Ant-Man and the Wasp
4K | Blu-ray | DVD | Digital
Director: Peyton Reed
Writers: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Paul Rudd
Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas
Studio: Marvel Studios
Rated PG-13 | 118 Minutes
Release Date: October 16, 2018

Ant-Man And The Wasp is Marvel Studios’ 20th film. Based on the heroes of the same name, director Peyton Reed‘s hilarious sequel finds Scott Lang, who is under house arrest after colluding with Captain America in Captain America: Civil War, in a position where he has to balance out his life as a superhero with his life as a father.

As with the previous Ant-Man film, the sequel takes place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is a film with contained story that only concerns itself with its own characters and their relationships. The only links to the MCU is that it acknowledges what Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) did in Germany and how he and everyone associated with him, including Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) are paying the price.

While Scott is serving out the remaining days of house arrest, Hope and Hank have been trying to find their mother and wife, Janet Pym (Michelle Pfeiffer) who is stuck in the Quantum realm, while also hiding from police. But when Scott reveals he has been having vivid dreams of being Janet, the two see it as a connection they could use to help find Janet.

However, they aren’t the only ones who are out to use that method. Ghost (Hanna John-Kamen) and Bill Foster (Lawrence Fishburne) believe that if they could harness the quantum power, they will be able to cure Ghost from her painful phase-shifting.

Ant-Man and the Wasp marks the first time that a female hero has shared the title billing with her male counterpart. As much as the film is about Scott discovering what it takes to be a hero, we see that it wouldn’t be much of an interesting sequel without Wasp. The film shines a light on Hope and her Wasp persona. She fierce throughout the film and yet displays some vulnerabilities when she realizes that she could finally see her mom for the very first time in a long time. And in addition to being a scientist, she proves she has what it takes to be out in the battlefield by taking on a few henchmen as Ghost.

You can read my full review of the movie right here. As for the home video release, here’s more on the special features included:

“Back in the Suit: Scott Lang” (5:56) takes a look at how Paul Rudd contributed on and off set. Here we see the cast and crew praise Rudd for his skills at bringing in humor and how Rudd recognizes that Marvel Studios love humor as well. As you will see the camaraderie is great, which will help make a better overall film.

“A Suit of Her Own” (5:19) takes a peek at Hope’s evolution from the daughter of Hank Pym into a full-fledged hero as The Wasp. Lilly says one of the reasons she would return was to put on that suit and to see her character to follow in the footsteps of her parents. Now we get to see that come to life in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Watching the costume design is pretty incredible as you get to see the complexities of what it takes to assemble the suit.

“Subatomic Heroes: Hank and Janet” (4:09) offer some insight to Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer’s roles as Hank and Janet. Here the cast and crew talk about the two actors are able to bring these characters to life.

“Quantum Perspective: The VFX and Production Design of ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp'” (7:04) explores the production design of Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is a combination of tactical sets and VFX and photo-realistic technology. The featurette takes a look at how the Pinewood Studios could be used in a number of ways and how the city of Atlanta’s skyline could be used as a basis for another city or how the rural settings could be used in place for the film’s actual settings. Basically, it’s a great location with multiple benefits for the production of the film.

“Gag Reels” (1:31) and “Outtakes” (4:55) are pretty much the standard bonus features when it comes to a film like Ant-Man and the Wasp. They are some of the more sillier moments that show how loose the production was and why some particular scenes did not make it into the film, whether it was because of time or it just didn’t have a place in the film. Can’t say too much about these since there isn’t really anything to look at nor do the deleted scenes expand upon the film itself.

“Line by Line: The Art of The Marvel Cinematic Universe” (7:43) is a look at the artwork of Marvel Studios. Inspired by the comics that these films as based of off, Marvel Studios assembles a visual development crew to help bridge that gap between the art and the screenplay and then from the screenplay to the film itself. In a way, the visual development crew can help inspire the writers. So the bonus feature looks at ten years of Marvel Studios’ in-house art team, led by Ryan Meinerding, and includes interviews with Marvel Studios brain trust Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and other visual development artists like Andy Park.

Trailer