as Eric O'Grady, and shift Scott into the Hank role as mentor.

Spoiler: Possible minor Avengers 4 spoiler

Emma Fuhrmann has reportedly been cast as a teenage Cassie Lang in Avengers 4. If that's the case, Avengers 4 might involve time travel or a fairly significant time jump. Even if that gets reset by the end of the film, Ant-Man 3 might want to jump a few years into the future and utilize Fuhrmann's Cassie instead of waiting for Abby Ryder Fortson to reach that age.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Assuming the three-year gap from between the first two films repeats again, Disney has staked out May 5, July 30 and November 5, 2021 for currently unrevealed Marvel films TBA. We know Ant-Man isn't a big enough franchise to claim May 5, but it could easily go on July 30, which would be a little bit later than for the other two films, but still possible. Disney also has the July 9, 2021 date reserved for a "Disney Live-Action" title, but they could easily swap Ant-Man into that slot and put the "Disney" title on the 30th (like how Christopher Robin is in that slot on August 3 this year.)

Well, I was close.

A Marvel movie on July 30, 2021, moves to February 12, 2021 (a date the studio already had penned for an untitled Disney live-action film), while an untitled Disney live-action title for July 9, 2021, heads to July 30 that year.

https://deadline.com/2018/07/indian...urns-dwayne-johnson-jungle-cruise-1202423959/

I really wonder if another Ant-Man could make a go of the February slot. It wouldn't do Black Panther numbers, obviously (what would?), but might stand out more amidst lesser competition in that month.

Also, I really wonder what they will call the next film. Calling it Ant-Man 3 would be weird since I don't think they will want to take Wasp out of the title now that she got that promotion in this second film, but calling it Ant-Man and the Wasp 2 would be a little odd since it will be the third film in the franchise. Maybe Ant-Man and the Wasp vs. [Insert Villain Name here], or with some other qualifier.

 

[Josh Dial]

Also, I really wonder what they will call the next film. Calling it Ant-Man 3 would be weird since I don't think they will want to take Wasp out of the title now that she got that promotion in this second film, but calling it Ant-Man and the Wasp 2 would be a little odd since it will be the third film in the franchise. Maybe Ant-Man and the Wasp vs. [Insert Villain Name here], or with some other qualifier.

My guess is one of the classic comic titles such as "The Astonishing Ant-Man".

 

[Jake Lipson]

My guess is one of the classic comic titles such as "The Astonishing Ant-Man".

As long as it's not a reboot and works out better than The Amazing Spider-Man did...

 

[TJPC]

Lately a person has been able to pre-order all the Marvel 3D movies from Amazon.uk months in advance. I pre-ordered the last Avengers 3D Blu a day or two before I even saw it.

What is going on with Ant Man and the Wasp? It is still not available on Amazon.uk.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The Digital Bits says it's expected to hit Blu-ray on October 16, which is the same schedule used last year for Homecoming.

 

[Malcolm R]

Lately a person has been able to pre-order all the Marvel 3D movies from Amazon.uk months in advance. I pre-ordered the last Avengers 3D Blu a day or two before I even saw it.

What is going on with Ant Man and the Wasp? It is still not available on Amazon.uk.

Maybe they don't post it for pre-order until the film is in UK theaters? The film is not released until 8/2 in the UK.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Saw the film this afternoon in our 2D only AMC iMax. Enjoyed it immensely. Some observations or questions:

Spoiler

Based on the first post credits scene, the Ghost still needs rejuvination.

When Janet tells Hank 30 years in the quantum realm has made her a different woman, I thought, uh oh, she's gone over to the dark side.

I was really hating the Ghost, she was ready to kidnap a child and commit murder to get what she needed. I forgot she was in constant pain and that can really change you. At the end she was even showing some self sacrifice.

Both movies did a good job of creating absurd, very funny situations involving changing sizes. Michael Pena stole every scene he was in. I loved the "it's not a truth serum" argument.

 

[Traveling Matt]

I enjoyed it as well, as I did the first film. The script seemed a bit weak in places (what was that bromance scene with the main FBI agent at the end about??) and Laurence Fishburne seemed quite underused, but overall it was great. It's hard for Paul Rudd and Michael Pena to do wrong. I wished Pena's lip-synching gag were longer though. It ran forever in the first film but never overstayed its welcome, and I think they could have gotten away with another just as long.

