Being truly charmed and surprised by a movie these days is a rare experience, but back in 2015 the first Ant-Man film managed to do just that with a winning combination of MCU heroics, humor and lots of charm. The new Ant-man and The Wasp, which opened nationwide this weekend, doubles down on that formula and triples the action adventure quota with a much more visually ambitious film. But the spark of surprise is gone. Which is not to say that the film falls flat, but it does feel like more of the same. That is good for 120 minutes of fun in a movie theater but the last Marvel Studio film of 2018 doesn't feel transcendent like Black Panther or shocking and epic like Avengers: Infinity War.

It would be totally unfair to call it average entertainment but it definitely needed more of everything that works. More the Wasp (a terrifically droll Evangeline Lily) in action. More of Michael Peña pushing the funny in unexpected directions. More action sequences that allow director Peyton Reed to make the most of his comedic sensibilities and visual flare. More of the titular heroes working as a team, more of Ghost, the new villain, wreaking havoc and freaking everybody out with her abilities and more of Michelle Pfeiffer, who manages depth, dignity and mystery with very limited screen time, as the original Wasp Janet Van Dyne. The fact that more is wanted is a tribute to all the talent on display but it's also a sign of this sequel missing it's mark to be more memorable.

The search for Janet Van Dyne (Pfeiffer), who has been stuck in the Quantum Realm for the last 30 years, is what fuels the plot for this sequel. Doctor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope (Lilly) have been developing new technology to rescue her. All the while Scott (Rudd) has been under house arrest for helping Captain America. When the mysterious new figure known as Ghost steals Pym's new tech, Scott becomes the key in helping Hope get her long lost mother back.

If the plot sounds pretty simple, it's because it is and yet the script finds a way to squash it down with loads of exposition, which thankfully is undercut with humor revolving around Scott's hero limitation's and Luis', scene stealer and MVP Michael Peña, off kilter way of handling the stress of managing a new business and helping his partner on his Ant-man adventures.

Ant-man and The Wasp is just fine as summer fare but the filmmakers should take a cue from Thor: Ragnarok and think outside the box for the next film, which should be bigger in scope and give the heroes a mission with bigger stakes that pushes the partnership between Scott and Hope to legendary status. And if that doesn't pan out, just make Luis and The Wasp, because Lilly and Peña are just magic in all of their scenes together.

See Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man and The Wasp" in theaters now.