#and con just. fits the bill and makes this character so much more likeable

[izzy-b-hands]

tried to be gentle with myself today and fingers crossed, I'll be feeling ok enough by bedtime to sit up and watch some more Cucumber

[miikkasakari]

20

And then, at some point, it became apparent that Scott Lang was one of my favourite characters in the MCU, and the fun ride that was Ant-Man and the Wasp helped drive it home.

Ant-Man probably should not work on the big screen; it does largely because even despite all the wacky science it keeps itself grounded. The interpersonal drama is relatively minimal; by the time we’re at its sequel, it’s mostly gone. I mean, yeah, it’s there - Scott betrayed Hope and Hank - but he also has his unconventional family’s full love and support, and when he gets reunited with Hope, it doesn’t take her long to warm back up to him. Because ultimately, he’s still a good, well-meaning person, and she can’t distance herself from him as a means to an end.

It’s Scott being so likeable that makes the entire thing click. His goal is pretty simple, as it has been in most moments we see him: be there for Cassie in whatever way he can. While Maggie and Paxton weren’t trusting of him in the first movie, by the time the second one comes around, even though he’s technically done something so much worse they fully trust him; it’s because he’s made it clear Cassie is his world and he would do anything for her and to ensure her safety. Paxton saw it with his own eyes in the first one. He didn’t just magically get everyone’s trust - he had to earn it back. With his family it was off-screen; with Hope and Hank, it was on-screen.

I really, really love how quickly they’re able to come back together. And one of the highlights of these movies is how unique they can get with battle sequences - and though Ghost’s abilities limited any real battle sequences with her, the effects were extremely cool - and a big part of that is how flexible Scott and Hope can be while teaming up. It’s fun and adds an extra dynamic, both to their relationship and to the overall direction. And I really can’t emphasize it enough: the way they’re able to so quickly fall back into how things first were between them is a genuine delight. They’re partners.

There’s also the whole “Scott is the only good dad in the entire MCU” thing which, really, he is; a great deal of his emotional core focuses on parenting and him acknowledging how he can be a better parent. Cassie adores him and while he’s able to give her as much time as he can he’s also capable of recognizing what it is to be an adult and restrictions he may have to impose on her as an authority figure (i.e. telling her he’d be a terrible parent if he let her go out superheroing at 10). A lot of Scott’s character is played as a joke, but it’s a reminder that he’s an adult and a character who’s more than one-off comedic relief. It’s all through the heart of the movies and it all works so well.

Scott is just such a good, loveable character. That’s also part of what makes the post-credits scene as tragic as it is - because in all likelihood, he’s going through a lot of trauma, too. Who knows what Janet went through while stuck in the quantum realm for 30 years; we don’t yet know how long it will be for Scott but it has to be a combination of abandonment, hopelessness, betrayal, and fear, all oscillating as he has no idea what’s happened. Seeing everyone get dusted in Infinity War was tragic (and the real world implications of it were driven home in the second post-credits scene, it was haunting); seeing a terrible fate befall just one person connects so much more strongly. I was more excited for Endgame after my first showing of Ant-Man and the Wasp than I was after Infinity War precisely because of that end credits scene: I want to know how Scott is affected. I’m sure some of it will be played for jokes, but some of it won’t be. And he’s such a loveable, wholesome character; I want to know how he’s going to deal with all of it, specifically. Everyone else too, but he’s going to be in such a unique situation. The superhero name is silly, but what he can add is massive - and I’m really looking forward to seeing him in a more serious tone, something we haven’t quite had the chance to yet. (There have been moments in his films but the overall tone of them has been joyful, and I love that, I love feeling happy watching them, but hey, something else isn’t bad.)

Speaking of being stuck in the quantum realm: I really appreciate how the MCU has chosen to handle Hank. They’ve completely side-stepped the domestic abuse because it wasn’t possible in this universe, but they still made it clear he’s still Hank: the only people who can stand to work with him are his family (and Scott). The fact that he’s a controlling dick still completely comes through, especially in his arguments with Bill. It’s easy to see why he would get completely on everybody’s nerves and alienate everyone around him; he’s brilliant but who wants to be around that? How does anyone tolerate it? He’s not a bad person but you can see how he could have been.

But I also love how much Hope will always stick by him. She’s very family-oriented: she lost her mom at a young age; she’s not going to lose her dad. And she sees how Scott treats his daughter, probably sees a bit of herself in Cassie, and it helps their relationship as well. When Scott is pleading with Hope and Hank that he has to leave the lab and make sure he’s still at his place when the FBI shows up she’s obviously distraught for a number of reasons but she isn’t going to argue with him having to leave, and I’d think that’s partly because she’s more stressed out about her own situation but also because she’s thinking of Cassie, too. That they all got to have a movie night together at the end was the perfect start for a new, extended branch of this family. The amount everyone in this movie cares for one another - to the point of taking action of making sure that Ava will be okay (and that Ava’s motivation was understandable and they didn’t make her a full-on villain, but really worked well to ensure a grey area with her) - is really touching. The only major conflict was with a corrupt businessman, which we can all agree, yeah, fuck that guy.

Oh, and the constant cat-and-mouse feel of the movie, culminating in a massive three-way chase climax? So much fun, and different than yet another final battle. I don’t even know how long it takes because I don’t feel the need to check the time, it doesn’t drag at all; watching three different parties with warring interests fight over a box is awesome.

But back to Hope for one more point: her fight scenes are the best. Yes, her with Scott together, but also just her. She has a gimmick of course, but she also isn’t super-powered, and that makes them even better to watch. Here’s the first time Marvel has bothered to put a female character in the title of one of its movies, sharing equal billing with a man, and she more than pulls her weight, both in terms of character and action. She’s a woman leading in a comic book movie and she fits in so seamlessly. 

Other than the importance of family and helping people there’s no real underlying message. But the movie manages to juggle so many different plot points - six different directions, with Scott vs. the FBI, Jimmy vs. Scott (and I didn’t even get into Jimmy! But he’s hilarious and it’s the perfect fit for a bit conflict amidst everything else that goes on in this movie), trying to get Janet back, trying to heal Ava, dealing with Sunny, and Luis trying to get his business up and going (and there’s the brief political moment - “do you know how hard it is for ex-cons to get work” - and I’d really love to see how these movies could turn out if played totally straight, because somewhere out there, there’s a version of it that works) - and it never once feels overstretched or too complicated. A bunch of crazy shit happened to four different groups of people all at once and everyone’s dealing and it’s wildly entertaining (not to mention, occasionally, truly hilarious - Scott channeling Janet [and their first meeting! Kind of! Was so sweet!] and Luis’ narration coming back into the fold two of the major highlights).

It’s fun. After all of the surrounding drama, it’s just so much fun. Which is what made the post-credits scene such a shock - of course the movie itself had to stand alone from Infinity War, but there also had to be some kind of connection there - and brought it back out from its own isolated pocket of the MCU. But it’s such a good pocket that it’s going to be really wonderful to see it immersed with everyone else, even if the tone shifts with it.