Most critics like it, and like it for staying small. The praise clusters on the comedy: Paul Rudd’s low-key affability, Michael Peña’s supporting turn, and size-shifting gags and chases that make visual sense. Several reviews call it a palate cleanser after heavier Marvel entries, and Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp is repeatedly credited with carrying the action. A handful find it faster, funnier and more confident than the first film.
The reservations cluster on stakes and staying power. Even admirers concede the plot is a tangle of technobabble, the villain forgettable and the whole thing hard to recall a week later. The dissent is small but pointed: The New Yorker finds the plot dull and dutiful, too tethered to the wider series, while Time Out misses the first film’s irreverence and counts too many flat jokes. Den of Geek calls it competent assembly-line work without flair. Otherwise the spread is narrow; most land on good rather than better.
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Variety
27 June 2018 · Owen Gleiberman
90*
A cunningly swift and delightful comedy of scale that's faster, funnier, and more confident than the original. The director invests every moment with personality through one-liners, effects, and combat that make visual sense.
Read the full review →G
The Guardian
2 August 2018 · Peter Bradshaw
85*
The critic calls it a hilarious, delightful and lovable Marvel entertainment with strong comedy from Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as the more combat-oriented Wasp.
Read the full review →R
Radio Times
19 July 2018 · ★★★★ · Alan Jones
80
The film's self-deprecating tone and Paul Rudd's low-key humour give it a winning quirkiness and balance between silly and serious. Standout comic moments include the truth-serum monologue and mind-meld scenes in a bright, breezy and engaging spectacle.
Read the full review →H
The Hollywood Reporter
27 June 2018 · Todd McCarthy
80*
The critic calls it probably the most amusing Marvel film since Kevin Feige's reign began, an enjoyably goofy low-stakes respite. He singles out the size-changing gags and comic riffs for praise.
Read the full review →The critic finds it pleasingly small-scale and personal compared to other MCU films, with clean storytelling, fun chases, and Lilly earning equal billing through strong action sequences.
Read the full review →T
The Times
2 August 2018 · Kevin Maher
80*
The critic hails it as a frothy, self-lacerating screwball comedy that luxuriates in its preposterousness and serves as a welcome palate cleanser among Marvel blockbusters.
Read the full review →F
Film Comment
5 July 2018 · Michael Sragow
75*
The critic praises Peyton Reed for keeping the size-shifting gags and family-oriented charm on a relatable human scale, with Paul Rudd's everyman energy and inventive comedy bits standing out.
Read the full review →S
Slant Magazine
27 June 2018 · Jake Cole
75*
The critic praises the sequel for staying true to its small-scale, character-driven roots and ebullient tone amid MCU crossovers. He highlights the dynamic fight scenes using size-shifting and the optimistic vision of heroism.
Read the full review →E
Empire
27 June 2018 · Dan Jolin
70*
The film is a fun but comparatively minor and light-hitting MCU entry that lacks the scale and ambition of recent Marvel films like Infinity War. It delivers brisk family-focused caper entertainment with strong action sequences featuring the Wasp.
Read the full review →E
Evening Standard
3 August 2018 · Matthew Norman
70*
This is a charming, self-parodic high-summer romp that shrinks the MCU's scope to family matters and laughs rather than cosmic stakes. It succeeds as slick, diverting entertainment thanks to the leads' chemistry and inventive silliness.
Read the full review →L
Los Angeles Times
27 June 2018 · Justin Chang
70*
A bright, cheery tonic from the Marvel superhero factory with deliberately low stakes and enormous charm. The zippy action scenes and trippy visual bursts are highlights, along with the complex Ghost character whose struggle stays with you.
Read the full review →The sequel is winningly modest and breezy with a refreshing lack of pretension, delivering heart and humour through its likeable cast rather than awe. It benefits from sharper rapport among the leads and strong supporting turns like Michael Peña's.
Read the full review →S
Sight and Sound
· Adam Nayman
70*
The sequel keeps the story and spectacle small with jocular modesty, treating the convoluted plot as pro forma annoyance. Paul Rudd's sceptical, confused yet committed performance provides the purest movie-star charisma.
Read the full review →N
The New York Times
4 July 2018 · Manohla Dargis
70*
An engaging goof that resists bludgeoning with bigness and settles for good vibes and jokes. The director handles the material with a light touch, embracing the absurdity and making action sequences seamless with the playfulness.
Read the full review →It delivers the kind of slick, entertaining MCU fare viewers have come to expect. The review highlights its reliable mix of action, humour and character moments in a lighter post-Infinity War palate cleanser.
Read the full review →L
Little White Lies
29 July 2018 · 3/3/3 · Hannah Strong
60
Peyton Reed excels at comedy thanks to the strong ensemble, especially Paul Rudd and Michael Peña, but the film is hardly gripping with low stakes and too much technobabble. It is fun in the moment but forgettable overall, feeling like filler.
Read the full review →N
The New Yorker
5 July 2018 · Richard Brody
40*
The sequel stays closely tethered to the Marvel series with methodical plot steps that feel like mandatory routines rather than freestyle inventions. It draws its premise from other MCU entries and replaces the first film's loopiness with a dull and dutiful plot.
Read the full review →T
Time Out
27 June 2018 · Andrew Frisicano
40*
The sequel strains to be fun but lacks the first film's helter-skelter irreverence, with too many flat jokes and low-stakes villains. It feels like all in pursuit of an MCU masterplan rather than a memorable standalone adventure.
Read the full review →Ant-Man and the Wasp is the funniest and slickest Marvel movie yet, excelling as a sci-fi action comedy with inventive shrinking gags and strong ensemble dynamics. It balances light emotional threads with absurd humor without the tonal issues of the first film.
Read the full review →P
The Playlist
27 June 2018 · B+ · Rodrigo Perez
83
The critic finds it a delightful, charming small-scale Marvel adventure that improves on the original, with strong emphasis on family themes and humor, though plotting can be disorderly.
Read the full review →The critic views the film as the MCU at its zippiest and silliest, a breezy and fun sequel that serves as light relief after heavier entries. They single out the visually trippy sub-atomic sequences and the cast's game handling of the wacky antics and familial moments for praise.
Read the full review →C
Collider
5 July 2018 · B · Matt Goldberg
77
The film is a lightweight, low-stakes caper that embraces its own goofiness without taking itself seriously. It succeeds as a fun, charming MCU entry focused on family bonds and inventive shrinking antics rather than world-ending threats.
Read the full review →/
/Film
27 June 2018 · 7.5/10 · Josh Spiegel
75
The critic praises it as a fun, funny, low-key palate cleanser with light tone and humor, better than the first, but notes lack of Michelle Pfeiffer and a forgettable antagonist.
Read the full review →D
Den of Geek
5 July 2018 · ★★½ · David Crow
50
The critic views it as a blandly innocuous and generic sequel that follows Marvel's assembly-line formula competently but lacks flair or strong laughs. Paul Rudd's affability and Michael Peña's comic relief provide the main highlights.
Read the full review →Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate