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Coming off the heals of the (current) 4th highest-grossing film of all-time, Ant-Man and the Wasp (AATW), much like its 2015 predecessor, following "Age of Ultron", is given the strenuous task of following up the MCU's biggest film to date. And again, like Ant-Man, it provides a wonderfully soft cushion to break the metaphorical fall of the MCU after it climbed to the very top and jumped with "Infinity War". It shows issues no doubt, but it's just the rebound of simple, lighthearted fun that was needed.

And that's where it thrives most, in its accessible, while still unique entertainment value. The sequel does its job by building on the original, making room for fun, varied action sequences, driven by the unique powers of our titular characters, doubled by the addition of Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). Director Peyton Reed really played around with the shrinking and growing powers of both Ant-Man and the Wasp, crafting some super fun "now you see me, now you don't" action. The CGI has the look and detail of an Avengers-level film, coupled with eye-catching costume design and artistic direction, it supplements the film's action nicely. AATW also provides some of the best comedy in the MCU. There's hilarious scenes that kept the mood light and my smile brimming, as Reed utilizes forms of slapstick comedy with Ant-Man's powers and an often-malfunctioning suit to create some of the funniest moments in the entire franchise.

This sequel proves again that not every superhero film has to have life and death implications, that there are great small stories to be told, especially inside Marvel's connected universe. That's just what Reed aims for and largely succeeds in with its narrative; smaller in scale, more personalized and easy to digest. It's at heart a character-driven MacGuffin story surrounding genius Hank Pym's (Michael Douglas) homemade lab, as a trifecta of groups, including our heroes, aim to get their hands on it for their own personal reasons. Set to a beat of classic Marvel-comedic tones along with a pinch of sci-fi elements, we have a smaller, easy-to-grasp plot while still delivering on intrigue. And while it's not huge in scope, Reed and his writing team find clever ways to connect the story to the larger MCU, while still staying self-contained, not resorting to a world-ending plot line. We get to see expanded usage of the Quantum Realm, a subplot which lends an extra mysterious sci-fi element, an aspect much welcomed into the film and something we haven't seen the last of for sure. Lead character Scott Lang/Ant-Man's (Paul Rudd) decision to aid Captain America during "Civil War" left an enormous impact on his personal life and the lives of others. I love how the outcome of that film is still having a trickle-down effect on the main characters, that we're seeing those stories being told (i.e. Black Panther, Homecoming).

On the flip side of its story, AATW does show its occasional flaws. The Marvel template of filmmaking has been vastly expanded on in the past couple of years, taking a tried-and-true formula and molding it into new genres and adventures. This film is structurally the safest we've seen since "Doctor Strange", maybe since the first "Ant-Man". A structure that often benefits the film, as it does with nearly all MCU outings, but at times the weariness of the "original" Marvel formula can be seen here, playing many story elements safer. The film gets off to a rather slow start, there's a lack of action and pacing in the first act that puts a damper on the flow for a while. As good as the characters are (more on that soon), the plot creates a redundancy to both sides coinciding together, who seemingly could easily set aside their differences to help each other, but the story demands they remain enemies to include the cat-and-mouse chase to continue the story. Small mishaps no doubt, but like Ant-Man himself, sometimes the smallest things stand out the most.

Character development has been a staple of the MCU ever since it kicked of in 2008. We get some awesome recurring characters with equally as wonderful acting performances. There's tight chemistry that binds it all together, creating likable characters to root for. Leading the charge is Paul Rudd, whose charisma, charm and terrific humor shines through in his third outing as Ant-Man. Evangeline Lilly gets a hefty increase of screen time here and rightfully so. Her character development is well-fit and Lilly gives a solid performance as Hope van Dyne/Wasp. Veteran Michael Douglas, like in the first film, delivers another great act; he's taken the great writing of Hank Pym and ran with it, displaying excellent emotion and wonderfully witty humor. The supporting cast is rounded out nicely with the solid addition of Laurence Fishburne as Hank Pym's former colleague, Bill Foster, who's involvement deepens the lore and the story at hand. But the supporting cast's icing on the cake is Michael Pena (Luis), who again steals the show with his fast-talking humor and hilarious flashback narration scenes.

We've witnessed the recent eradication of Marvel's so-called "villain problem" (Vulture, Hela, Killmonger, Thanos) and while AATW doesn't necessarily present of villain "problem", the main marketed villain, Ghost, is easily the weakest we've seen in a while. It's almost hard to call her a villain. That title more appropriately is held by black-arms dealer Sonny Burch (Walter Goggins), a fairly bland and unoriginal antagonist himself. Ghost, even with her cool powers and desperate motives, wasn't compelling enough to become emotionally attachable. Her background story just isn't gripping, and there's no reason to care about her motives. I enjoyed that it wasn't about the threat of our heroes being killed by Ghost, and that wasn't ever the intent with her the character, but her presence doesn't invoke enough urgency to take that step into becoming a legitimate villain. Adding salt to the wound, actress Hannah John-Kamen's debut in the MCU as Ghost was disappointing. Not enough emotional complexity from her performance bogs down the character into becoming that less-interesting character, which is also due in part to lackluster writing.

There's a simplistic ideology to AATW that makes it, at time, seem slightly "cookie cutter". But Reed and Marvel doesn't let the sequel fall to the wayside by injecting lively personality into the film. Big (yet so small), unique action sequences, laugh-out-loud comedy and a cast of lovable, fleshed out protagonists. It's not too big nor too small; Ant-Man and the Wasp is a splendid, snugly fit inside the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe.

