Now that Ant-Man and the Wasp is playing in theaters all across the globe – save for China, where the miniature Marvel debut has been set for a release this Friday, August 24th – Rotten Tomatoes has awarded the MCU’s 20th installment with the smallest ever ‘Certified Fresh’ trophy.
Peyton Reed’s superhero romp has notched 87 percent on the official Tomatometer after 299 reviews counted, with the consensus deeming Ant-Man and the Wasp to be a “lighter, brighter superhero movie powered by the effortless charisma of Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly. [It] offers a much-needed MCU palate cleanser.”
It certainly does, particularly after the mind-numbing and at times overwhelming events of Avengers: Infinity War, which effectively leveled the playing field going into the so-far untitled Avengers 4.
And, yes, only one of our titular heroes survived Thanos’ finger snap. No prizes for guessing who…
If you hung around to catch Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s post-credits scene, you’ll know that last month’s adventure ended with Scott trapped in the Quantum Realm, the MCU netherworld that will surely be woven into the fabric of Captain Marvel.
Either way, Paul Rudd’s diminutive hero has been left up shit creek without a paddle, given his allies – namely Hank Pym, Hope Van Dyne and her long-lost mother, Janet – all succumbed to the effects of the Infinity Gauntlet. Is a time vortex the answer? Or will Scott’s fate lie with the incoming Carol Danvers? Time will tell.
At $466M and counting, Ant-Man and the Wasp is expected to crack half a billion this coming weekend, when China swings its doors open to the star-studded crime caper. The Middle Kingdom proved instrumental for both Black Panther and Infinity War earlier in the year, so Marvel Studios will be hoping to make it three for three.
