First Ant-Man and the Wasp reactions are in, tease refresher from Avengers Infinity War’s mayhem

Marvel has confidently unleashed the first reactions to Ant-Man and the Wasp onto the internet, which hint at a more self-contained refresher from the mass mayhem of Avengers: Infinity War.

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly star in Ant- Man and the Wasp.

The first batch of screenings for Ant-Man and the Wasp were held on Thursday, and in a typically bullish move by Marvel. No embargoes were enforced on social media reactions. The first round of tweets have hit the web, and they’re unanimous in praise for Marvel’s latest superhero movie.

Several critics and lucky audience members said that Ant-Man and the Wasp, the sequel to 2015’s relative gamble, Ant-Man, is a self-contained adventure within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some even said it is a step above the first film, which went on to gross over $500 million worldwide and received largely positive reviews from critics.

The early reactions praise Peyton Reed’s direction, the treatment of Evangeline Lilly’s character, the Wasp, and the overall ‘fun’ nature of the story. As with the first film, Michael Pena’s Luis is said to have stolen his scenes, and Stan Lee’s cameo received special praise.

This continues Marvel’s usual strategy of screening their movies a few weeks ahead of release to build buzz.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is Marvel’s first film since the record-breaking Avengers: Infinity War, which was released in April. Infinity War has grossed over $2 billion worldwide, and with Black Panther still in select theatres, July 6 will mark the first time three Marvel films have been in release at the same time.

The first Ant-Man suffered several set backs on its way to the big screen—original director Edgar Wright departed the project at the last moment due to creative differences, and Marvel chief Kevin Feige brought on Reed to take over the reigns.

Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer among others, Ant-Man and the Wasp will introduce fans to the Quantum Realm, which is rumoured to have an impact on Avengers 4’s time-travel and alternate reality aspects. The film will release in India on July 13.