8/10

If anyone ever wondered what a Transformers movie with dinosaurs would look or feel like, here it is. Jurassic Park's legacy is without debate; it's one of the most acclaimed films of all-time and 2015's Jurassic World, in my opinion, was a worthy re-entry back into the classic franchise. So how does Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (FK) stack up against those two films? How does it relate to a Transformers movie? All hat and no cattle, frosting without a cake, a funhouse mirror image of what this franchise aims to be.

What's different in this review, is that first I must talk about the trailers and marketing campaign of Fallen Kingdom, which isn't an aspect that should have hardly any effect on the film itself, but it does here. FK basically loses all credibility for practically ruining most of its greatest moments by spoiling them in the trailers. Now, one could say don't watch the trailers, simple. But when you're sitting in a theater before another film and the second or third trailer for FK comes on, you don't have much of a choice. And regardless, trailers are made to tease you into wanting to watch the rest of the film, not give away its best moments. I had to address this, because it's a recurring problem throughout the rest of the review.

Fallen Kingdom's story structure reminds me of a huge hoagie that starts off looking promising and then just completely falls apart as you eat it. We're initially presented with a simple premise; dinosaurs exist on an island which a volcano will erupt on any day, and mankind must decide whether it's in their best interest to save them. It's a safe, if not kind of lazy way to get our main characters back running through a jungle, but in real life, this would actually be a compelling storyline. And for what it's worth, the first half of the film did feel a little bit like a Jurassic Park story, which I can't deny is fun to watch. But that narrative dies faster than the idiot guy from the opening scene, however, when things take a "unexpected" turn as the plot shifts, leading to our first trailer buzzkill. The entire first plot twist moving into the new main narrative is completely spoiled in the trailers, from Owen's (Chris Pratt) Velociraptor, Blue, getting shot, to Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire screaming "it was all a lie!" and then the ensuing footage of bad people selling dinos to worse people, the unveiling of the new big-bad dino, the Indoraptor (totally unnecessary), and the ensuing home-invasion-style hunt, and that's pretty much the entire plot. If only it played out so neatly. Fallen Kingdom has a severe case of dreadful pacing; the film spins off into pointless subplots that draw attention away from its main story, and these subplots truly have no justification or development. FK can't always seem to keep its head on straight, it runs around more than the characters on screen.

Where Fallen Kingdom's story really goes wrong is in its second half story featuring a generic cardboard cutout villain wanting to sell the dinosaurs for other buyers to use as weapons while our antagonist makes a few million bucks. Its bland, dry and worn out. The film becomes way too confined in its setting, no variation and no room to breathe unique ideas. Director J.A. Bayona tries to explore new territory in the franchise's storytelling, which I give credit for, but there's no room to explore stuck in an evil-lair-mansion for more than half the movie. The confined spaces do, however, make for one of the most positive aspects of the film. Fallen Kingdom delivers some of the best utterly tense and somewhat frightening moments seen since the original Jurassic Park, and that's a big thumbs up. Many moments had me drawn into the film, even if most sequences become unbearably predictable thanks to the trailer spoilers. FK still is able to build suspense and keep you engaged in several areas. Unfortunately, the humor to balance out the welcomed intensity is basically non-existent or terribly forced, with the best moments being shown off in the trailers yet again. The writing from Derek Connolly and Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow along with the vision of Bayona is way too overconfident, trying to jam together a compelling screenplay which instead turns into a sloppy romp over two hours.

Where the story is viewed as more of a mixed portion of the film, the cast of characters and their writing is what truly stands out as the ugly duckling in Fallen Kingdom. Not one single character, with the occasional exception of Owen, is intriguing in the slightest. Even Jeff Goldblum's return to the franchise was a shameless marketing plug, his lines in the film almost entirely can be found in the trailers word for word. I wouldn't have cared at all if any of the characters died in the film, everyone is just filler for a movie that works best when dinosaurs are in focus, yet another Transformers comparison. The human cast is dumbed down, unconvincing and emotionally disengaging. Alongside Owen and Claire in their quest are two tag-along interns from Claire's new dinosaur rights movement group, Zia (Daniella Pineda) who is at least of use in the film and Franklin (Justice Smith) the supposed comic relief turned into the absolute worst character in the entire franchise, annoying me to the point of wanting to plug my ears and gauge out my eyes. Least of all exciting is the aforementioned main antagonist, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) who takes the easily foreseen twist from the good-hearted heir to Jurassic Park's creators to the mustache twirling, cliched capitalist with zero moral fiber and a lame agenda. The dinosaurs of the film actually do receive strong characterization, you care for them a heck of a lot more than any of the human cast. This does provide some heart in a film brimming with distress, a small shot of adrenaline for an overall stale set of characters.

If nothing else, Fallen Kingdom does provide some stunning CG visuals to complement its occasional intensity. The dinosaurs look gorgeous, finely detailed as they roar with ferocity. It shows off its big budget with fun, if sometimes over-the-top action sequences, splendid cinematography and then there's still that giddy joy in watching a dino devour a bad guy or witnessing the king T-rex claim his dominancy on screen even for a brief time. FK does give some nice little bits of nostalgia for long time viewers to chew on as well, always a welcomed touch to a long-running series.

Fallen Kingdom could maybe be best described as if you were to look at a picture of a pool from a resort, all glimmering on top, perfectly blue as if it couldn't be real. But then, you were to dive in and find nothing but sewage and grime, almost drown, only to pop back up to see the beautiful view on top. Rinse and repeat. It can be a fun ride with several thrills and big-budget CGI, cool looking dinosaurs and a scarcely engaging plot. But don't fooled, it's all style and no substance, all bark and no bite.

4.5/10