Ant-Man and the Wasp first reactions: 'Charming,' 'lots of heart,' and 'a freaking blast'

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Photo: Marvel Studios

It should come as no surprise that Ant-Man and the Wasp, the next installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe following Avengers: Infinity War, is the talk of the town after the first screenings for critics on Friday night.

Entertainment press are hailing the film for its “charm,” special effects, action sequences, and “cool and creative surprises” — which is a good sign for director Peyton Reed. With 2015’s Ant-Man, Reed came in to replace original director Edgar Wright and helped rework the movie off an earlier story treatment. With Ant-Man and the Wasp, which sees Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne finally suiting up alongside Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, Reed has been involved since the beginning.

The film sees Scott dealing with the fallout of Captain America: Civil War, while Hope and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) are determined to rescue Hope’s mother, original Wasp Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), who’s been trapped in the Quantum Realm. During this tumultuous time, Hannah John-Kamen’s “Ghost” steals Pym technology, granting her the ability to phase through solid objects.

As producer and president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige teased in a recent featurette, Ant-Man and the Wasp “connects directly” into the still mysterious Infinity War sequel, Avengers 4. “The characters are going to be very important going forward,” he said.

So here are some of the biggest takeaways, based on the first reactions to the movie: there are two post-credit scenes (one of which might be “the best part of the whole film,” according to one critic), there are no traditional “villains,” the story is “small scale” (pun intended) and “self-contained,” it’s “the perfect comic chaser to the doom and gloom of Infinity War,” the Stan Lee cameo can’t be missed, Michael Peña‘s Luis is a scene-stealer, “Paul Rudd sings karaoke,” and fans shouldn’t be “expecting to get answers to questions from Infinity War.”

See more responses below.

Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6.

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