Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of taking in the latest adventure from the creative minds at Marvel Studios, Ant-Man and the Wasp.

While I enjoyed the first Ant-Man, one of the hardest struggles I had with the movie was letting go of what could’ve been with the potential Edgar Wright version. I’m pleased to say that without this baggage, I had an infinity more enjoyable time with this installment, and would go so far as to say that it’s one of the most delightful flicks in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far.

Here are some quick thoughts on the movie:

• It’s rather incredible that with just Scott Lang’s appearances in the first Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios has essentially been given the OK to go buck wild with shrinking and enlarging sequences, and trust that the audience will just “get it".
• Speaking of, some of the funniest humor in the film is due to some issues with new shrinking and enlarging tech.
• Ant-Man and the Wasp, unlike the first film, definitely takes full advantage of Paul Rudd’s ability as a comedic actor, and its all the better for it. A sequence demonstrating how Scott Lang stays busy while under house arrest is a great example of this.
• By the by, re: House Arrest - please note that this movie, even though it’s released after Avengers: Infinity War, it’s more a response to Captain America: Civil War.
• I really enjoyed that the scale of this story is (no pun intended), small. No massive world ending threat, just something involving stolen tech and a scramble to get it back. The perfect post-Infinity War reset.
• Hannah John-Kamen is a great villian as Ghost. Her powers are cool and freaky, and she brings a steady performance to what could’ve been a character which was cheesy and over the top.
• I was saddened that Walton Goggins wasn’t used too much here as Sonny Burch, but if his character has been setup to be a low-level criminal appearing in future Marvel films, it could be really, really fun.
• Holy crap, Randall Park as FBI Agent Jimmy Woo quietly walks away with the movie. I loved every scene he was in.
• The quantum realm stuff is REALLY cool and REALLY freaky. Based on some things we see late in the film, this could add even more surreal storytelling to the MCU.
• So great to see the X Con crew again (Michael Pena’s Luis, TI’s Dave, and David Dastmalchain’s Kurt). Luis delivers some great stories, and Kurt has a running Baba Yaga gag which slayed me.
• I felt like Michelle Pheiffer was underused as Janet van Dyne, but I think they’re setting her up for bigger things down the line in this film.
• After this movie, expect to be debating Truth Serum.
• I love Scott’s relationship with Cassie. Just a great example of a father/daughter relationship on screen. Perhaps Marvel’s first good dad?

On the whole, the stakes are inconsequential in Ant-Man and the Wasp, but the resulting film is a really energetic, incredibly funny romp. Now that Peyton Reed finally had an Ant-Man movie which was completely his own, I’d love to see a third pairing.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is in theaters now.