I find a lighter superhero series a welcome break; you can only go so dark and intense until you have nowhere else to go. I'd certainly watch a third one.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I find a lighter superhero series a welcome break; you can only go so dark and intense until you have nowhere else to go. I'd certainly watch a third one.

Yeah, to be honest, this is probably my second-favorite MCU sub-franchise after Guardians to watch for pure laughs just for just this reason. Black Panther and Infinity War are weighier and better, but Ant-Man and the Wasp was the most pure fun to watch of the three this year. I certainly hope and expect they will conclude the trilogy, and Peyton Reed should come back too. He's not as flashy or distinctive a director as Edgar Wright would have been, but he displays a really deft hand with the material and tells the story in an effective and fun way.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I really enjoyed this. Just the right fun tone for a lighthearted adventure with some heart.

Luis may have stolen the show, but everyone was really good. Lilly was a great co-lead. I really look forward to seeing more of her character and hopefully her involvement with the Avengers in the future. And Rudd is such a likeable, flawed “Everyman” type hero. He had some really great stuff in this. His daughter is just so damn adorable.

I liked that there wasn’t necessarily a straight out villain and instead it had several different antagonists with varying levels of “villainy”.

I think my favorite bits were the parts revolving around the “truth serum”, Scott’s grade school adventure, and the climactic car chase. Oh, and Scott’s magic.

Loved the tie-in to Infinity War. I can’t wait to see what Lang brings to the table against Thanos next Spring.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Two minor questions I have though: how do you survive 30 years without food or water? And while physical objects seemed to shrink or enlarge with a beam or particles, humans seemed to need a suit. Like when Hank suited up before getting into the vehicle to enter the quantum realm. But an unsuited Michael Pena seemed to shrink just fine in the flaming Hyundai?

They don’t need the suits to shrink. The suits control and regulate the process, but more importantly it protects them from having their brain chemistry affected from exposure to the Pym Particles. Even using the suits, long term use can be detrimental as Hank indicated in the first movie. He didn’t get into exactly how, but he said it “took a toll” and that was why he wasn’t the one who was going to use the suit to steal Cross’s version of the tech. I think they have kept the specifics around all this intentionally vague so that they don’t limit themselves in what they can do in future stories. It’s possible that the protection the suit provides is only needed during the proces of the size change and that once the change is complete they can safely remove the helmet. In this movie they did have Scott with his helmet off after he grew large in the school closet and when he was child size. So I think it’s purpose is protection during the size change and to provide breathable air when the size change takes the user beyond the point where one would be able to breath (or would have difficulty breathing) normal sized oxygen molecules.

The vehicles are closed systems, just like a suit. You don’t need to be wearing a suit inside of one of Pym’s cars because the car is a “suit”. Right after Scott woke up in the vehicle with Hope and said he wanted to leave to go back home (not realizing they were miniaturized) she told him “the door can’t open while the system is engaged”.

Hank suiting up before going in the vehicle is like a diver putting on a suit before getting into a mini sub if he or she was planing on exiting the sub at some point.

As far as Janet surviving for 30 years in the quantum realm, that again is left vague. But I believe the intention is that the quantum realm is like a different level of reality with as yet undefined characteristics. For now, we can say the “quantum energy” somehow sustained her. She even said, regarding her survival there, that it was part adaptation and part evolution. But I think there may be even more to it than has been touched on in these two movies so far. But that would be for future stories to reveal.

 

[dpippel]

Finally caught this in real IMAX 3D today. LOVED IT! I agree that some of the humor seemed a bit more forced than in the first film, but most of it worked really well. How Marvel keeps doing this stuff so well is amazing. The audience HATED the mid-credits scene, however. Lots of reaction.

 

[Tino]

As long as it's not a reboot and works out better than The Amazing Spider-Man did...

Yup. That was the worst Marvel film in my opinion. It was just so..............annoying.

 

[Tommy R]

The whole truth serum had me in stitches too! I don't know how sodium pentothal works in real life, but I've read at least a couple spy novels that touched on the complexity of how that stuff is actually used and the delicate tactics that interrogators must follow when using "truth serum".

This series is probably my favorite Marvel sub-series next to Thor. It's such a wonderful mix of hilarious comedy, likeable characters and truly exciting action. I absolutely cannot wait to see the next Avengers.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

An interesting interview with Craig Wood, ACE about editing Ant-Man and the Wasp

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

So we have a building that was shrunk down and tossed around by various characters. How come nothing inside was strewn about like wreckage when they got back inside? Magnets? Superglue? Careless attention to detail?