Back in 2015, Ant-Man found an audience that seemed modest by Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) standards, as it grossed a “mere” $180 million in the US and $519 million total worldwide. Given that the same year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron took in $459 million US and $1.4 billion worldwide, Ant-Man’s receipts seemed like chump change.

That said, the film did just fine given expectations, as few thought an obscure, goofy character like Ant-Man would approach the blockbuster levels of an Avengers release – even if Ant-Man was a founding member of the comics’ Avengers back in 1963. The 2015 movie clearly did well enough to spawn a sequel, and that second chapter materialized via 2018’s Ant-Man and The Wasp.

Due to earlier adventures with the Avengers, Scott “Ant-Man” Lang (Paul Rudd) spends two years on house arrest. With three days to go, he encounters threats to his future freedom.

Two main concerns arise. For one, Scott starts to cross subatomic paths with Janet “The Wasp” Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), a mini-hero who vanished 30 years earlier. Husband Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) – the original Ant-Man - and daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) think this means Janet remains alive, so with Hope’s assistance as the “new Wasp”, they hope Scott can help them rescue her.

In addition, a mysterious super-villain called Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) creates danger for the heroes. They need to cope with Ghost while they attempt to save Janet before she becomes lost forever.

I look forward to “second chapters” in superhero franchises due to one major factor: they don’t need to deal with origin stories. Like every other “first movie”, the 2015 flick devoted much of its running time to a discussion of how Scott became Ant-Man, so that restricted the amount of space left for adventure.

The best superhero movies integrate origin and action well, and Ant-Man succeeded in that regard. Brisk, fun and lively, it turned into one of the more engaging “first chapters” in the MCU.

This led me to look forward to Wasp, as I hoped that the added cinematic real estate would allow it to work even better than the first movie. That doesn’t prove accurate, as Wasp fails to match up to its predecessor.

That doesn’t make Wasp a bad movie, as it actually works pretty well overall. The film musters the same delightful mix of action and comedy to bring us a likable and engaging effort.

One concern arises, however: the plot – or plots, I should say. As I mentioned in my synopsis, we follow two main storylines through the film, and the flick tosses in a threat from illicit tech dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) as well.

Wasp does manage to tie these narrative elements together eventually, but I still feel the movie comes across as too “busy”. Either the Ghost or Janet themes would be enough to fill a film, so the choice to mix the two becomes too much for the flick to easily manage, and I think the Burch subplot should get the heave-ho.

This might not become such a concern if Ghost turned into a more engaging villain. I appreciate the role’s depth, as she doesn’t deliver the usual evil baddie, but she also fails to give us a character who does much to create an interesting threat.

Because of this factor, Wasp drags during its second act. The movie gives us a nice mix of comedy and thrills for its initial third and rebounds for its finale, but that second segment can turn a bit sluggish.

Wasp does bring a fine cast, with the main participants from the first movie back for more action along with the addition of Pfeiffer and Laurence Fishburne. Both do well, and Rudd continues to create a likable, credible “everyman hero”.

All of this leaves Wasp as a good follow-up to the first film, albeit one that doesn’t quite live up to expectations. Still, even with its minor issues, it entertains.

Footnote: like other MCU films, Wasp comes with extra footage during and after the end credits.

Ant-Man and The Wasp appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. As expected, the movie came with strong visuals.

Overall sharpness seemed strong. Virtually no softness materialized, so this became a tight, well-defined image. I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and both edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

Like every other modern action movie, Wasp opted for an orange and teal orientation. These choices didn’t overwhelm, and the Blu-ray depicted them in an appropriate manner. The 4K UHD’s HDR added a bit of zing to the hues as well.

Blacks showed good depth, and shadows offered nice clarity and smoothness. The HDR created nice whites and contrast. This became a highly satisfying presentation.

In addition, Wasp brought us a stellar Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the soundscape opened up best when it indulged in its many battle sequences.

These used the various channels in a vivid, immersive manner that placed the elements in logical spots and meshed together well. The track gave us a strong sense of place and action.

Audio quality also pleased. Speech remained natural and distinctive, while music was full and rich.

Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, with tight low-end. I liked this mix quite a lot.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray edition? The 4K’s Atmos mix added more involvement compared to the BD’s 7.1 track, and visuals showed the expected step up in accuracy, colors and blacks. Though not a tremendous jump in quality from the Blu-ray, the 4K UHD turned into the more satisfying release.

No extras appear on the 4K UHD itself, but the included Blu-ray copy came with some components, and we begin with an audio commentary from director Peyton Reed. He delivers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, issues related to the sequel and connections to comics, effects, cast and performances, music, sets and locations, and other domains.

From start to finish, Reed delivers a terrific commentary. He covers a wide array of subjects and does so in a concise, informative manner. Throw in some funny comments and this winds up as a strong chat.

We can view the movie with or without an Introduction from Director Peyton Reed. In this one-minute, eight-second clip, Reed gives us a few thoughts about the movie’s characters. It’s insubstantial but painless.

In one domain, we find a Gag Reel (1:31) as well as Stan Lee Outtakes (0:46) and Tim Heidecker Outtakes (1:29). The “Gag Reel” seems forgettable, but the other two offer some fun alternate lines.

Two Deleted Scenes go for a total of one minute, 38 seconds. We find “Worlds Upon Worlds” (0:48) and “Sonny’s On the Trail” (0:50). Both seem insubstantial but decent.

We can watch the scenes with or without commentary from Reed. He gives us basics about the clips in his brief but useful notes.

Four featurettes follow, and we start with Back in the Ant Suit. It fills five minutes, 56 seconds with info from Reed, producer Stephen Broussard, and actors Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Michael Pena, and David Dastmalchian.

“Suit” looks at the lead character and Rudd’s performance. A few decent notes emerge but much of the show just praises Rudd.

A Suit of her Own goes for five minutes, 19 seconds and includes info from Reed, Broussard, producer Kevin Feige, head of specialty costumes Ivo Coveney, stunt coordinator George Cottle, and actors Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas.

“Own” examines the Wasp costume as well as stunts. It’s a much more informative clip than its predecessor.

Next comes Subatomic Superheroes, a four-minute, nine-second piece with Rudd, Pfeiffer, Douglas, Reed, and Lilly. “Subatomic” resembles “Suit”, so it mainly discusses characters and performances – and it also feels superficial.

Finally, we get the seven-minute, four-second Quantum Perspective, a featurette with Reed, Broussard, Feige, production designer Shepherd Frankel, visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti and executive producer Victoria Alonso.

This show looks at sets and effects. It turns into a fairly tight little overview.

The Blu-ray opens with ads for the Contest of Champions, Future Fight, Battle Lines and Strike Force videogames. No trailer for Wasp shows up here.

Though not quite as delightful as the first movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp still musters pretty good entertainment. While its muddled mix of plot points can slow the pace, I think it comes with a nice mix of comedy and adventure. The 4K UHD boasts strong picture and audio as well as a set of supplements highlighted by an excellent commentary. Wasp becomes a generally fun tale and this 4K UHD represents it well.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of ANT MAN AND THE WASP