Paul Rudd stars in a scene from the movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp." The Catholic News Service classification, A-III -- adults. (CNS/Marvel Studios)

By Catholic News Service

There’s plenty of humor and action in this fast-paced sci-fi adventure. What’s lacking is any exposition or guidance for those not already familiar with the characters and their relationships from 2015’s “Ant-Man” and 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.”

Approaching the end of a sentence of house arrest, Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd, who also co-wrote the script) is anxious to focus on serving his time and raising his young daughter, Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). Instead his predecessor as size-shifting Ant-Man, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Pym’s daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), aka the Wasp, draw him into their quest to rescue Hope’s mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), the original Wasp, from her decades-long captivity in the Quantum Realm, a kind of subatomic limbo. To achieve this, the trio will have to do battle both with a petty gangster (Walton Goggins) out to profit from Pym’s technological breakthroughs and a victim (Hannah John-Kamen) of Pym’s past misdeeds.

Altruism and family bonds are showcased in director Peyton Reed’s Marvel Comics adaptation, which also sends a clear message about ends not justifying means. But viewers of faith will be less impressed that the central romance between Scott and Hope comes in the wake of his split from Cassie’s mom (Judy Greer).

Possibly appropriate for older teens. Much stylized violence, acceptability of divorce, a couple of uses each of profane, crude and crass language, several milder oaths, occasional wordplay. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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