Ant-Man and the Wasp, our first film following the shocking events of Avengers: Infinity War, is here and it’s even better then the first Ant-Man. Paul Rudd is back as Scott Lang, the loveable ex-con who is also Ant-Man. The last time we saw him, he was in Germany helping Steve Rogers in Captain America: Civil War. This sequel picks up two years after that film and we know that he was in trouble for breaking the Sokovia Accords, so when we see him here, he’s under house arrest with only three days left.

The film begins with a flashback to the 1960’s with Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym in the Ant-Man suit with his wife as the Wasp, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. The pair are forced to leave their young daughter for a ‘last minute business trip’ which is code for stopping a missle to save thousands. That is how Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) disappeared into the Quantum Realm causing Hank and Hope (Evangeline Lilly) to believe she was gone. However, in Ant-Man, Scott was able to enter the realm and return giving them new hope. Getting Janet back is the main goal of the sequel, and they need Scott to do it because of reasons we won’t spoil.

As with all stories, the protagonist needs an antagonist which come in threes for this adventure: Sonny Burch, the FBI, and the Ghost. Hope is now the Wasp, as her Mother was, and she uses this ability to help collect the pieces needed to build the device they hope will allow Janet to come home. One of her suppliers is Sonny Burch (Walter Goggins, Justified) and he learns who Hope really is which means he wants Hank’s brain causing a constant cat and mouse game throughout the film. Hank and Hope are on the run from the FBI as well, existing out of a building they can shrink and run with at any time. Why are they in trouble? They invented the technology Ant-Man used in Germany which puts them in violation of the Sokovia Accords. Finally, they face their most dangerous enemy in the Ghost, who we later learn is Ava (Hannah John-Kamen), a girl who was damaged by an accident involving quantum energy. Her character is one of the big highlights of this film because she’s so complex and well acted. You hate her, but you also understand her as the movie progresses.

Ant-Man and the Wasp works because it utilizes everything that made the first film so successful with laughs, action, and visuals that take everything to the next level. Paul Rudd supplies many of his comments that make him so loveable while Michael Pena adds more humor on top of his ability to tell stories as Luis. Evangeline Lilly plays the Wasp as a woman on a mission who won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in her way and she does an amazing job. Lilly and Rudd play off of each other flawlessly only causing us to ship them more. Michael Douglas returns with his quick wit and a special scene that really felt right for the character of Hank Pym. Finally, Michelle Pfeiffer, who knows her way around a superhero movie because she was Catwoman in Batman Returns (a role we idolized thanks to her performance), is spot on in the moments we are able to see her.

We highly recommend that you go see Ant-Man and the Wasp, if you haven’t already, or go see it a second time. You wouldn’t be alone, if you did. Director Peyton Reed gifted us with one of the best Marvel movies among the vast collection because it has humor, heart, action, and a complex villain worthy of Ant-Man and the Wasp.