The Rundown: This adaptation of the comic book superhero Ant-Man pits two mad geniuses, a two-bit thief, and a hot executive up against each other in yet another Marvel Cinematic Universe hit. There’s action, hilarity, and maybe even a little romance in this super hero smash hit.
I will admit I did not know a lot about Ant-Man going into this movie. I knew his name was Hank Pym, he was one of the original Avengers, I knew he could shrink, and that he was married to another small superhero, The Wasp, whom he abused. However, this movie is not about that Ant-Man, at least not entirely. In this Ant-Man, we get Scott Lang played by the amazing Paul Rudd, who is just getting out of prison after a heroic bit of robin-hoodery (is that a word? probably not. Gonna run with it.). Scott is recruited by Dr. Pym (a dashing Michael Douglas) to stop his old Ant-Man technology from falling into the wrong hands. Thus, saving the world, and redeeming Scott from his life of crime.
With the little I know of Ant-Man and his incarnations across comics, I like that they brought in Scott as the first Ant-Man we see. Not only because everyone likes a wise-cracking superhero over one who commits domestic abuse, but also because of the nature of Marvel’s ever-expanding cinematic universe. With multiple movies and TV shows spread across a variety of timelines they were able to establish a history of Ant-Man that, while not shown in detail, could be used in one of their other projects. This forethought in their projects is why I only get more and more excited as phase three of Marvel’s master plan comes into focus.
The main thing that this movie does well is maintain a certain self-awareness that we’ve seen little to none of in other Marvel movies. The film plays with dialogue and interpersonal interaction in a way that acknowledges that, while we may have seen this type of film before, we haven’t seen this one, and it’s got a few tricks up its sleeve. The best way it does this is in how it frames the superhero interactions throughout the movie.
Instead of being all-out brawls with huge city-destroying consequences, the size of the fights often means that the actual damage being inflicted isn’t only insignificant, but also hilarious. At times it almost seems like the fights barely matter at all, but director Peyton Reed seems to know just when to get us back into the full-sized action to remind us what is at stake. It also is a testament to the imagination of the filmmakers with how much they played with the fictional shrinking technology. They took it places I didn’t expect, and made it feel like the dangerous technology it is, on par in power level to Thor or Iron Man.
This importance is conveyed perfectly by the characters. Michael Douglas’s Hank Pym is a haunted ex-hero who has some skeletons in his closet, paired with the ever-dashing Paul Rudd as Scott Lang. I love Paul Rudd; his sense of timing and his presence on screen are always a pleasure, and he brings his signature sass to the role. Not only that, but he is surrounded by a hilarious troupe of two-bit crooks who nearly steal the show from our dashing protagonist, namely Michael Pena as Luis. The way they handle him telling over a story is priceless and amazing, and watching it is nearly worth the price of admission. Also in the mix is Corey Stoll, of House of Cards fame. It was exciting to see him in a leading role in a major movie. He does a great job as Darren Cross, projecting menace, desperation, and mad genius all at once.
In addition to a stellar cast, Ant-Man boasts some impressive effects, especially in scenes with young Michael Douglas. We’ve come a long way since creepy Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy, and it was absolutely astonishing to see. That plus along with all the various big things turning small and small things turning big, the whole movie is a feast for the eyes. Not only does it have explosions and flashy suits, but Scott takes advantage of at least three distinct species of ant, as opposed to the generic ants I was expecting. This also added a great amount of versatility to the hero for me, beyond just “controls ants, can be really small,” but it made it almost like a large, fleshy utility belt that he could use to get in and out of specialized situations.
Well, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I heartily recommend this movie. From the jokes, to the action, to the deeper self-awareness of this film as a superhero movie, it’s definitely not one to miss. So am I a guy, telling you, that you might tell someone else to go see this movie? Yeah. Yeah I am.