Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War. After his actions in that film, Scott Lang (Rudd) is under house arrest, trying to do all he can to be a responsible father. Before long, he is approached by old colleagues Hope van Dyne (Lilly) and Hank Pym (Douglas) with an irresistible new mission: to rescue Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother (Pfeiffer).

Coming hot off the heels of Avengers: Infinity War – one of the most ambitious blockbusters in history – the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 20th film feels like small potatoes by comparison. But that’s not to say the film isn’t at least as fun, fresh and inventive as the first Ant-Man. Indeed, the film serves as a nice breather from the current heaviness of the larger MCU story.

The more prominent role of Evangeline Lilly, as the titular Wasp, is a welcome addition to balance out Paul Rudd’s screen time, and the film plays as something of a romantic comedy/heist mashup, with size-shifting thrown in. There is a bevy of creative uses of the heroes’ size manipulation powers, as well as some interesting beats and visuals stemming from the discovery of the ‘quantum realm’ that was lightly explored in the first film.