Ant-Man
Directed by Peyton Reed
Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lily, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Michael Pena, David Dastmalchian, and T.I.
Backstory
Of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, none has had a longer gestation than Ant-Man. Announced way back in 2006 when Marvel Studios was first formed. Almost forgotten when Marvel announced the rest of their Phase I, but we were assured, “It’s still comin’…It’s still comin’.” Tragedy struck last year when original director Edgar Wright pulled out a few weeks before filming began, and Peyton Reed was brought in to take over. Would the film survive such last-minute changes to gain an honoured place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Plot
Scott Lang, a career thief with a bit of a Robin Hood flair (he robs from the rich and gives back to the poor), is finally released from prison and vows to go on the straight and narrow for his daughter. But, finding a job is way too hard for an ex-con, and he soon goes back to his burgling ways. He breaks into the home of famed scientist Hank Pym, and swipes what looks to be a motorcycle suit. But, Pym soon reveals that he set the whole thing up to test Lang. The suit allows the wearer to shrink down to the size of an insect, and gain super-strength in the process. Pym’s former protege, Darren Cross, has finally figured out the secrets of the shrinking process, and is getting ready to mass produce it and weaponize it. Pym wants Lang to don the suit, break into Cross’s HQ, and wipe out every trace of Cross’s research before it falls into the wrong hands. Lang dons the suit, and, under Pym’s tutelage, can he become the hero the world needs…the Ant-Man?
What I Liked
First up, the film is funny. Lang, being a thief, has a whole crew, and they provide the majority of the film’s comedy. They are so lively and so quirky. The visuals are amazing. The shrinking and enlarging effects provide so many fascinating combat scenarios. I’m sure you’ve seen the trailers where the hero and villain battle it out atop a Thomas the Tank Engine in a little girl’s bedroom, but when you see the entire sequence, it’s a thing to behold. And I like how Marvel is trying to mix up genres and drop superheroes into them because, at the end of the day, this is a heist film. And a good one.
What I Didn’t Like
Well, yeah, it’s cliched. I mean, the hero winds up battling a villain with powers just like his…just like in every Marvel movie. And as much as I loved the battle against a certain Avenger in the middle of the movie, it did seem kind of shoehorned in to link everything into the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Final Verdit
A very fun and enjoyable film. It’s nice to see Marvel reduce the scale a bit, no pun intended, as this is a much smaller film than their gigantic superhero epics.