We all knew this film would be a light story after Infinity War, so I’m not going to dock points for that. I’m of the opinion that a little filler is okay if you can find a way to make it entertaining. Comedy is one of the best ways to do that, and luckily it’s where this film excels. I laughed more during this film than I have during any other MCU film. The jokes fly in almost as fast as in classics like Airplane, so even if you don’t enjoy one there’s another right about to come in.
However, that pacing is a double-edged sword. Because the jokes and the plot are moving at breakneck speed, there’s very little time for anything else. We get a couple of moments to catch our breath and remember that there are characters under the colorful costumes, but they’re extremely few and very short. The film wants to be about a family reconnecting, but that gets lost amidst all the other wild things going on. In comparison, the first film’s theme of the legacy fathers leave their children was very much baked into the story and impossible to miss. Hank even spelled it out for the audience at one point. But here that kind of thematic throughline doesn’t have time to develop because that would get in the way of the comedy or the action. It’s not as bad as it was in Thor: Ragnarok, but the problem still hasn’t been completely fixed.
So overall I’m slightly mixed on this one. I had a lot of fun and don’t regret watching it in the slightest, but I won’t deny that people have a point when they say it could’ve done more. It’s a very fun movie, but the heart just wasn’t in it the way it was in the first. If you’re just looking for some good action and laughs, you’ll have a great time with this one. But for anything else, there are better MCU films, let alone better films.
Funnier Than the First, But Lacking Some of the Heart
We all knew this film would be a light story after Infinity War, so I’m not going to dock points for that. I’m of the opinion that a little filler is okay if you can find a way to make it entertaining. Comedy is one of the best ways to do that, and luckily it’s where this film excels. I laughed more during this film than I have during any other MCU film. The jokes fly in almost as fast as in classics like Airplane, so even if you don’t enjoy one there’s another right about to come in.
However, that pacing is a double-edged sword. Because the jokes and the plot are moving at breakneck speed, there’s very little time for anything else. We get a couple of moments to catch our breath and remember that there are characters under the colorful costumes, but they’re extremely few and very short. The film wants to be about a family reconnecting, but that gets lost amidst all the other wild things going on. In comparison, the first film’s theme of the legacy fathers leave their children was very much baked into the story and impossible to miss. Hank even spelled it out for the audience at one point. But here that kind of thematic throughline doesn’t have time to develop because that would get in the way of the comedy or the action. It’s not as bad as it was in Thor: Ragnarok, but the problem still hasn’t been completely fixed.
So overall I’m slightly mixed on this one. I had a lot of fun and don’t regret watching it in the slightest, but I won’t deny that people have a point when they say it could’ve done more. It’s a very fun movie, but the heart just wasn’t in it the way it was in the first. If you’re just looking for some good action and laughs, you’ll have a great time with this one. But for anything else, there are better MCU films, let alone better films.