Ant-Man and the Wasp

Usually, any time that a new Marvel film is being released I get unashamedly excited like a small puppy but as mentioned in my recent Ant-Man review I missed the boat on the whole Ant-Man movement. But with the first film in this series being a surprise hit (with me at least) I was keen to view the follow up pretty shortly after. Here's what I thought. 

I just wasn’t feeling it. How could I be? After Thor: Ragnarok, the cultural phenomenon and record-breaking Black Panther, the heart-breaking Infinity War and the hilarious first instalment of Ant-Man, it didn’t stand a chance. I went in with an open mind and middle to high expectations hoping it would provide the palette cleanse so many reviewers before had claimed it would.

Unfortunately, it didn’t. Ant-Man and the Wasp was no palette cleanser - it was boring and forgettable with a few exceptions which made me exhale slightly harder than usual. I would only rewatch this film if, after seeing Endgame in May, I want to find hidden Marvel easter eggs or references. It's basically an in between film that gets you from one strong Avenger movie to another.

The film begins two years after the events of Captain America: Civil War and during the same time that Infinity War’s storyline occurs. Scott Lang, played once again by Paul Rudd, finds himself bored under house-arrest after helping ‘Cap’, coming up with imaginative ways to entertain his daughter. So, when Hope Van Dyne, Evangeline Lily, and Hank Pym, Michael Douglas, come knocking at his door seeking help to rescue Hope’s mother, Michelle Pfeiffer, who is presumed dead in the Quantum Realm, he can’t resist.

Whilst the plot may sound enjoyable, it’s apparent from the outset that this won’t have the scale, importance or depth that Infinity War had. And that’s the key problem - Marvel has shot itself in the foot by escalating the impressiveness of its films. After the jaw-dropping end to Infinity War which left me speechless, suddenly seeing Scott Lang in a dressing gown trying to make too many jokes felt very out of place and poorly timed. This isn’t helped by the fact the film feels stale too. A lot of the comedy is the same - Luis’s rambling monologues, for example. Whilst Michael Peña is easily the most entertaining character of the film some original humour would have been welcomed rather than variations on the previous films’. On top of this, I couldn’t help disliking Evangeline Lily and Michael Douglas throughout. I'm not against liking the 'bad guy' or feeling conflicted about the 'good guy' but there was something about the pair that didn't sit right in this second film. It's as if I suddenly recognised that the characters had always been under-developed and thoroughly dull. In a film which prides itself on light-hearted comedy and relatable characters, both Lily and Douglas are too cold and blunt - not once while they’re on screen did they make me laugh. Admittedly, Lily kicks ass throughout and it’s exciting to see her adopt the mantle of The Wasp, but their dialogue really brings them down and an actor as prestigious as Douglas felt wasted.

To add to this, the villains were awful. Ghost had some depth but ultimately, was forgettable. We are given a brief insight into her past which aims to make us feel sorry for her - but then, in the same breath, she threatens to kidnap a child which drains any sympathy I may have had for her. Walton Goggins’ southern black-market arms dealer is no better either and acts more as a pawn to further the story than an actual character. This is only worsened when you compare them to other Marvel villains like Thanos, Loki, Ronan and the Winter Soldier (Bucky) to name a few.

That being said, Ant-Man and The Wasp isn’t all bad. For me, the redeeming quality of this film, like in the first, is how the visuals are utilised to cleverly distort the size of objects and people. In the first film, who could forget the iconic Thomas the Tank Engine scene? Well, whilst there was no stand-out scene like that in the sequel, it was amusing to see a gigantic Hello Kitty Pez dispenser hurled out a car as well as an assortment of enlarged functioning Hot Wheels cars which are later used in a surprisingly enjoyable car chase set piece.

Ultimately though, Ant-Man and The Wasp is a minor disappointment. Arguably, this is through no fault of its own – after all, how can you easily follow a film like Infinity War, the culmination of ten years work? That being said, the repetitive, unoriginal humour, boring villains and unambitious storyline didn’t help. I also struggled to see the relevance it had to the overarching MCU storyline other than explaining where Ant-Man was during Infinity War and what occurs in the first credit scene. I'm hoping Endgame has the answers.

Murder on the Orient Express

The world might not have been waiting with bated breath for a new Poirot film, but I'd be lying if I said that the first trailer for Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express didn't pique my interest. Bright neon writing, a lengthy tracking shot from a first-person perspective before the reveal of the greatest moustache you've ever seen - Murder on the Orient Express looked radically different from what I expected, which when combined with a really impressive ensemble cast made it something I was actually excited to see.

And for good reason, it turns out. While hardly a must-see movie or the genre revitalisation I had hoped for, Murder on the Orient Express is a mostly well-made and very watchable detective yarn, the kind that you don't often see anymore. You know the story - there's been a murder on the Orient Express, and it's up to Hercule Poirot to solve the mystery. 

Before that though, we get a nice introductory scene in Jerusalem that sees Poirot solving a more minor crime, giving us plenty of time to get accustomed to both his methods and his personality. I'm no Poirot connoisseur (in fact, my knowledge of the character starts and ends at him being smart and mustachioed), but I like Branagh in the role - there is a warmth and theatricality to him that stop his eccentricities or somewhat impersonal manner from painting him as alien or distant, without robbing him of any of his intelligence. Equally impressive are the supporting cast, at least when they're given the chance to be. It was always going to be difficult to balance the needs of the story with a cast this large in a film that's less than two hours long, and while Murder on the Orient Express doesn't always pull that balancing act off, most of these performances are strong enough to leave an impression regardless. Interestingly, it's the newer actors that end up getting the most screen-time rather than the veterans - Daisy Ridley and Josh Gad are arguably the most prominent of the supporting characters, and they're both able to hold their own against the more established cast surrounding them.

The core story may be an interesting one, but writer Michael Green can hardly be given credit for it, and ultimately Branagh's execution of that story is rarely more or less than just serviceable - which isn't to say that it's bad merely that it doesn't do anything to elevate the material beyond what it already offers. Ultimately, even with its star-studded cast, relatively high budget and modern film-making techniques, you've seen this film a dozen times before, whether that be through a previous adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express or even just in the way it so closely resembles almost any other detective story.

Perfectly watchable and considering that it's a film consisting of little more than conversations, it kept me entertained and engaged for most of its running time.