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As the 20th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp (AMATW) finds itself in the shadow of its record-breaking peers. With the charismatic Paul Rudd, marvellous (sorry) action sequences and Marvel’s first-ever female co-lead in Evangeline Lilly as The Wasp, it’s is an entertaining way to pass two hours; but ultimately, even Paul Rudd’s charm can’t quite pull the is film from an average affair to a great one.

AMATW reintroduces ex-con Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man) two years into his house arrest, following his fight with Captain America and co. in Civil War. While counting down the minutes until he can see his daughter again, Scott is visited by former associates Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Lilly). Partly thanks to an under-explained epiphany-dream of Scott’s, they believe Hope’s mother Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) is still alive in the mysterious “Quantum Realm”. The trio set off on a time-sensitive rescue mission while haunted by their past and present.

Marvel makes a safe choice with director Peyton Reed’s return; AMATW is well-balanced, but fails to break ground in the way Black Panther and Infinity War did. The first Ant-Man was praised for its smaller-stakes approach, but in an ever-expanding universe where spiders grant superpowers and the Guardians fight evil through the power of dance, it’s ironically harder to believe the realistic setting of San Francisco than a man who can shrink to the size of an atom.

Any film that needs three sets of villains to pull it through a 125-minute runtime is going to struggle.  The primary antagonist, Ghost, is a gender-swapped version of the comics’ original male character, who rather refreshingly seeks not world domination, but Ant-Man’s tech in order to save her own life. Hannah John-Kamen’s underwhelming performance, however, resembles a surly teenager more than a terrifying spectre. The film misses an opportunity to prove female roles are just as compelling its male ones.

AMATW should be praised for its cinematography, CGI and action sequences, which look lifted straight from the comic books, especially with the use of everyday items blown up to gigantic scale – from your average salt shaker to a purple-and-orange flame-licked Hot Wheels.

AMATW will entertain audiences. Rudd and Lilly emanate sheer joy at donning their suits and trading electric quips. However, there is a lingering feeling that this film only exists to set up the much more anticipated Avengers 4. It may not be remembered as the greatest superhero film of all time, but it sure is fun while it lasts.

This review previously featured in our print edition. Available now across campus