4k-UHD/Movie Review: Ant Man and the Wasp

 

Ant-Man and the Wasp is one of the 2018 entries in the MCU slate of movies. It was directed by Peyton Reed. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michael Pena all reprise their roles from the first movie. Walton Goggins, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hannah John-Kamen, and Randall Park are all newly added cast members for this movie. The story is mostly a sequel to Ant-Man, focusing on rescuing Hank's wife (Pfeiffer) from the quantum realm. It is set in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War with Scott being near the end of a two-year-long house arrest for his violation of the Sokovia accords. He has a dream about Hope's mother/Hank's wife the original wasp Janet Van Dyn, with Hope and Hank springing him from house arrest (in a pretty hilarious manner). I will not give too much away, but it basically becomes a game of keep-away with Hank's tech from the various people after it, including a shady tech dealer, played by Walton Goggins, and Ghost, played by Hannah John-Kamen. Scott also has to keep ahead of the FBI. The events of Infinity War are tied in during the mid-credits scene. I will not give away exactly what happens, but we do see the consequences of Thanos' snap play out, and it sets out where the characters are going into Avengers 4.

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format, especially if you have a large screen. The UHD disc just has the movie itself, and all of the bonus content is on the regular Blu-ray. There are about 22 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of features, a short gag reel, and a few deleted scenes. The bonus features probably amount to between 30 and 40 minutes in total. Ultimately, the movie is one of more than 20 in the overall MCU story arc. It is written so you do not have to have seen the others to follow most of it, but it will definitely help if you are up to date with the overall story arc that has played out throughout the other movies. The entire cast, from the stars to the supporting characters, are all great in their roles. Evangeline Lilly does a great job as the Wasp and really seemed to be having fun with her more expanded role. As long as you do not have superhero movie fatigue, this is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Captain America Civil War

 

Civil War is one of the 2016 entries into the MCU. It was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and brought back nearly all of the MCU main characters/actors. This movie was really a sequel to all the various movies that have come before and was as much an Ironman sequel as it was a Captain America sequel. I will not go too much into the story because to do so would be to give too much away. But there are elements of revenge, misdirection, and, most of all, consequences for the things that came before. It is really the first attempt in the movies to deal with the collateral damage done to the ordinary public after the big climactic battles like those of the two Avengers movies, the second Thor movie, etc. The fallout of that collateral damage leads some characters to agree to let the United Nations decide when and where to deploy the superheroes, which begins to fracture the team. What ultimately causes the biggest rift is a much larger storyline involving Captain America (Chris Evans), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).

This transition movie is bridging what has come before with what we know is coming, specifically the Infinity Wars movie. This movie leaves the Avengers team very much tattered, with Thor and Hulk conspicuously absent. It leaves a question about where those characters will fall when they are brought back into the storyline. As most know, this movie also introduces Black Panther, which I think is very well played by Chadwick Boseman, and yet another incarnation of Spider-Man, this time played by Tom Holland. In the main battle between the two teams, Spider-Man and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) very much steal the scenes, both in terms of comedy and with what they bring to the fight.

For those who get the discs, the movie looks and sounds great on Blu-ray. For extras, there is a commentary track on the film by the filmmakers (none of the cast), about an hour plus of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, and a gag reel. There is also a short feature introducing the Doctor Strange movie. Ultimately, this movie is not so complex that you would have no idea what is going on if you have not seen the other movies, but given the movies and, to a smaller extent, the various TV series are all telling a large overarching story, the events of this movie will be easier to follow the more you have seen what has come before. The acting is very good, and the special effects are top-notch. If you have superhero fatigue with all the various movies or are just lukewarm to them in general, then this will probably not be for you. For everybody else, while liking it or not will be subjective, most will find it enjoyable.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Ant Man

 

Ant-Man is one of the 2015 entries into the MCU slate of movies. It continues the MCU storyline and is set after the events of The Age of Ultron. It even ties back somewhat to the Agent Carter TV series, with Hailey Atwell and John Slattery appearing as aged versions of Peggy Carter and Howard Stark at the beginning of the movie as a setup for the rest of the plot. There are even tie-ins to the next Captain America movie (with a post-credits scene) and, ultimately, to the Avengers Infinity Wars movies (which will include Ant-Man). Without giving too much away, Michael Douglas's character Hank Prym, one of the original S.H.E. I. L.D. agents and inventor of the ant man suit, a technology that allows humans to shrink to the size of an ant, and gain the equivalent of an ant's strength to its size hires burglar Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd to break into his former company and steal a second suit being developed by Prym's one time protege now rival Darren Cross (played by House of Cards' Cory Stoll). Evangeline Lilly plays Hope van Dyne, Prym's daughter, who reluctantly helps Lang train to become Ant-Man.

There are multiple physical media releases of the movie now. The Blu-ray's A/V quality is very good, as has been the case with the other MCU movies, especially the more recent ones. For extras, the single-disc version includes a few short behind-the-scenes and making-of features, about 10 minutes worth of "news" footage that helps flesh out some of the characters' backgrounds, some deleted scenes, and a gag reel. While the extras that were included are good, they are not as extensive as the releases of some of the other movies have received.

I think those who are fans of the Marvel Universe movies and TV shows will enjoy this. The tone of the movie is different enough that if you are having superhero movie fatigue, you can find it enjoyable because it is definitely not like any of the ones that have come before it. While some of it is a bit silly, to be sure (but really, all the superhero movies are to some extent), this movie embraces and even plays on the silliness in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The acting is very good, and the movie does well staying on the fringes of the larger MCU storyline while telling its own story. At its core, the film is a heist movie wrapped up in a superhero movie. It is like Oceans 11 meets The Avengers. It does very well as the origin story for the various stand-alone characters yet blends into the existing Marvel Universe, with the biggest cross-over being the meeting between Ant-Man and Falcon about halfway into the movie. Paul Rudd does a great job of being a hero who is willing to break the rules or the law to do the right thing. He also brings an air of every man (he did not have to get ripped for the movie like Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth did for their roles) and brings the smart-ass quality that he is known for from his other work. The movie has a good blend of action and humor (probably more humor than the other MCU movies combined) and is absolutely worth the time to watch.